Bilirakis and Matsui Introduce Bipartisan Bills to Strengthen Emergency Communications
Today, U.S. Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL-12) and Doris Matsui (D-CA-07) introduced two bipartisan bills aimed at enhancing the reliability and resilience of the nation’s emergency communications infrastructure. The Emergency Reporting Act and the Kari’s Law Reporting Act would strengthen 9-1-1 systems, ensuring Americans can depend on effective and modern emergency response capabilities when disaster strikes.
“It is vital that we review the communication infrastructure in place after a major weather event to maximize coordinated public safety information during a future crisis,” said Congressman Bilirakis. “These systems must be reliable and standardized to allow for an effective response from local, state and federal leaders as they recover. Our legislation helps to ensure we are ready to achieve that paramount goal.”
“Emergencies can happen anywhere, at any time – and in those moments, every second counts,” said Congresswoman Matsui. “That’s why we are introducing these bipartisan bills to make sure Americans can always rely on our 9-1-1 system. The Emergency Reporting Act will strengthen the resiliency of our networks during disasters like California’s wildfires and better equip first responders to protect our communities. The Kari’s Law Reporting Act will ensure that critical protections Congress already enacted are working as intended, and that no American is ever prevented from reaching 9-1-1 in their time of need. Taken together, these bills are a strong step forward to modernize our emergency communications system, improve public safety, and save lives.”
Emergency Reporting Act
Robust and dependable communication networks are essential to public safety. The Emergency Reporting Act directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to issue reports after major natural disasters detailing any instances where individuals were unable to reach 9-1-1. The legislation also calls for actionable recommendations to improve outage reporting, bolster resiliency, and enhance coordination with state and local emergency officials. In addition, the bill requires the FCC to examine unreported outages and advise mobile carriers on how to better notify 9-1-1 centers of service disruptions—ensuring that first responders are never left in the dark during life-threatening situations.
Kari’s Law Reporting Act
The Kari’s Law Reporting Act builds on the landmark Kari’s Law of 2018, which requires that multi-line telephone systems (MLTS) allow direct dialing of 9-1-1 without needing to press additional digits (such as “9” for an outside line). The new legislation mandates that the FCC report on industry compliance with these requirements, ensuring that systems in hotels, offices, and other facilities meet the law’s intent. Kari’s Law was passed after the 2013 murder of Kari Hunt, whose young daughter was unable to reach emergency services from a hotel phone because she was unaware of the need to dial “9” before calling 9-1-1.
Both bills have received strong support from the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International, the world’s largest organization representing public safety communications professionals. “The public deserves reliable access to 9-1-1 during emergencies,” said Mel Maier, CEO and Executive Director of APCO International. “APCO applauds Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) for leading efforts to strengthen our nation’s 9-1-1 systems. The Emergency Reporting Act and the Kari’s Law Reporting Act lay the groundwork to improve communications during crises and help first responders protect their communities. Together these bipartisan, zero-cost bills will ensure emergency communications centers have the information they need to perform their lifesaving work.”
Both bills reflect a bipartisan commitment to public safety and are expected to advance through Congress with broad support.