[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 438 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 438

    To promote and enhance public safety through use of 911 as the 
     universal emergency assistance number, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 2, 1999

Mr. Shimkus (for himself and Mr. Tauzin) introduced the following bill; 
            which was referred to the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To promote and enhance public safety through use of 911 as the 
     universal emergency assistance number, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Wireless Communications and Public 
Safety Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) the establishment and maintenance of an end-to-end 
        emergency communications infrastructure among members of the 
        public, local public safety, fire service, and law enforcement 
        officials, emergency dispatch providers, and hospital emergency 
        and trauma care facilities will reduce response times for the 
        delivery of emergency care, assist in delivering appropriate 
        care, and thereby prevent fatalities, substantially reduce the 
        severity and extent of injuries, reduce time lost from work, 
        and save thousands of lives and billions of dollars in health 
        care costs;
            (2) the rapid, efficient deployment of emergency 
        telecommunications service requires statewide coordination of 
        the efforts of local public safety, fire service, and law 
        enforcement officials, and emergency dispatch providers, and 
        the designation of 911 as the number to call in emergencies 
        throughout the Nation;
            (3) improved public safety remains an important public 
        health objective of Federal, State, and local governments and 
        substantially facilitates interstate and foreign commerce;
            (4) the benefits of wireless communications in emergencies 
        will be enhanced by the development of state-wide plans to 
        coordinate the efforts of local public safety, fire service, 
        and law enforcement officials, emergency dispatch providers, 
        emergency medical service providers on end-to-end emergency 
        communications infrastructures; and
            (5) the construction and operation of seamless, ubiquitous, 
        and reliable wireless telecommunications systems promote public 
        safety and provide immediate and critical communications links 
        among members of the public, emergency medical service 
        providers and emergency dispatch providers, public safety, fire 
        service and law enforcement officials, and hospital emergency 
        and trauma care facilities.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to encourage and 
facilitate the prompt deployment throughout the United States of a 
seamless, ubiquitous, and reliable end-to-end infrastructure for 
communications, including wireless communications, to meet the Nation's 
public safety and other communications needs.

SEC. 3. UNIVERSAL EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER.

    (a) Establishment of Universal Service Emergency Telephone 
Number.--Section 251(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
251(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) Universal emergency telephone number.--The Commission 
        and any agency or entity to which the Commission has delegated 
        authority under this subsection shall designate 911 as the 
        universal emergency telephone number within the United States 
        for reporting an emergency to appropriate authorities and 
        requesting assistance. Such designation shall apply to both 
        wireline and wireless telephone service. In making such 
        designation, the Commission (and any such agency or entity) 
        shall provide appropriate transition periods for areas in which 
        911 is not in use as an emergency telephone number on the date 
        of enactment of the Wireless Communications and Public Safety 
        Act of 1999.''.
    (b) Technical Support.--The Federal Communications Commission shall 
provide technical support to States to support and encourage the 
development of statewide plans for the deployment and functioning of a 
comprehensive end-to-end emergency communications infrastructure, 
including enhanced wireless 911 service, on a coordinated statewide 
basis. In supporting and encouraging such deployment and functioning, 
the Commission shall consult and cooperate with State and local 
officials responsible for emergency services and public safety, the 
telecommunications industry (specifically including the cellular and 
other wireless telecommunications service providers), the motor vehicle 
manufacturing industry, emergency medical service providers and 
emergency dispatch providers, special 911 districts, public safety, 
fire service and law enforcement officials, consumer groups, and 
hospital emergency and trauma care personnel (including emergency 
physicians, trauma surgeons, and nurses).

SEC. 4. PARITY OF PROTECTION FOR PROVISION OR USE OF WIRELESS SERVICE.

    (a) Provider Parity.--A wireless carrier, and its officers, 
directors, employees, vendors, and agents, shall have immunity or other 
protection from liability of a scope and extent that is not less than 
the scope and extent of immunity or other protection from liability in 
a particular jurisdiction that a local exchange company, and its 
officers, directors, employees, vendors, or agents, have under Federal 
and State law applicable in such jurisdiction with respect to wireline 
services, including in connection with an act or omission involving--
            (1) development, design, installation, operation, 
        maintenance, performance, or provision of wireless service;
            (2) transmission errors, failures, network outages, or 
        other technical difficulties that may arise in the course of 
        transmitting or handling emergency calls or providing emergency 
        services (including wireless 911 service); and
            (3) release to a PSAP, emergency medical service provider 
        or emergency dispatch provider, public safety, fire service or 
        law enforcement official, or hospital emergency or trauma care 
        facility of subscriber information related to emergency calls 
        or emergency services involving use of wireless services.
    (b) User Parity.--A person using wireless 911 service shall have 
immunity or other protection from liability in a particular 
jurisdiction of a scope and extent that is not less than the scope and 
extent of immunity or other protection from liability under Federal or 
State law applicable in such jurisdiction in similar circumstances of a 
person using 911 service that is not wireless.
    (c) Exception for State Legislative Action.--The immunity or other 
protection from liability required by subsection (a)(1) shall not apply 
in any State that, prior to the expiration of 2 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, enacts a statute that specifically refers to 
this section and establishes a different standard of immunity or other 
protection from liability with respect to an act or omission involving 
development, design, installation, operation, maintenance, performance, 
or provision of wireless service (other than wireless 911 service). The 
enactment of such a State statute shall not affect the immunity or 
other protection from liability required by such subsection (a)(1) with 
respect to acts or omissions occurring before the date of enactment of 
such State statute.

SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE LOCATION INFORMATION.

    Section 222 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) by striking ``or'' at the end of paragraph (2);
                    (B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph 
                (3) and inserting a semicolon;
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(4) to provide call location information concerning the 
        user of a commercial mobile service (as such term is defined in 
        section 332(d)) to a public safety answering point, emergency 
        medical service provider or emergency dispatch provider, public 
        safety, fire service or law enforcement official, or hospital 
        emergency or trauma care facility, in order to respond to the 
        user's call for emergency services; or to inform the user's 
        legal guardian or members of the user's immediate family of the 
        user's location in an emergency situation that involves the 
risk of death or serious physical harm; and
            ``(5) to transmit automatic crash notification information 
        as part of the operation of an automatic crash notification 
        system.'';
            (2) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g) and 
        by inserting before such subsection the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(f) Authority To Use Wireless Location Information.--For purposes 
of subsection (c)(1), without the express prior authorization of the 
customer, a customer shall not be considered to have approved the use, 
disclosure, or access to--
            ``(1) call location information concerning the user of a 
        commercial mobile service (as such term is defined in section 
        332(d)) to any person other than--
                    ``(A) to a public safety answering point, emergency 
                medical service provider or emergency dispatch 
                provider, public safety, fire service or law 
                enforcement official, or hospital emergency or trauma 
                care facility, in order to respond to the user's call 
                for emergency services; or
                    ``(B) to inform the user's legal guardian or 
                members of the user's immediate family of the user's 
                location in an emergency situation that involves the 
                risk of death or serious physical harm; or
            ``(2) automatic crash notification information to any 
        person other than for use in the operation of an automatic 
        crash notification system.''; and
            (3) in subsection (g) (as redesignated by paragraph (2)), 
        by inserting ``location,'' after ``destination,''.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act:
            (1) The term ``State'' means any of the several States, the 
        District of Columbia, or any territory or possession of the 
        United States.
            (2) The term ``public safety answering point'' or ``PSAP'' 
        means a facility that has been designated to receive emergency 
        calls and route them to emergency service personnel.
            (3) The term ``wireless carrier'' means a provider of 
        commercial mobile services or any other radio communications 
        service that the Federal Communications Commission requires to 
        provide wireless emergency service.
            (4) The term ``enhanced wireless 911 service'' means any 
        enhanced 911 service so designated by the Federal 
        Communications Commission in the proceeding entitled ``Revision 
        of the Commission's Rules to Ensure Compatibility with Enhanced 
        911 Emergency Calling Systems'' (CC Docket No. 94-102; RM-
        8143), or any successor proceeding.
            (5) The term ``wireless 911 service'' means any 911 service 
        provided by a wireless carrier, including enhanced wireless 911 
        service.
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