Analysis of the 2006-07 Budget Bill
The California Highway Patrol’s (CHP’s) core mission is to ensure safety and enforce traffic laws on state highways and county roads in unincorporated areas. The department also promotes traffic safety by inspecting commercial vehicles, as well as inspecting and certifying school buses, ambulances, and other specialized vehicles. The CHP carries out a variety of other mandated tasks related to law enforcement, including investigating vehicular theft and providing backup to local law enforcement in criminal matters. In addition, the department provides protective services and security for state employees and property. Since September 11, 2001, CHP has played a major role in the state’s enhanced antiterror activities.
The CHP’s overall level of staffing is about 10,700 positions. The department is comprised of uniformed (sworn) and nonuniformed (nonsworn) personnel, with uniformed personnel accounting for approximately 7,300 positions, or 67 percent, of total staff.
The budget proposes nearly $1.6 billion in support for CHP in 2006-07, about $124 million (8.5 percent) above estimated current-year expenditures. The increase is primarily related to first-year funding ($57 million) of a multiyear radio system upgrade as well as staffing augmentations for patrol services and wireless 911 call handling ($40 million).
Most of CHP’s budget is funded from the Motor Vehicle Account (MVA), which derives its revenues primarily from vehicle registration and driver license fees. For 2006-07, MVA funds would comprise nearly 90 percent of CHP’s support costs.
Enhanced Radio System Proposed to Improve Communications
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) proposes to begin in 2006-07 a five-year, $491 million project to modernize its radio system. We concur that CHP’s radio system needs improving, however, it is not clear to what extent the proposed solution supports the state’s goal for interoperability among public safety agencies. We recommend that the Director of the Office of Emergency Services, in his role as chair of the Public Safety Radio Strategic Planning Committee, report to the Legislature at budget hearings on how CHP’s proposal supports the state’s goal.
Background. Immediate and reliable access to information is fundamental to public safety agencies’ ability to protect life and property. For CHP officers in the field, the radio system is the primary, and sometimes only, link to information and resources during both routine and emergency operations. To be effective, the system must allow officers to communicate without disruption from interference, lack of coverage, congestion, or equipment failure (collectively referred to as “operability”). In addition, the system must have the ability to communicate with other public safety agencies as needed (known as “interoperability”).
The CHP’s radio system consists of both mobile and fixed assets. The mobile component includes, for example, mobile and portable radios. The fixed component includes base stations (radio transmitters/receivers).
The CHP uses its radio system for department operations about 90 percent of the time. Roughly 10 percent of the system’s use is to provide interoperability with other public safety agencies. The existing radio system was designed in the early 1960s and operates primarily in low band frequencies, which accommodate a wider geographic area than high band frequencies. According to a performance review conducted by the Department of Finance in 2002, most of the CHP’s radio equipment is more than ten years old-beyond its useful life expectancy.
Existing Radio System Is Obsolete and Fails to Meet Department’s Needs. The CHP maintains that its public safety radio equipment is obsolete and the fixed infrastructure is failing. Based on our review, we concur with the department’s assessment. Documented problems include aging equipment, rising costs for maintenance and repair, and lack of functionality deemed critical by the department. For instance, officers are unable to communicate at a sufficient distance from their enforcement vehicles (the current 400 to 500 foot reach is too limiting), to broadcast over a wide area without assistance from a communications center, or to access different frequencies as needed for operability and interoperability. The department also notes deficiencies in its fixed equipment that limit dispatch capabilities.
The CHP is also experiencing problems with frequency congestion (too many users in the same frequency bands) and insufficient coverage (inability to use certain frequencies in some operational areas). To address these issues, CHP seeks a flexible system that allows officers access to multiple frequencies using the same mobile radio unit. Such a system would improve operability, particularly with respect to coverage issues. However, congestion problems are likely to continue among all public safety radio users unless additional frequencies are made available by the Federal Communications Commission.
Previous Efforts to Implement a Statewide, Integrated System Failed. In 1994, CHP-along with nine other public safety agencies and the Department of General Services-initiated a process to build a statewide, integrated public safety radio system. After several years of planning, that effort culminated in a proposal to replace the entire state public safety radio infrastructure. Under the proposal-commonly known as the PRISM project-all state agencies would have operated in selected high frequency bands using the same type of equipment, thus facilitating direct interoperability. Plans called for a phased build-out beginning in 2001-02. However, the project did not proceed because of its high price tag ($3.5 billion over 15 years) and the state’s fiscal constraints. The CHP subsequently withdrew its participation in the project due, in part, to the projected costs to the MVA and the long implementation timeline.
Budget Proposes to Replace Radios and Selected Infrastructure. The Governor’s budget proposes to modernize CHP’s public safety radio system over a five-year period beginning in 2006-07. The proposal entails significant investments in new fixed and mobile equipment. Specifically, it would replace all mobile and portable radios, selected fixed radio equipment such as base stations and receivers, and upgrade other communications infrastructure. Under this proposal, CHP would continue to use its existing low frequency bands, but would possess the capability of switching to channels tuned to selected higher frequency bands as needed to achieve operability and interoperability. The success of this solution depends on the acquisition of additional low band radio frequencies and the negotiation of agreements between agencies on procedural guidelines that govern the linking and integration of systems. The proposal would mean that data (as opposed to voice) communications would continue to rely on in-vehicle computers, which are currently deployed in about 30 percent of patrol vehicles.
Five-Year Proposal Would Cost $491 Million. The total cost of the project is estimated at $491 million. The budget requests $57 million for 2006-07, the first year of project implementation. The projected lifespan of the purchased equipment is approximately ten years. Thus, once the initial commitment and associated investments are made, the direction is set for at least the next decade.
Proposal Justified, but Alignment With State Direction Unclear. Our review shows that improving CHP’s radio communications system is warranted. This is because the system is obsolete and fails to meet the department’s operational needs. While the proposed solution would satisfy CHP’s operational needs, it is unclear to what extent it achieves interoperability. Instead of a single, integrated statewide system, the proposed solution would result in the state having a number of communications systems among various public safety agencies for the next decade or longer. Thus, the key issue facing the state is how best to address the state’s interoperability needs while ensuring that CHP’s operational needs are met in a timely way.
Recommend PSRSPC Report at Budget Hearings. Chapter 1091, Statutes of 2002 (AB 2018, Nakano),-the Public Safety Communications Act-assigned the Public Safety Radio Strategic Planning Committee (PSRSPC) primary responsibility for developing and implementing a statewide radio system that facilitates interoperability among all of the state’s public safety departments, as well as assessing the need for new or upgraded equipment and establishing a program for equipment purchase. Given the PSRSPC’s statutory mandate to develop a public safety radio system that facilitates statewide interoperability as well as the scope and long-term nature of this project, we recommend that the Director of the Office of Emergency Services, who currently serves as chair of the PSRSPC, report at budget hearings on: (1) the extent to which the proposed project supports the state’s interoperability goals-without compromising CHP’s operational needs and (2) whether CHP’s proposal would hinder or complicate future development of other systems.
