Emergency services: populations with limited English proficiency.

Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, requires the California Emergency Management Agency to coordinate the emergency services of all state agencies in connection with emergencies, and to establish a standardized emergency management system for use by all emergency response agencies. This bill would require the Secretary of California Emergency Management to consider the multiple languages and needs of populations who have limited proficiency in the English language during emergency preparedness planning, response, and recovery. The bill would also require the secretary to work in collaboration with ethnic media and ethnic community-based organizations in developing communication strategies about alert and warning information, and to use a registry of qualified bilingual persons in public contact positions, as defined, to assist in emergency preparedness, response, and recovery, as the secretary deems necessary.