[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6096 Engrossed in House (EH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6096

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
 To improve oversight by the Federal Communications Commission of the 
            wireless and broadcast emergency alert systems.

    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 ``Reliable Emergency Alert 
Distribution Improvement Act of 2020'' or the ``READI Act''.

SEC. 2. RELIABLE EMERGENCY ALERT DISTRIBUTION IMPROVEMENT.

    (a) Wireless Emergency Alerts System Offerings.--
            (1) Amendment.--Section 602(b)(2)(E) of the Warning, Alert, 
        and Response Network Act (47 U.S.C. 1201(b)(2)(E)) is amended--
                    (A) by striking the second and third sentences; and
                    (B) by striking ``other than an alert issued by the 
                President.'' and inserting the following: ``other than 
                an alert issued by--
                            ``(i) the President; or
                            ``(ii) the Administrator of the Federal 
                        Emergency Management Agency.''.
            (2) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Commission, in consultation with the 
        Administrator, shall adopt regulations to implement the 
        amendment made by paragraph (1)(B).
    (b) State Emergency Alert System Plans and Emergency Communications 
Committees.--
            (1) State emergency communications committee.--Not later 
        than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
        Commission shall adopt regulations that--
                    (A) encourage the chief executive of each State--
                            (i) to establish an SECC if the State does 
                        not have an SECC; or
                            (ii) if the State has an SECC, to review 
                        the composition and governance of the SECC;
                    (B) provide that--
                            (i) each SECC, not less frequently than 
                        annually, shall--
                                    (I) meet to review and update its 
                                State EAS Plan;
                                    (II) certify to the Commission that 
                                the SECC has met as required under 
                                subclause (I); and
                                    (III) submit to the Commission an 
                                updated State EAS Plan; and
                            (ii) not later than 60 days after the date 
                        on which the Commission receives an updated 
                        State EAS Plan under clause (i)(III), the 
                        Commission shall--
                                    (I) approve or disapprove the 
                                updated State EAS Plan; and
                                    (II) notify the chief executive of 
                                the State of the Commission's approval 
                                or disapproval of such plan, and reason 
                                therefor; and
                    (C) establish a State EAS Plan content checklist 
                for SECCs to use when reviewing and updating a State 
                EAS Plan for submission to the Commission under 
                subparagraph (B)(i).
            (2) Consultation.--The Commission shall consult with the 
        Administrator regarding the adoption of regulations under 
        paragraph (1)(C).
            (3) Definitions.--In this subsection--
                    (A) the term ``SECC'' means a State Emergency 
                Communications Committee;
                    (B) the term ``State'' means any State of the 
                United States, the District of Columbia, the 
                Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 
                Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 
                Northern Mariana Islands, and any possession of the 
                United States; and
                    (C) the term ``State EAS Plan'' means a State 
                Emergency Alert System Plan.
    (c) False Alert Reporting.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Commission, in consultation with the 
Administrator, shall complete a rulemaking proceeding to establish a 
system to receive from the Administrator or State, Tribal, or local 
governments reports of false alerts under the Emergency Alert System or 
the Wireless Emergency Alerts System for the purpose of recording such 
false alerts and examining the causes of such false alerts.
    (d) Repeating Emergency Alert System Messages for National 
Security.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Commission, in consultation with the 
        Administrator, shall complete a rulemaking proceeding to modify 
        the Emergency Alert System to provide for repeating Emergency 
        Alert System messages while an alert remains pending that is 
        issued by--
                    (A) the President;
                    (B) the Administrator; or
                    (C) any other entity determined appropriate under 
                the circumstances by the Commission, in consultation 
                with the Administrator.
            (2) Scope of rulemaking.--Paragraph (1) shall--
                    (A) apply to warnings of national security events, 
                meaning emergencies of national significance, such as a 
                missile threat, terror attack, or other act of war or 
                threat to public safety; and
                    (B) not apply to more typical warnings, such as a 
                weather alert, AMBER Alert, or disaster alert.
            (3) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection shall 
        be construed to impair, limit, or otherwise change--
                    (A) the authority of the President granted by law 
                to alert and warn the public; or
                    (B) the role of the President as commander-in-chief 
                with respect to the identification, dissemination, 
                notification, or alerting of information of missile 
                threats against the United States, or threats to public 
                safety.
    (e) Internet and Online Streaming Services Emergency Alert 
Examination.--
            (1) Study.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, and after providing public notice and 
        opportunity for comment, the Commission shall complete an 
        inquiry to examine the feasibility of updating the Emergency 
        Alert System to enable or improve alerts to consumers provided 
        through the internet, including through streaming services.
            (2) Report.--Not later than 90 days after completing the 
        inquiry under paragraph (1), the Commission shall submit a 
        report on the findings and conclusions of the inquiry to--
                    (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 
                House of Representatives.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of 
        the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
            (2) the term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Communications Commission;
            (3) the term ``Emergency Alert System'' means the national 
        public warning system, the rules for which are set forth in 
        part 11 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations (or any 
        successor regulation); and
            (4) the term ``Wireless Emergency Alerts System'' means the 
        wireless national public warning system established under the 
        Warning, Alert, and Response Network Act (47 U.S.C. 1201 et 
        seq.), the rules for which are set forth in part 10 of title 
        47, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation).

            Passed the House of Representatives November 17, 2020.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
116th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 6096

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 To improve oversight by the Federal Communications Commission of the 
            wireless and broadcast emergency alert systems.