A Santa Barbara legislator introduced a bill intended to improve the notification of people with emergency alerts for things like brush fires.
SB 46 allows cities and universities to automatically enroll people in emergency alert programs. It clears the way for agencies to get contact information from wireless providers specifically for the purpose of sending out emergency alerts.
The new bill by Democratic State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson of Santa Barbara expands a state law she authored which is already set to take effect January 1st.
SB 821 allows counties to automatically enroll residents in the emergency notification systems. SB 46 adds cities and universities to the program. It’s currently an opt-in system, which means you have to sign up to get alerts.
The change would mean you would automatically be enrolled. However, if you don’t want to get the alerts, you can opt out.
