[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 115 (Wednesday, September 8, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10627-S10628]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           E-911 ACT OF 1999

  On August 5, 1999, the Senate passed S. 800, as follows:

                                 S. 800

       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 
     communications infrastructure among members of the public, 
     emergency safety, fire service and law enforcement officials, 
     emergency dispatch providers, transportation officials, 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, emergency dispatch providers, and 
     transportation officials; the establishment of sources of 
     adequate funding for carrier and public safety, fire service 
     and law enforcement agency technology development and 
     deployment; the coordination and integration of emergency 
     communications with traffic control and management systems 
     and the designation of 9-1-1 as the number to call in 
     emergencies throughout the Nation;
       (3) emerging technologies can be a critical component of 
     the end-to-end communications infrastructure connecting the 
     public with emergency medical service providers and emergency 
     dispatch providers, public safety, fire service and law 
     enforcement officials, and hospital emergency and trauma care 
     facilities, to reduce emergency response times and provide 
     appropriate care;
       (4) improved public safety remains an important public 
     health objective of Federal, State, and local governments and 
     substantially facilitates interstate and foreign commerce;
       (5) emergency care systems, particularly in rural areas of 
     the Nation, will improve with the enabling of prompt 
     notification of emergency services when motor vehicle crashes 
     occur; and
       (6) 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; 
     transportation 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 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 9-
     1-1 as the universal emergency telephone number within the 
     United States for reporting an emergency to appropriate 
     authorities and requesting assistance. The designation shall 
     apply to both wireline and wireless telephone service. In 
     making the designation, the Commission (and any such agency 
     or entity) shall provide appropriate transition periods for 
     areas in which 9-1-1 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) Support.--The Federal Communications Commission shall 
     encourage and support efforts by States to deploy 
     comprehensive end-to-end emergency communications 
     infrastructure and programs, based on coordinated statewide 
     plans, including seamless, ubiquitous, reliable wireless 
     telecommunications networks and enhanced wireless 9-1-1 
     service. In encouraging and supporting that deployment, 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, transportation officials, special 9-1-1 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). The Commission shall encourage each State to 
     develop and implement coordinated statewide deployment plans, 
     through an entity designated by the governor, and to include 
     representatives of the foregoing organizations and entities 
     in development and implementation of such plans. Nothing in 
     this subsection shall be construed to authorize or require 
     the Commission to impose obligations or costs on any person.

     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 in a State of a 
     scope and extent that is not less than the scope and extent 
     of immunity or other protection from liability that any local 
     exchange company, and its officers, directors, employees, 
     vendors, or agents, have under Federal and State law (whether 
     through statute, judicial decision, tariffs filed by such 
     local exchange company, or otherwise) applicable in such 
     State, including in connection with an act or omission 
     involving the 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.
       (b) User Parity.--A person using wireless 9-1-1 service 
     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 under 
     applicable law in similar circumstances of a person using 9-
     1-1 service that is not wireless.
       (c) PSAP Parity.--In matters related to wireless 9-1-1 
     communications, a PSAP, and its employees, vendors, agents, 
     and authorizing government entity (if any) 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 under applicable law 
     accorded to such PSAP, employees, vendors, agents, and 
     authorizing government entity, respectively, in matters 
     related to 9-1-1 communications that are not wireless.
       (d) Basis for Enactment.--This section is enacted as an 
     exercise of the enforcement power of the Congress under 
     section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution and 
     the power of the Congress to regulate commerce with foreign 
     nations, among the several States, and with Indian tribes.

     SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE CUSTOMER 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 and ``and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(4) to provide call location information concerning the 
     user of a commercial mobile service (as such term is defined 
     in section 332(d))--
       ``(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;
       ``(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
       ``(C) to providers of information or database management 
     services solely for purposes of assisting in the delivery of 
     emergency services in response to an emergency.''.
       (2) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (h) and 
     by inserting the following after subsection (e):
       ``(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 or disclosure of or 
     access to--
       ``(1) call location information concerning the user of a 
     commercial mobile service (as such term is defined in section 
     332(d)), other than in accordance with subsection (d)(4); or
       ``(2) automatic crash notification information to any 
     person other than for use in the operation of an automatic 
     crash notification system.
       ``(g) Subscriber Listed and Unlisted Information for 
     Emergency Services.--Notwithstanding subsections (b), (c), 
     and (d), a telecommunications carrier that provides telephone 
     exchange service shall provide information described in 
     subsection (i)(3)(A)

[[Page S10628]]

     (including information pertaining to subscribers whose 
     information is unlisted or unpublished) that is in its 
     possession or control (including information pertaining to 
     subscribers of other carriers) on a timely and unbundled 
     basis, under nondiscriminatory and reasonable rates, terms, 
     and conditions to providers of emergency services, and 
     providers of emergency support services, solely for purposes 
     of delivering or assisting in the delivery of emergency 
     services.'';
       (3) by inserting ``location,'' after ``destination,'' in 
     subsection (h)(1)(A) (as redesignated by paragraph (2)); and
       (4) by adding at the end of subsection (h) (as 
     redesignated), the following:
       ``(4) Public safety answering point.--The term `public 
     safety answering point' means a facility that has been 
     designated to receive emergency calls and route them to 
     emergency service personnel.
       ``(5) Emergency services.--The term `emergency services' 
     means 9-1-1 emergency services and emergency notification 
     services.
       ``(6) Emergency notification services.--The term `emergency 
     notification services' means services that notify the public 
     of an emergency.
       ``(7) Emergency support services.--The term `emergency 
     support services' means information or data base management 
     services used in support of emergency services.''.

     SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

       As used in this Act:
       (1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of Transportation.
       (2) State.--The term ``State'' means any of the several 
     States, the District of Columbia, or any territory or 
     possession of the United States.
       (3) Public safety answering point; psap.--The term ``public 
     safety answering point'' or ``PSAP'' means a facility that 
     has been designated to receive 9-1-1 calls and route them to 
     emergency service personnel.
       (4) Wireless carrier.--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 9-1-1 service.
       (5) Enhanced wireless 9-1-1 service.--The term ``enhanced 
     wireless 9-1-1 service'' means any enhanced 9-1-1 service so 
     designated by the Federal Communications Commission in the 
     proceeding entitled ``Revision of the Commission's Rules to 
     Ensure Compatibility with Enhanced 9-1-1 Emergency Calling 
     Systems'' (CC Docket No. 94-102; RM-8143), or any successor 
     proceeding.
       (6) Wireless 9-1-1 service.--The term ``wireless 9-1-1 
     service'' means any 9-1-1 service provided by a wireless 
     carrier, including enhanced wireless 9-1-1 service.
       (7) Emergency dispatch providers.--The term ``emergency 
     dispatch providers'' shall include governmental and 
     nongovernmental providers of emergency dispatch services.

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