1.This Act may be cited as the
Next Generation 9-1-1 Preservation Act
of 2010
.
2.The Congress finds that—
(1)for the sake of
our Nation’s public safety, a universal emergency telephone number (9-1-1) that
is enhanced with the most modern and state-of-the-art telecommunications
capabilities possible, including voice, data, and video communications, should
be available to all citizens where they live, work, and travel;
(2)a
successful migration to the Next Generation 9-1-1 communications system will
require greater Federal, State, and local government resources and
coordination;
(3)any funds that are
collected from fees imposed on consumer bills for the purposes of funding 9-1-1
services or enhanced 9-1-1 services should only be used for the purposes for
which the funds are collected;
(4)it is a national
priority to foster the migration from analog, voice-centric 9-1-1 and current
generation emergency communications systems to a 21st century, Next Generation,
IP-based emergency services model that embraces a wide range of voice, video,
and data applications;
(5)ensuring 9-1-1
access for all citizens includes improving access to 9-1-1 systems for the
deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, and individuals with speech disabilities,
who are increasingly communicating with non-traditional text, video, and
instant messaging communications services and who expect those services to be
able to connect directly to 9-1-1 systems;
(6)a
coordinated public educational effort on current and emerging 9-1-1 system
capabilities and proper use of the 9-1-1 system is essential to the operation
of an effective 9-1-1 system;
(7)Federal policies
and funding should enable the transition to an Internet Protocol-based
(IP-based) Next Generation 9-1-1 system and Federal 9-1-1 and emergency
communications laws and regulations must keep pace with rapidly changing
technology to ensure an open and competitive 9-1-1 environment based on the
most advanced technology available; and
(8)Federal policies
and grant programs should reflect the growing convergence and integration of
emergency communications technology, such that State interoperability plans and
Federal funding in support of such plans is made available for all aspects of
Next Generation 9-1-1 and emergency communications systems.
3.The purposes of this Act are—
(1)to focus Federal
policies and funding programs to ensure a successful migration from a
voice-centric 9-1-1 system to an IP-enabled, Next Generation 9-1-1 emergency
response system that uses voice, data, and video services that greatly enhance
the capability of 9-1-1 and emergency response services;
(2)to ensure that
technologically advanced 9-1-1 and emergency communications systems are
universally available and adequately funded to serve all Americans; and
(3)to ensure all
9-1-1 and emergency response organizations have access to—
(A)high-speed
broadband networks;
(B)interconnected IP
backbones; and
(C)innovative
services and applications.
4.Coordination of
9-1-1 implementationSection
158 of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 942) is amended to read as follows:
158.Coordination of
E–911 and Next Generation 9-1-1 implementation
(a)9-1-1
Implementation Coordination Office
(1)Establishment
and continuationThe Assistant Secretary shall—
(A)establish and further a program to
facilitate coordination and communication between Federal, State, and local
emergency communications systems, emergency personnel, public safety
organizations, telecommunications carriers, and telecommunications equipment
manufacturers and vendors involved in the implementation of all 9-1-1 services;
and
(B)create an improved
9-1-1 Implementation Coordination Office to implement the provisions of this
section.
(2)The Assistant Secretary shall develop a management plan for
the program established under this section. Such plan shall include the
organizational structure and funding profiles for the 5-year duration of the
program. The Assistant Secretary shall, within 90 days after the date of
enactment of the Next Generation 9-1-1
Preservation Act of 2010, submit the management plan to the
Committees on Energy and Commerce and Appropriations of the House of
Representatives and the Committees on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and
Appropriations of the Senate.
(3)The Office shall—
(A)take actions, in
concert with coordinators designated in accordance with subsection
(b)(3)(A)(ii), to improve such coordination and communication;
(B)develop, collect,
and disseminate information concerning practices, procedures, and technology
used in the implementation of E–911 services and Next Generation 9-1-1
services;
(C)advise and assist
eligible entities in the preparation of implementation plans required under
subsection (b)(3)(A)(iii);
(D)receive, review,
and recommend the approval or disapproval of applications for grants under
subsection (b); and
(E)oversee the use of
funds provided by such grants in fulfilling such implementation plans.
(4)The
Assistant Secretary shall provide an annual report to Congress by the first day
of October of each year on the activities of the Office to improve coordination
and communication with respect to the implementation of E–911 services and Next
Generation 9-1-1 services.
(b)E–911 and Next
Generation 9-1-1 Implementation Grants
(1)The Assistant Secretary, after consultation with the
Chairman of the Commission, and acting through the Office, shall provide grants
to eligible entities for—
(A)the implementation
and operation of E–911 services, migration to an IP-enabled emergency network,
and adoption and operation of Next Generation 9-1-1 services and
applications;
(B)the implementation
of IP-enabled emergency services and applications enabled by Next Generation
9-1-1 services, including the establishment of IP backbone networks and the
application layer software infrastructure needed to interconnect the multitude
of emergency response organizations; and
(C)training in 9-1-1
services of public safety personnel, including call-takers, first responders,
and other individuals and organizations who are part of the emergency response
chain.
(2)The Federal share of the cost of a project eligible
for a grant under this section shall not exceed 80 percent. The non-Federal
share of the cost shall be provided from non-Federal sources unless waived by
the Assistant Secretary.
(3)In providing grants under paragraph (1), the Assistant
Secretary shall require an eligible entity to certify in its application
that—
(A)in the case of an
eligible entity that is a State government, the entity—
(i)has coordinated
its application with the public safety answering points located within the
jurisdiction of such entity;
(ii)has designated a
single officer or governmental body of the entity to serve as the coordinator
of implementation of 9-1-1 services, except that such designation need not vest
such coordinator with direct legal authority to implement E–911 services or
Next Generation 9-1-1 services or to manage emergency communications
operations;
(iii)has established
a plan for the coordination and implementation of E–911 services and Next
Generation 9-1-1 services; and
(iv)has integrated
telecommunications services involved in the implementation and delivery of
E–911 services and Next Generation 9-1-1 services; or
(B)in the case of an
eligible entity that is not a State, the entity has complied with clauses (i),
(iii), and (iv) of subparagraph (A), and the State in which it is located has
complied with clause (ii) of such subparagraph.
(4)Within
120 days after the date of enactment of the Next Generation 9-1-1 Preservation Act of
2010, the Assistant Secretary shall issue regulations, after
providing the public with notice and an opportunity to comment, prescribing the
criteria for selection for grants under this section. The criteria shall
include performance requirements and a timeline for completion of any project
to be financed by a grant under this section. The Assistant Secretary shall
update such regulations as necessary.
(c)Diversion of
9-1-1 Charges
(1)For the purposes of this subsection, the term
designated 9-1-1 charges
means any taxes, fees, or other charges
imposed by a State or other taxing jurisdiction that are designated or
presented as dedicated to deliver or improve E–911 services or Next Generation
9-1-1 services.
(2)Each
applicant for a matching grant under this section shall certify to the
Assistant Secretary at the time of application, and each applicant that
receives such a grant shall certify to the Assistant Secretary annually
thereafter during any period of time during which the funds from the grant are
available to the applicant, that no portion of any designated 9-1-1 charges
imposed by a State or other taxing jurisdiction within which the applicant is
located are being obligated or expended for any purpose other than the purposes
for which such charges are designated or presented during the period beginning
180 days immediately preceding the date of the application and continuing
through the period of time during which the funds from the grant are available
to the applicant.
(3)Each applicant for a grant under this section shall agree,
as a condition of receipt of the grant, that if the State or other taxing
jurisdiction within which the applicant is located, during any period of time
during which the funds from the grant are available to the applicant, obligates
or expends designated 9-1-1 charges for any purpose other than the purposes for
which such charges are designated or presented, all of the funds from such
grant shall be returned to the Office.
(4)Penalty for
Providing False InformationAny applicant that provides a
certification under paragraph (1) knowing that the information provided in the
certification was false shall—
(A)not be eligible to
receive the grant under subsection (b);
(B)return any grant
awarded under subsection (b) during the time that the certification was not
valid; and
(C)not be eligible to
receive any subsequent grants under subsection (b).
(d)Authorization
and Termination
(1)There
are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Commerce, for the
purposes of grants under the program operated under this section, not more than
$250,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2015, not more than 5
percent of which for any fiscal year may be obligated or expended for
administrative costs.
(2)The
provisions of this section shall cease to be effective on October 1,
2014.
(e)As
used in this Act—
(1)The term 9-1-1
services includes both E–911 services and Next Generation 9-1-1
services.
(2)The term E–911 services
means both phase
I and phase II enhanced 9-1-1 services, as described in section 20.18 of the
Commission’s regulations (47 CFR 20.18), as in effect on the date of enactment
of the Next Generation 9-1-1 Preservation Act
of 2010, or as subsequently revised by the Commission.
(3)
(A)The term eligible entity
means a State or
local government or a tribal organization (as defined in section 4(l) of the
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C.
450b(l))).
(B)Such
term includes public authorities, boards, commissions, and similar bodies
created by one or more eligible entities described in subparagraph (A) to
provide E–911 services or Next Generation 9-1-1 services.
(C)Such
term does not include any entity that has failed to submit the most recently
required certification under subsection (c) within 30 days after the date on
which such certification is due.
(4)The term emergency call
refers to any
real-time communication to a public safety answering point or other emergency
management or response agency, including through voice, text, or video and
related data and including nonhuman-initiated automatic event alerts, such as
alarms, telematics, or sensor data, which may also include real-time voice,
text, or video communications.
(5)Next Generation
9-1-1 servicesThe term Next Generation 9-1-1
services
means an IP-based system comprised of hardware, software,
data, and operational policies and procedures that—
(A)provides
standardized interfaces from emergency call and message services to support
emergency communications;
(B)processes all
types of emergency calls, including voice, data, and multimedia
information;
(C)acquires and
integrates additional emergency call data useful to call routing and
handling;
(D)delivers the
emergency calls, messages, and data to the appropriate public safety answering
point and other appropriate emergency entities;
(E)supports data or
video communications needs for coordinated incident response and management;
or
(F)provides broadband
service to public safety answering points or other first responder
entities.
(6)The
term Office
means the 9-1-1 Implementation Coordination
Office.
(7)Public Safety
Answering PointThe term public safety answering
point
has the meaning given the term in section 222 of the
Communications Act of 1934.
(8)The
term State
means any State of the United States, the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands,
the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other territory or possession of the
United
States.
.
5.Requirements for
multi-line telephone systems
(a)Within 270 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Administrator of General Services, in conjunction with the 9-1-1
Implementation Coordination Office established under section 158 of the
National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act,
shall issue a report to Congress identifying the 9-1-1 capabilities of the
multi-line telephone system in use by all Federal agencies in all Federal
buildings and properties.
(b)
(1)Within 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Federal Communications Commission shall issue a public notice seeking
comment on the feasibility of requiring MLTS operators to provide a
sufficiently precise indication of a 9-1-1 caller’s location, while avoiding
the imposition of undue burdens on MLTS manufacturers, providers, and
operators.
(2)The public notice under paragraph (1) shall seek
comment on the National Emergency Number Association’s Technical
Requirements Document On Model Legislation E–911 for Multi-Line Telephone
Systems
(NENA 06–750, Version 2).
(c)The term multi-line telephone
system
or MLTS
means a system comprised of common
control units, telephone sets, control hardware and software and adjunct
systems, including network and premises based systems, such as Centrex and
VoIP, as well as PBX, Hybrid, and Key Telephone Systems (as classified by the
Federal Communications Commission under part 68 of title 47, Code of Federal
Regulations) and includes systems owned or leased by governmental agencies and
non-profit entities, as well as for profit businesses.
6.GAO study of
State and local use of 9-1-1 service charges
(a)Within 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Comptroller General shall initiate a study of—
(1)the imposition of
taxes, fees, or other charges imposed by States or political subdivisions of
States that are designated or presented as dedicated to improve emergency
communications services, including 9-1-1 services or enhanced 9-1-1 services,
or related to emergency communications services operations or improvements;
and
(2)the use of
revenues derived from such taxes, fees, or charges.
(b)Within
18 months after initiating the study required by subsection (a), the
Comptroller General shall transmit a report on the results of the study to the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the
Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives setting forth
the findings, conclusions, and recommendations, if any, of the study,
including—
(1)the identity of
each State or political subdivision that imposes such taxes, fees, or other
charges; and
(2)the amount of
revenues obligated or expended by that State or political subdivision for any
purpose other than the purposes for which such taxes, fees, or charges were
designated or presented.