II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 123 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require multi-line 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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 12, 2017 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Mrs. FISCHER, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. 

THUNE, and Mr. CRUZ) 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 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. 

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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFAULT CONFIGURATION OF MULTI-LINE TELE2 PHONE SYSTEMS FOR DIRECT DIALING OF 9– 

3 1–1. 

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

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

6 at the end the following: 

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

8 TELEPHONE SYSTEMS FOR DIRECT DIALING 

9 OF 9–1–1. 

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

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

12 the meaning given the term in section 6502 of the 

13 Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 

14 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1471); and 

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

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

17 ‘‘(b) MULTI-LINE TELEPHONE SYSTEM

18 FUNCTIONALITY.—A person engaged in the business of 

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

20 telephone systems may not manufacture or import for use 

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

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

23 unless the technology of the system has the capabilities 

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

25 ‘‘(c) MULTI-LINE TELEPHONE SYSTEM INSTALLA26 TION.—A person engaged in the business of installing 


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1 multi-line telephone systems serving locations in the 

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

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

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

5 equipped with dialing facilities to be transmitted to the 

6 appropriate public safety answering point— 

7 ‘‘(1) without requiring the user to dial any ad8 ditional digit, code, prefix, or post-fix, including any 

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

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

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

12 paragraph (1) for other calls. 

13 ‘‘(d) OTHER 9–1–1 EMERGENCY DIALING PAT14 TERNS.—Nothing in this section shall prohibit the con15 figuration of a multi-line telephone system so that other 

16 9–1–1 emergency dialing patterns will also initiate a call 

17 to a public safety answering point, provided that the dial18 ing pattern 9–1–1 remains available to users. 

19 ‘‘(e) ON-SITE NOTIFICATION.— 

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

21 business of installing multi-line telephone systems 

22 serving locations in the United States, in installing 

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

24 States, shall configure the system so that when a 

25 person at the facility where the system is installed 


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1 initiates a call to 9–1–1 using the system, the sys2 tem provides a notification to— 

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

4 ‘‘(B) a person or organization with respon5 sibility for safety or security for the location as 

6 designated by the manager or operator of the 

7 system. 

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

9 paragraph is a multi-line telephone system that is 

10 able to be configured to provide the notification de11 scribed in paragraph (1) without any improvement 

12 to the system. 

13 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Commission may pre15 scribe regulations to carry out this section. 

16 ‘‘(2) TECHNOLOGICALLY NEUTRAL.—Regula17 tions prescribed under paragraph (1) shall, to the 

18 extent practicable, promote the purposes of this sec19 tion in a technologically neutral manner. 

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

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

22 extent that the section provides for the imposition of a 

23 fine. 

24 ‘‘(h) EFFECT ON STATE LAW.—Nothing in this sec25 tion or in regulations prescribed under this section shall 


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1 be construed to prevent any State from enforcing any 

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

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

4 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to a multi-line tele5 phone system that is manufactured, imported, offered for 

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

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

8 of this Act. 

Æ 


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