SACRAMENTO — Assemblyman Josh Hoover (R-Folsom) is calling for a state audit of California’s failed Next Generation 911 (NG911) project following the collapse of the long-planned upgrade to the state’s aging emergency communications system.
The state ultimately abandoned the effort and began restarting the process after spending more than $450 million, funds that were collected through monthly 911 surcharges on customer phone bills.
Assemblyman Hoover said Californians were promised a modern, reliable system, but instead experienced delays, outages, and a failed rollout.
“We have nothing to show for it,” Hoover said in an interview with ABC10. “We haven’t updated our antiquated 911 system.”
Speaking with NBC Bay Area, Hoover added, “We fundamentally believe that state bureaucracies need to be held accountable when they misuse taxpayer dollars, and this is one of the worst cases that we’ve seen in the last couple years. The goal of the audit is to ensure accountability, to figure out what went wrong, and make sure it never happens again.”
The audit request asks the State Auditor to review several key issues, including what went wrong during the project’s planning and implementation, how much of the monthly 911 surcharge was spent on the failed rollout, and whether the surcharge could increase to complete a new system.
The audit will move forward if it receives approval from the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. Read Assemblyman Hoover’s full audit request here.