115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 123 

AN ACT 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require multiline telephone systems to have a default configuration 

that permits users to directly initiate a call to 9–1– 

1 without dialing any additional digit, code, prefix, or 

post-fix, and for other purposes. 
2 

†S 123 ES

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Kari’s Law Act of 

5 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFAULT CONFIGURATION OF MULTI-LINE TELE7 PHONE SYSTEMS FOR DIRECT DIALING OF 9– 

8 1–1. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Communications 

10 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended by adding 

11 at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 721. DEFAULT CONFIGURATION OF MULTI-LINE 

13 TELEPHONE SYSTEMS FOR DIRECT DIALING 

14 OF 9–1–1. 

15 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

16 ‘‘(1) the term ‘multi-line telephone system’ has 

17 the meaning given the term in section 6502 of the 

18 Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 

19 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1471); and 

20 ‘‘(2) the term ‘public safety answering point’ 

21 has the meaning given the term in section 222(h). 

22 ‘‘(b) MULTI-LINE TELEPHONE SYSTEM

23 FUNCTIONALITY.—A person engaged in the business of 

24 manufacturing, importing, selling, or leasing multi-line 

25 telephone systems may not manufacture or import for use 
3 

†S 123 ES

1 in the United States or sell or lease or offer to sell or 

2 lease in the United States a multi-line telephone system 

3 unless the technology of the system has the capabilities 

4 described in subsections (c) and (e). 

5 ‘‘(c) MULTI-LINE TELEPHONE SYSTEM INSTALLA6 TION.—A person engaged in the business of installing 

7 multi-line telephone systems serving locations in the 

8 United States may not install such a system in the United 

9 States unless, upon installation, the system allows a call 

10 that is initiated when a user dials 9–1–1 from any station 

11 equipped with dialing facilities to be transmitted to the 

12 appropriate public safety answering point— 

13 ‘‘(1) without requiring the user to dial any ad14 ditional digit, code, prefix, or post-fix, including any 

15 trunk-access code (such as the digit 9); and 

16 ‘‘(2) regardless of whether the user is required 

17 to dial a digit, code, prefix, or post-fix described in 

18 paragraph (1) for other calls. 

19 ‘‘(d) OTHER 9–1–1 EMERGENCY DIALING PAT20 TERNS.—Nothing in this section shall prohibit the con21 figuration of a multi-line telephone system so that other 

22 9–1–1 emergency dialing patterns will also initiate a call 

23 to a public safety answering point, provided that the dial24 ing pattern 9–1–1 remains available to users. 

25 ‘‘(e) ON-SITE NOTIFICATION.— 
4 

†S 123 ES

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person engaged in the 

2 business of installing multi-line telephone systems 

3 serving locations in the United States, in installing 

4 a system described in paragraph (2) in the United 

5 States, shall configure the system so that when a 

6 person at the facility where the system is installed 

7 initiates a call to 9–1–1 using the system, the sys8 tem provides a notification to— 

9 ‘‘(A) a central location at the facility; or 

10 ‘‘(B) a person or organization with respon11 sibility for safety or security for the location as 

12 designated by the manager or operator of the 

13 system. 

14 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—A system described in this 

15 paragraph is a multi-line telephone system that is 

16 able to be configured to provide the notification de17 scribed in paragraph (1) without any improvement 

18 to the system. 

19 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Commission may pre21 scribe regulations to carry out this section. 

22 ‘‘(2) TECHNOLOGICALLY NEUTRAL.—Regula23 tions prescribed under paragraph (1) shall, to the 

24 extent practicable, promote the purposes of this sec25 tion in a technologically neutral manner. 
5 

†S 123 ES

1 ‘‘(g) ENFORCEMENT.—This section shall be enforced 

2 under title V, except that section 501 applies only to the 

3 extent that the section provides for the imposition of a 

4 fine. 

5 ‘‘(h) EFFECT ON STATE LAW.—Nothing in this sec6 tion or in regulations prescribed under this section shall 

7 be construed to prevent any State from enforcing any 

8 State law that is not inconsistent with this section.’’. 

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

10 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to a multi-line tele11 phone system that is manufactured, imported, offered for 

12 first sale or lease, first sold or leased, or installed after 

13 the date that is 2 years after the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act. 

Passed the Senate August 3, 2017. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 123 

AN ACT 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to reother purposes. tional digit, code, prefix, or post-fix, and for initiate a call to 9–1–1 without dialing any addi- fault configuration that permits users to directly quire multi-line telephone systems to have a de-