Public safety: radio communications.

Existing law, the Public Safety Communication Act of 2002, provides that the Public Safety Radio Strategic Planning Committee shall have primary responsibility in state government to develop and implement a statewide integrated public safety communication system that facilitates interoperability among state public safety departments and other first response agencies and to coordinate other shared uses of the public safety spectrum. It requires the committee to make recommendations for state agency purchase of public safety radio subscriber equipment that will enable those agencies to commence conforming to industry and governmental interoperability standards. Existing law specifies that, as technology evolves, the committee shall recommend the purchase of nonproprietary equipment or systems that have open architecture and backward compatibility. The act defines "nonproprietary equipment or systems," "open architecture," "backward compatibility," and other related terms for these purposes. This bill would delete references in these provisions to "nonproprietary" equipment or systems and instead specify standards-based equipment or systems, defined to mean equipment or systems that are built to a voluntary, consensus-based industry standard or a governmentally recognized standard, as applicable, to enable the equipment or system to function with another manufacturer's equipment or system. It would recast the definition of "backward compatibility" to mean equipment or systems that are able to function with prior versions of the equipment or systems or to operate with legacy equipment or systems. It also would require that the committee ensure that its recommendations for radio or other technology are consistent and compatible with recommendations and standards established by the United States Department of Homeland Security or the Federal Communications Commission, or both, as applicable. The act authorizes, but does not require, the committee to make similar equipment recommendations to any other federal, state, regional, or local entity with responsibility for developing, operating, or monitoring interoperability of the public safety spectrum. This bill would authorize the California Emergency Management Agency, rather than the committee, to recommend equipment to these other entities. It would also recast other provisions specifying certain industry standards and make conforming changes.