Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999

Summary: Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and any agency or entity to which the FCC delegates such authority to designate 911 as the universal emergency telephone number within the United States for reporting an emergency to appropriate authorities and requesting assistance.  Applies such designation to both wireline and wireless telephone service.  Directs the FCC to provide appropriate transition periods for areas in which 911 is not currently an emergency number. Requires the FCC to encourage and support efforts by States to deploy comprehensive end-to-end emergency communications infrastructure and programs based on coordinated statewide plans. Requires appropriate consultation with regard to such deployment. Provides immunity from liability, to the same extent as provided to local telephone exchange companies, for providers of wireless service.  Provides immunity for users of wireless 911 service to the same extent as provided to users of 911 service that is not wireless.  Provides immunity for public safety answering points (emergency dispatchers). Authorizes telecommunications carriers to provide call location information concerning a user of a commercial mobile service to: (1) emergency dispatchers and emergency service personnel in order to respond to the user's call; (2) the user's legal guardian or family member in an emergency situation that involves the risk of death or serious physical harm; or (3) providers of information or data base management services solely for assisting in the delivery of emergency services.  Requires a customer's express prior authorization for disclosure to any other person.  Requires telephone exchange service providers to provide both listed and unlisted subscriber information to providers of emergency and emergency support services.

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) (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.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.