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SACRAMENTO — State officials summoned two commissions Wednesday to review California’s vulnerability to terrorist attacks. 

Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg promised “a top to bottom review” of state laws and security measures by his new Task Force on the Impact of Terrorism on California, which had its first meeting Wednesday. 

And Gov. Gray Davis issued an executive order to his existing State Strategic Committee on Terrorism, asking the committee to make recommendations to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks. 

“Our number one priority, bar none, is to keep Californians safe from further terrorist activities,” Davis said. 

He ordered the committee to examine potential threats involving the transportation and storage of hazardous materials, the agriculture industry, the state’s transportation systems, its medical facilities and its computer networks. 

Davis also ordered the creation of a subcommittee on the Protection of Public Health to look at the public health system’s preparedness for biological and chemical threats. 

The subcommittee will include representatives from the University of California, medical and health care associations, public health organizations, law enforcement, and state agencies and departments. 

Davis also directed the state agencies to provide education materials on the state’s preparedness to the public. 

Both the legislative and executive committees are to examine the potential for a terror attack in California, and the state’s readiness to prevent it and respond should one occur. 

Hertzberg said the goal of his talk force is “to make sure California is as safe as it is possible to be in a free and open society.” 

The bipartisan committee almost immediately went into a secret session to hear from the heads of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, California Highway Patrol, California National Guard, California Department of Justice, and FBI, as well as the Sacramento police chief and county sheriff. 

Twenty assemblymembers from 10 committees were required to sign nondisclosure statements before the closed-door briefing. 

On Monday, the task force meets in Los Angeles for a public session on the impact of the terrorist assaults on California’s economy. The daylong session is scheduled to feature Los Angeles’ police chief and sheriff, as well as panels of economists. 

Meanwhile, two Assembly members were in Washington, D.C., Wednesday and Thursday to coordinate California’s efforts with congressional and Bush administration proposals to beef up security. 

That includes reviewing possible protections that can be installed at the state Capitol, where temporary security precautions have been in place since the Sept. 11 East Coast attacks. 

Californians can make suggestions to the Assembly task force by calling: 1-800-977-SAFE. 

On the Net: 

Read about the Assembly task force at www.californiasafe.ca.gov.