Cal OES asks for FEMA reimbursement authority and NextGen‑911 rollout support; victim assistance funding faces a reversion

Cal OES and the Legislative Analyst’s Office briefed the Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 5 on a set of May Revision changes that cover disaster recovery, next‑generation 9‑1‑1 (NG911) and victim services.

Cal OES deputy director Eric Swanson summarized the department’s May Revision requests: an increase in federal trust fund authority to reflect anticipated FEMA reimbursements, provisional language (control section 90) to allow Finance to augment state agency appropriations in the budget year for ongoing recovery costs from the Eaton and Palisades fires, and a request that the state emergency telephone account be augmented to ensure NextGen‑911 rollout and operations without raising the 9‑1‑1 surcharge above the January 1, 2025 level (41¢ per line).

At the same time the May Revision proposes a $49.7 million one‑time reversion of the flexible cash assistance for survivors grant (a $50 million one‑time appropriation in 2022); the reversion would remove the one‑time funding unless the legislature restores it.

NextGen‑911 pause and follow‑up questions

Cal OES and LAO staff described the NG911 rollout as technically complex and multi‑vendor. Lisa Mongott, Cal OES chief deputy director, told the committee the department paused additional PSAP migrations to the NG911 network so staff could spend more time with local public safety answering points (PSAPs) and vendors to work through vendor interdependencies and migration impacts on operations. “We paused the additional migration of additional PSAPs so that we could spend time with the PSAPs to make sure that we understood the impacts of their operations and also speak with the vendors,” she said.

LAO recommended the committee adopt the NextGen 9‑1‑1 augmentation but asked for quarterly reporting on costs and a clearer estimate of the expense to sustain legacy 9‑1‑1 for an additional year (if needed) while migrations continue.

FEMA reimbursements and control section 90

Finance and LAO staff explained the federal trust fund authority request is for cash‑flow authority only — to receive FEMA reimbursements for eligible disaster costs — and said the Department of Finance and Cal OES are willing to provide more detailed quarterly expenditure reports if the committee requests them. On control section 90, Finance and OES explained how AB 100 and prior special‑session actions established earlier emergency funding and how the May Revision seeks continued authority to cover recovery costs that would otherwise lapse at the end of the fiscal year.

Victim services reversion

Several victim‑services groups, prosecutors’ offices and county representatives testified in public comment opposing the proposed reversion of the flexible cash assistance for survivors program. Speakers said the program provides rapid emergency help for survivors (moving, locks, funeral expenses, hotel nights, etc.) and that community partners had structured payment processes and vendor relationships in anticipation of grant distributions; they urged restoration of the one‑time funding.

Ending

Committee members asked for more written detail on NG911 timelines, the vendor engagement plan and a clearer accounting of FEMA reimbursement expectations. They asked Cal OES to provide quarterly reports if the committee approves expanded trust fund authority and to provide a list of PSAPs migrated to NG911 versus those pending migration. No final budget action was taken in the hearing.