SB 465: Governor’s Office of Emergency Services: California Alert.

Official summary

Legislative Counsel’s Digest (official, as of the latest version). Written by nonpartisan legislative staff; reproduced verbatim.

The California Emergency Services Act authorizes the Governor to declare a state of emergency, and local officials and local governments to declare a local emergency, when specified conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property exist. Existing law establishes the Office of Emergency Services within the office of the Governor and charges it with responsibility for the state’s emergency and disaster response services for natural, technological, or manmade disasters and emergencies, including responsibility for activities necessary to prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of emergencies and disasters upon people and property. Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services, in consultation with, at minimum, telecommunications carriers, the California cable and broadband industry, radio and television broadcasters, the California State Association of Counties, the League of California Cities, the access and functional needs community, appropriate federal agencies, and the Standardized Emergency Management System Alert and Warning Specialist Committee, to develop guidelines for alerting and warning the public of an emergency.

This bill would require the office to establish a statewide emergency alert system called California Alert. The bill would require California Alert to utilize Wireless Emergency Alerts authorized by the Integrated Public Alert Warning System, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s national system for local alerting that provides authenticated emergency information to the public through mobile phones within a designate cell tower’s coverage area. The bill would require the office to contract with a private vendor that provides alerting systems to send California Alerts to registered phone numbers that are not location based. The bill would require the office to establish standards for issuing emergency alerts to California residents across local jurisdictional boundaries.

Sponsors

Sponsors by party (alphabetical): Democratic 2

“Support” is shown only as formal sponsorship recorded by the legislature. Roll-call votes are available on the official bill page.

Recent official actions

1. February 2, 2026Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56.
2. May 23, 2025May 23 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.
3. May 16, 2025Set for hearing May 23.
4. May 5, 2025May 5 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
5. April 25, 2025Set for hearing May 5.
6. April 22, 2025From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 14. Noes 0. Page 830.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
7. April 10, 2025Set for hearing April 22.
8. April 2, 2025Re-referred to Com. on G.O.
9. March 24, 2025From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.
10. February 26, 2025Referred to Com. on RLS.
11. February 20, 2025From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 22.
12. February 19, 2025Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.