II 

Calendar No. 164 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 123 

[Report No. 115–124] 

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 

JULY 10, 2017 

Reported by Mr. THUNE, without amendment 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 2017’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFAULT CONFIGURATION OF MULTI-LINE TELE5 PHONE SYSTEMS FOR DIRECT DIALING OF 9– 

6 1–1. 

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

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

9 at the end the following: 

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

11 TELEPHONE SYSTEMS FOR DIRECT DIALING 

12 OF 9–1–1. 

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

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

15 the meaning given the term in section 6502 of the 

16 Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 

17 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1471); and 

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

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

20 ‘‘(b) MULTI-LINE TELEPHONE SYSTEM

21 FUNCTIONALITY.—A person engaged in the business of 

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

23 telephone systems may not manufacture or import for use 

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

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


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1 unless the technology of the system has the capabilities 

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

3 ‘‘(c) MULTI-LINE TELEPHONE SYSTEM INSTALLA4 TION.—A person engaged in the business of installing 

5 multi-line telephone systems serving locations in the 

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

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

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

9 equipped with dialing facilities to be transmitted to the 

10 appropriate public safety answering point— 

11 ‘‘(1) without requiring the user to dial any ad12 ditional digit, code, prefix, or post-fix, including any 

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

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

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

16 paragraph (1) for other calls. 

17 ‘‘(d) OTHER 9–1–1 EMERGENCY DIALING PAT18 TERNS.—Nothing in this section shall prohibit the con19 figuration of a multi-line telephone system so that other 

20 9–1–1 emergency dialing patterns will also initiate a call 

21 to a public safety answering point, provided that the dial22 ing pattern 9–1–1 remains available to users. 

23 ‘‘(e) ON-SITE NOTIFICATION.— 

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

25 business of installing multi-line telephone systems 


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1 serving locations in the United States, in installing 

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

3 States, shall configure the system so that when a 

4 person at the facility where the system is installed 

5 initiates a call to 9–1–1 using the system, the sys6 tem provides a notification to— 

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

8 ‘‘(B) a person or organization with respon9 sibility for safety or security for the location as 

10 designated by the manager or operator of the 

11 system. 

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

13 paragraph is a multi-line telephone system that is 

14 able to be configured to provide the notification de15 scribed in paragraph (1) without any improvement 

16 to the system. 

17 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Commission may pre19 scribe regulations to carry out this section. 

20 ‘‘(2) TECHNOLOGICALLY NEUTRAL.—Regula21 tions prescribed under paragraph (1) shall, to the 

22 extent practicable, promote the purposes of this sec23 tion in a technologically neutral manner. 

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

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


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1 extent that the section provides for the imposition of a 

2 fine. 

3 ‘‘(h) EFFECT ON STATE LAW.—Nothing in this sec4 tion or in regulations prescribed under this section shall 

5 be construed to prevent any State from enforcing any 

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

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

8 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to a multi-line tele9 phone system that is manufactured, imported, offered for 

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

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

12 of this Act. 


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Calendar No. 164 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 123 

[Report No. 115–124] 

A BILL 

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 deJULY 10, 2017 

Reported without amendment 


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