[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2661 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2661

   To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to designate 9-8-8 as the 
  universal telephone number for the purpose of the national suicide 
 prevention and mental health crisis hotline system operating through 
   the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and through the Veterans 
                  Crisis Line, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 22, 2019

    Mr. Gardner (for himself, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Moran, and Mr. Reed) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
           Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to designate 9-8-8 as the 
  universal telephone number for the purpose of the national suicide 
 prevention and mental health crisis hotline system operating through 
   the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and through the Veterans 
                  Crisis Line, 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 ``National Suicide Hotline Designation 
Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the American Foundation for Suicide 
        Prevention, on average, there are 129 suicides per day in the 
        United States.
            (2) To prevent future suicides, it is critical to 
        transition the cumbersome, existing 10-digit National Suicide 
        Hotline to a universal, easy-to-remember, 3-digit phone number 
        and connect people in crisis with life-saving resources.
            (3) It is essential that people in the United States have 
        access to a 3-digit national suicide hotline across all 
        geographic locations.
            (4) The designated suicide hotline number will need to be 
        both familiar and recognizable to all people in the United 
        States.

SEC. 3. UNIVERSAL TELEPHONE NUMBER FOR NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION AND 
              MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS HOTLINE SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--Section 251(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 
(47 U.S.C. 251(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Universal telephone number for national suicide 
        prevention and mental health crisis hotline system.--9-8-8 is 
        designated as the universal telephone number within the United 
        States for the purpose of the national suicide prevention and 
        mental health crisis hotline system operating through the 
        National Suicide Prevention Lifeline maintained by the 
        Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use under 
        section 520E-3 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
        290bb-36c) and through the Veterans Crisis Line maintained by 
        the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under section 1720F(h) of 
        title 38, United States Code.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act.
    (c) Required Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and 
Substance Use and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall jointly 
submit a report that details the resources necessary to make the use of 
9-8-8, as designated under paragraph (4) of section 251(e) of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 251(e)), as added by subsection 
(a) of this section, operational and effective across the United States 
to--
            (1) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
        of the Senate;
            (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
            (3) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
        Representatives; and
            (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
        Representatives.

SEC. 4. STATE AUTHORITY OVER FEES.

    (a) Authority.--
            (1) In general.--Nothing in this Act, any amendment made by 
        this Act, the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et 
        seq.), or any Commission regulation or order may prevent the 
        imposition and collection of a fee or charge applicable to a 
        commercial mobile service or an IP-enabled voice service 
        specifically designated by a State, a political subdivision of 
        a State, an Indian Tribe, or village or regional corporation 
        serving a region established pursuant to the Alaska Native 
        Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) for the support 
        or implementation of 9-8-8 services, if the fee or charge is 
        held in a sequestered account to be obligated or expended only 
        in support of 9-8-8 services, or enhancements of such services, 
        as specified in the provision of State or local law adopting 
        the fee or charge.
            (2) Limit on fee or charge.--For each class of subscribers 
        to IP-enabled voice services, the fee or charge may not exceed 
        the amount of any such fee or charge applicable to the same 
        class of subscribers to telecommunications services.
    (b) Fee Accountability Report.--To ensure efficiency, transparency, 
and accountability in the collection and expenditure of a fee or charge 
for the support or implementation of 9-8-8 services, not later than 2 
years after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 
thereafter, the Commission shall submit to the Committees on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation and Appropriations of the Senate and the 
Committees on Energy and Commerce and Appropriations of the House of 
Representatives a report that--
            (1) details the status in each State of the collection and 
        distribution of such fees or charges; and
            (2) includes findings on the amount of revenues obligated 
        or expended by each State or political subdivision thereof for 
        any purpose other than the purpose for which any such fees or 
        charges are specified.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Commercial mobile service.--The term ``commercial 
        mobile service'' has the meaning given that term under section 
        332(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(d)).
            (2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Communications Commission.
            (3) IP-enabled voice service.--The term ``IP-enabled voice 
        service'' shall include--
                    (A) an interconnected VoIP service, as defined in 
                section 9.3 of the title 47 of the Code of Federal 
                Regulations, or any successor thereto; and
                    (B) a one-way interconnected VoIP service.
            (4) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given that 
        term in section 7 of the Wireless Communications and Public 
        Safety Act of 1999 (47 U.S.C. 615b).
            (5) Telecommunications service.--The term 
        ``telecommunications service'' has the meaning given that term 
        in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153).

SEC. 5. LOCATION IDENTIFICATION REPORT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall 
submit to the appropriate committees a report that examines the 
feasibility and cost of including an automatic dispatchable location 
that would be conveyed with a 9-8-8 call, regardless of the 
technological platform used and including with calls from multi-line 
telephone systems (as defined in section 6502 of the Middle Class Tax 
Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1471)).
    (b) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate committees.--The term ``appropriate 
        committees'' means the following:
                    (A) The Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation of the Senate.
                    (B) The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
                Pensions of the Senate.
                    (C) The Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 
                House of Representatives.
            (2) Dispatchable location.--The term ``dispatchable 
        location'' means the street address of the calling party and 
        additional information such as room number, floor number, or 
        similar information necessary to adequately identify the 
        location of the calling party.
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