Phone giants' proposal to drop some 911 lines strongly backed by California lawmakers

With subscribers increasingly dropping their land lines for wireless and Internet calling, California's telephone companies are lobbying the Legislature to let them abandon large portions of the state's 911 emergency calling system.

AT&T and Verizon Communications, which account for 90% of California's wired phones, and some smaller companies are backing a bill to change a 1995 law that requires them to keep so-called warm lines -- capable only of calling a 911 center -- for residences even after service has been disconnected. The law applies regardless of whether service is cut for, say, failure to pay bills or is dropped voluntarily in favor of wireless-only phone service. So far, state legislators unanimously support the telephone companies. The Senate passed the measure and, last week, the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee voted for it. Dropping 911 support for warm lines also means that all carriers would save a total of about $100 million a year, according to AT&T estimates.

Consumer advocates want at least some of the lines maintained, and many small law enforcement agencies oppose the changes.