II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2712 

To provide funding for the deployment of Next Generation 9–1–1, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 27, 2023 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Ms. CORTEZ MASTO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To provide funding for the deployment of Next Generation 

9–1–1, 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. DEPLOYMENT OF NEXT GENERATION 9–1–1. 

4 (a) APPROPRIATION.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to amounts oth6 erwise available, there is appropriated to the Assist7 ant Secretary for fiscal year 2024, out of any money 

8 in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

9 $10,000,000,000, to remain available until Sep10 tember 30, 2030, to make grants to eligible entities 


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1 for implementing Next Generation 9–1–1, operating 

2 and maintaining Next Generation 9–1–1, training 

3 directly related to implementing, maintaining, and 

4 operating Next Generation 9–1–1, if the cost related 

5 to such training does not exceed 3 percent of the 

6 total grant award, and planning and implementation 

7 activities, if the cost related to such planning and 

8 implementation does not exceed 1 percent of the 

9 total grant award. 

10 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

11 amount appropriated in this subsection, the Assist12 ant Secretary may use not more than 2 percent to 

13 implement and administer this section. 

14 (3) RULEMAKING REQUIRED.—Not later than 

15 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

16 the Assistant Secretary shall, after public notice and 

17 opportunity for comment, issue rules to implement 

18 this section. 

19 (b) ELIGIBILITY.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 

21 shall not make a grant under this section to any eli22 gible entity unless such entity certifies to the Assist23 ant Secretary that— 

24 (A) no portion of any 9–1–1 fee or charge 

25 imposed by the eligible entity, or (in the case 


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1 that the eligible entity is not a covered State or 

2 Tribal organization) any State or taxing juris3 diction within which the eligible entity will carry 

4 out activities using grant funds, will be obli5 gated or expended for any purpose or function 

6 other than a purpose or function for which the 

7 obligation or expenditure of such a fee or 

8 charge is acceptable (as determined by the Fed9 eral Communications Commission pursuant to 

10 the rules issued under section 6(f)(3) of the 

11 Wireless Communications and Public Safety 

12 Act of 1999 (47 U.S.C. 615a–1(f)(3)), as such 

13 rules are in effect on the date on which the eli14 gible entity makes the certification) during any 

15 period during which the funds from the grant 

16 are available to the eligible entity; 

17 (B) any funds received by the eligible enti18 ty will be used to support the deployment of 

19 Next Generation 9–1–1 in a manner that en20 sures reliability and interoperability and re21 quires the use of commonly accepted standards; 

22 (C) the eligible entity has established, or 

23 commits to establish not later than 3 years 

24 after the date on which the funds are distrib25 uted to the eligible entity, a sustainable funding 


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1 mechanism for Next Generation 9–1–1 and ef2 fective cybersecurity for Next Generation 9–1– 

3 1; and 

4 (D) no funds received by the eligible entity 

5 will be used to purchase, rent, lease, or other6 wise obtain covered communications equipment 

7 or services (as defined in section 9 of the Se8 cure and Trusted Communications Networks 

9 Act of 2019 (47 U.S.C. 1608)). 

10 (2) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The Assistant 

11 Secretary shall not make a grant under this section 

12 to an eligible entity unless such entity certifies to 

13 the Assistant Secretary that— 

14 (A) the eligible entity, and (in the case 

15 that the eligible entity is not a covered State or 

16 Tribal organization) any covered State within 

17 which the eligible entity will carry out activities 

18 using grant funds, has designated a single offi19 cer or governmental body to serve as the point 

20 of contact to coordinate the implementation of 

21 Next Generation 9–1–1 for such covered State 

22 or Tribal organization; and 

23 (B) the eligible entity has developed and 

24 submitted a plan for the coordination and im25 plementation of Next Generation 9–1–1 conVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:57 Aug 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2712.IS S2712

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1 sistent with the requirements of the Assistant 

2 Secretary that, at a minimum— 

3 (i) ensures interoperability, reliability, 

4 resiliency, and the use of commonly accept5 ed standards; 

6 (ii) enables emergency communica7 tions centers to process, analyze, and store 

8 multimedia, data, and other information; 

9 (iii) incorporates cybersecurity tools, 

10 including intrusion detection and preven11 tion measures; 

12 (iv) includes strategies for coordi13 nating cybersecurity information sharing 

14 between Federal, covered State, Tribal, 

15 and local government partners; 

16 (v) includes a governance body or bod17 ies, either by creation of a new body or 

18 bodies or use of an existing body or bodies, 

19 for the development and deployment of 

20 Next Generation 9–1–1; 

21 (vi) creates efficiencies related to Next 

22 Generation 9–1–1 functions, including the 

23 virtualization and sharing of infrastruc24 ture, equipment, and services; and 


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1 (vii) utilizes an effective, competitive 

2 approach to establishing authentication, 

3 credentialing, secure connections, and ac4 cess in deploying Next Generation 9–1–1, 

5 including by— 

6 (I) requiring certificate authori7 ties to be capable of cross-certification 

8 with other authorities; 

9 (II) avoiding risk of a single 

10 point of failure or vulnerability; and 

11 (III) adhering to Federal agency 

12 best practices such as those promul13 gated by the National Institute of 

14 Standards and Technology. 

15 (3) RETURN OF FUNDING.—If, after making a 

16 grant award to an eligible entity under subsection 

17 (a), the Assistant Secretary determines that such eli18 gible entity has acted in a manner not in accordance 

19 with the certifications required under this sub20 section, the Assistant Secretary shall, after affording 

21 due process, rescind such grant award and recoup 

22 funds from such eligible entity. 

23 (c) OVERSIGHT.—In addition to amounts otherwise 

24 available, there is appropriated to the Inspector General 

25 of the Department of Commerce for fiscal year 2024, out 


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1 of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

2 $10,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 

3 2032, to conduct oversight to combat waste, fraud, and 

4 abuse of grant awards made under this section. 

5 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF NEXT GENERATION 9–1–1 CY6 BERSECURITY CENTER. 

7 In addition to amounts otherwise available, there is 

8 appropriated to the Assistant Secretary for fiscal year 

9 2024, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise ap10 propriated, $80,000,000, to remain available until Sep11 tember 30, 2032, to establish a Next Generation 9–1–1 

12 Cybersecurity Center to coordinate with covered State, 

13 local, and regional governments on the sharing of cyberse14 curity information about, the analysis of cybersecurity 

15 threats to, and guidelines for strategies to detect and pre16 vent cybersecurity intrusions relating to Next Generation 

17 9–1–1. 

18 SEC. 3. PUBLIC SAFETY NEXT GENERATION 9–1–1 ADVISORY 

19 BOARD. 

20 In addition to amounts otherwise available, there is 

21 appropriated to the Assistant Secretary for fiscal year 

22 2024, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise ap23 propriated, $10,000,000, to remain available until Sep24 tember 30, 2032, to establish a 16-member Public Safety 

25 Next Generation 9–1–1 Advisory Board, to be comprised 


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1 of representatives of public safety organizations, to pro2 vide recommendations to the Assistant Secretary with re3 spect to carrying out the duties and responsibilities of the 

4 Assistant Secretary related to Next Generation 9–1–1, in5 cluding with respect to the grant program established pur6 suant to section 1. 

7 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) 9–1–1 FEE OR CHARGE.—The term ‘‘9–1– 

10 1 fee or charge’’ has the meaning given such term 

11 in section 6(f)(3)(D) of the Wireless Communica12 tions and Public Safety Act of 1999 (47 U.S.C. 

13 615a–1(f)(3)(D)). 

14 (2) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist15 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 

16 Commerce for Communications and Information. 

17 (3) COMMONLY ACCEPTED STANDARDS.—The 

18 term ‘‘commonly accepted standards’’ means the 

19 technical standards followed by the communications 

20 industry for network, device, and Internet Protocol 

21 connectivity that— 

22 (A) enable interoperability; and 

23 (B) are— 

24 (i) developed and approved by a 

25 standards development organization that is 


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1 accredited by a United States or inter2 national standards body in a process 

3 that— 

4 (I) is open to the public, includ5 ing being open for participation by 

6 any organization; and 

7 (II) provides for a conflict resolu8 tion process; 

9 (ii) subject to an open comment and 

10 input process before being finalized by the 

11 standards development organization; 

12 (iii) consensus-based; and 

13 (iv) made publicly available once ap14 proved. 

15 (4) COST RELATED TO PLANNING AND IMPLE16 MENTATION.—The term ‘‘cost related to planning 

17 and implementation’’ means any cost incurred by an 

18 eligible entity related to planning for and preparing 

19 an application and related materials as required 

20 under this Act. 

21 (5) COVERED STATE.—The term ‘‘covered 

22 State’’ means any State of the United States, the 

23 District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, 

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1 ern Mariana Islands, and any other territory or pos2 session of the United States. 

3 (6) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti4 ty’’— 

5 (A) means a covered State or a Tribal or6 ganization; and 

7 (B) includes an entity, including a public 

8 authority, board, or commission, established by 

9 one or more entities described in subparagraph 

10 (A). 

11 (7) EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CENTER.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘emergency 

13 communications center’’— 

14 (i) means a facility that— 

15 (I) is designated to receive a 9– 

16 1–1 request for emergency assistance; 

17 and 

18 (II) performs one or more of the 

19 functions described in subparagraph 

20 (B); and 

21 (ii) includes a public safety answering 

22 point, as defined in section 222 of the 

23 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

24 222). 


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1 (B) FUNCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The func2 tions described in this subparagraph are the fol3 lowing: 

4 (i) Process and analyze 9–1–1 re5 quests for emergency assistance and infor6 mation and data related to such requests. 

7 (ii) Dispatch appropriate emergency 

8 response providers. 

9 (iii) Transfer or exchange 9–1–1 re10 quests for emergency assistance and infor11 mation and data related to such requests 

12 with one or more facilities described under 

13 this paragraph and emergency response 

14 providers. 

15 (iv) Analyze any communications re16 ceived from emergency response providers. 

17 (v) Support incident command func18 tions. 

19 (8) INTEROPERABLE; INTEROPERABILITY.—The 

20 term ‘‘interoperable’’ or ‘‘interoperability’’ means the 

21 capability of emergency communications centers to 

22 receive 9–1–1 requests for emergency assistance and 

23 information and data related to such requests, such 

24 as location information and callback numbers from 

25 a person initiating the request, and then process and 


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1 share the 9–1–1 requests for emergency assistance 

2 and information and data related to such requests 

3 with other emergency communications centers and 

4 emergency response providers without the need for 

5 proprietary interfaces and regardless of jurisdiction, 

6 equipment, device, software, service provider, or 

7 other factors. 

8 (9) NEXT GENERATION 9–1–1.—The term 

9 ‘‘Next Generation 9–1–1’’ means an interoperable, 

10 secure, Internet Protocol-based system that— 

11 (A) employs commonly accepted standards; 

12 (B) enables emergency communications 

13 centers to receive, process, and analyze all types 

14 of 9–1–1 requests for emergency assistance; 

15 (C) acquires and integrates additional in16 formation useful to handling 9–1–1 requests for 

17 emergency assistance; and 

18 (D) supports sharing information related 

19 to 9–1–1 requests for emergency assistance 

20 among emergency communications centers and 

21 emergency response providers. 

22 (10) PUBLIC SAFETY ORGANIZATION.—The 

23 term ‘‘public safety organization’’ means an organi24 zation that represents the interests of personnel in— 

25 (A) local law enforcement; 


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1 (B) fire and rescue; 

2 (C) emergency medical service; or 

3 (D) 9–1–1 services. 

4 (11) RELIABILITY.—The term ‘‘reliability’’ 

5 means the employment of sufficient measures to en6 sure the ongoing operation of Next Generation 9–1– 

7 1, including through the use of geo-diverse, device8 and network-agnostic elements that provide more 

9 than one physical route between end points with no 

10 common points where a single failure at that point 

11 would cause the operation of Next Generation 9–1– 

12 1 to fail. 

13 (12) STATE OR TAXING JURISDICTION.—The 

14 term ‘‘State or taxing jurisdiction’’ has the meaning 

15 given such term in section 6(f)(3)(D) of the Wireless 

16 Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999 (47 

17 U.S.C. 615a–1(f)(3)(D)). 

18 (13) SUSTAINABLE FUNDING MECHANISM.— 

19 The term ‘‘sustainable funding mechanism’’ means a 

20 funding mechanism that provides adequate revenues 

21 to cover ongoing expenses, including operations, 

22 maintenance, and upgrades. 

Æ 


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