II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1479 

To further deployment of Next Generation 9–1–1 to enhance and upgrade 

the 9–1–1 systems of the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 15, 2019 

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 further deployment of Next Generation 9–1–1 to enhance 

and upgrade the 9–1–1 systems of the United States, 

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 ‘‘Next Generation 9– 

5 1–1 Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The 9–1–1 systems of the United States, 

9 while a model for the entire world, lack the advanced 


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1 functionality, interoperability, and capabilities that 

2 come with the adoption of new digital communica3 tions technologies. 

4 (2) Communications technologies currently 

5 available to the public, including first responders 

6 and other public safety personnel, have substantially 

7 outpaced the legacy communications technologies 

8 still used by most emergency communications cen9 ters in the 9–1–1 systems of the United States. 

10 (3) This lack of modern technology, when cou11 pled with other challenges, is impacting the ability of 

12 the 9–1–1 systems of the United States to efficiently 

13 and effectively provide responses to emergencies. 

14 (4) Modernizing the 9–1–1 systems of the 

15 United States to incorporate the new and evolving 

16 capabilities of broadband voice and data communica17 tions is essential for the safety and security of the 

18 public, including first responders and other public 

19 safety personnel. 

20 (5) Efforts to modernize the 9–1–1 systems of 

21 the United States to date, while laudable and impor22 tant, have been limited due to a lack of funding and 

23 inconsistent or unclear policies related to the govern24 ance, deployment, and operations of Next Genera25 tion 9–1–1. 


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1 (6) A nationwide strategy for Next Generation 

2 9–1–1 has become essential to help guide the transi3 tion and create a common framework for implemen4 tation of Next Generation 9–1–1 while preserving 

5 State, regional, and local control over the governance 

6 and technology choices of the 9–1–1 systems of the 

7 United States. 

8 (7) Accelerated implementation of Next Genera9 tion 9–1–1 will— 

10 (A) increase compatibility with emerging 

11 communications trends; 

12 (B) enhance the flexibility, reliability, and 

13 survivability of the 9–1–1 systems of the United 

14 States during major incidents; 

15 (C) improve emergency response for the 

16 public, including first responders and other 

17 public safety personnel; 

18 (D) promote the interoperability of the 9– 

19 1–1 systems of the United States with emer20 gency response providers including users of the 

21 nationwide public safety broadband network 

22 being deployed by the First Responder Network 

23 Authority; and 

24 (E) increase the cost effectiveness of oper25 ating the 9–1–1 systems of the United States. 


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1 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 It is the sense of Congress that— 

3 (1) the 9–1–1 professionals in the United 

4 States perform important and lifesaving work every 

5 day, and need the tools and communications tech6 nologies to perform the work effectively in a world 

7 with digital communications technologies; 

8 (2) the transition from the legacy communica9 tions technologies used in the 9–1–1 systems of the 

10 United States to Next Generation 9–1–1 is a na11 tional priority and a national imperative; 

12 (3) the United States should complete the tran13 sition described in paragraph (2) as soon as prac14 ticable; 

15 (4) the United States should develop a nation16 wide framework that facilitates cooperation among 

17 Federal, State, and local officials on deployment of 

18 Next Generation 9–1–1 in order to meet that goal; 

19 (5) the term ‘‘Public Safety Answering Point’’ 

20 becomes outdated in a broadband environment and 

21 9–1–1 centers are increasingly and appropriately 

22 being referred to as emergency communications cen23 ters; and 

24 (6) 9–1–1 authorities and emergency commu25 nications centers should have sufficient resources to 

26 implement Next Generation 9–1–1, including reVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:38 May 24, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1479.IS S1479

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1 sources to support associated geographic information 

2 systems (commonly known as ‘‘GIS’’), and cyberse3 curity measures. 

4 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

5 It is the policy of the United States that— 

6 (1) Next Generation 9–1–1 should be techno7 logically and competitively neutral; 

8 (2) Next Generation 9–1–1 should be interoper9 able; 

10 (3) the governance and control of the 9–1–1 

11 systems of the United States, including Next Gen12 eration 9–1–1, should remain at the State, regional, 

13 and local level; and 

14 (4) individuals in the United States should re15 ceive information on how to best utilize Next Gen16 eration 9–1–1 and on its capabilities and usefulness. 

17 SEC. 5. COORDINATION OF NEXT GENERATION 9–1–1 IMPLE18 MENTATION. 

19 Part C of title I of the National Telecommunications 

20 and Information Administration Organization Act (47 

21 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 

22 following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 159. COORDINATION OF NEXT GENERATION 9–1–1 IM2 PLEMENTATION. 

3 ‘‘(a) ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS OF 9–1–1 IMPLEMEN4 TATION COORDINATION OFFICE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Office shall implement 

6 the provisions of this section. 

7 ‘‘(2) MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

8 ‘‘(A) DEVELOPMENT.—The Assistant Sec9 retary and the Administrator shall develop and 

10 may modify a management plan for the grant 

11 program established under this section, includ12 ing by developing— 

13 ‘‘(i) plans related to the organiza14 tional structure of such program; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) funding profiles for each fiscal 

16 year of the duration of such program. 

17 ‘‘(B) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not 

18 later than 90 days after the date of the enact19 ment of this section or 90 days after the date 

20 on which the plan is modified, as applicable, the 

21 Assistant Secretary and the Administrator shall 

22 submit the management plan developed under 

23 subparagraph (A) to— 

24 ‘‘(i) the Committees on Commerce, 

25 Science, and Transportation and Appro26 priations of the Senate; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Committees on Energy and 

2 Commerce and Appropriations of the 

3 House of Representatives. 

4 ‘‘(3) PURPOSE OF OFFICE.—The Office shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) take actions, in concert with coordi6 nators designated in accordance with subsection 

7 (b)(3)(A)(ii), to improve coordination and com8 munication with respect to the implementation 

9 of Next Generation 9–1–1; 

10 ‘‘(B) develop, collect, and disseminate in11 formation concerning practices, procedures, and 

12 technology used in the implementation of Next 

13 Generation 9–1–1; 

14 ‘‘(C) advise and assist eligible entities in 

15 the preparation of implementation plans re16 quired under subsection (b)(3)(A)(iii); 

17 ‘‘(D) receive, review, and recommend the 

18 approval or disapproval of applications for 

19 grants under subsection (b); and 

20 ‘‘(E) oversee the use of funds provided by 

21 such grants in fulfilling such implementation 

22 plans. 

23 ‘‘(4) REPORTS.—The Assistant Secretary and 

24 the Administrator shall provide an annual report to 

25 Congress by the first day of October of each year on 


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1 the activities of the Office to improve coordination 

2 and communication with respect to the implementa3 tion of Next Generation 9–1–1. 

4 ‘‘(b) NEXT GENERATION 9–1–1 IMPLEMENTATION

5 GRANTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) MATCHING GRANTS.—The Assistant Sec7 retary and the Administrator, acting through the Of8 fice, shall provide grants to eligible entities for— 

9 ‘‘(A) the implementation of Next Genera10 tion 9–1–1; 

11 ‘‘(B) establishing and maintaining Next 

12 Generation 9–1–1; 

13 ‘‘(C) training directly related to Next Gen14 eration 9–1–1; 

15 ‘‘(D) public outreach and education on how 

16 best to use Next Generation 9–1–1 and on its 

17 capabilities and usefulness; and 

18 ‘‘(E) administrative costs associated with 

19 planning and implementation of Next Genera20 tion 9–1–1, including costs related to planning 

21 for and preparing an application and related 

22 materials as required by this section, if— 

23 ‘‘(i) such costs are fully documented 

24 in materials submitted to the Office; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) such costs are reasonable and 

2 necessary and do not exceed 5 percent of 

3 the total grant award. 

4 ‘‘(2) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—The Federal 

5 share of the cost of a project eligible for a grant 

6 under this section shall not exceed 80 percent. 

7 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION REQUIRED.—In providing 

8 grants under paragraph (1), the Assistant Secretary 

9 and the Administrator shall require an eligible entity 

10 to certify in its application that— 

11 ‘‘(A) in the case of an eligible entity that 

12 is a State, the entity— 

13 ‘‘(i) has coordinated the application 

14 with the emergency communications cen15 ters located within the jurisdiction of such 

16 entity; 

17 ‘‘(ii) has designated a single officer or 

18 governmental body to serve as the State 

19 point of contact to coordinate the imple20 mentation of Next Generation 9–1–1 for 

21 that State, except that such designation 

22 need not vest such coordinator with direct 

23 legal authority to implement Next Genera24 tion 9–1–1 or to manage emergency com25 munications operations; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) has developed and submitted a 

2 State plan for the coordination and imple3 mentation of Next Generation 9–1–1 

4 that— 

5 ‘‘(I) ensures interoperability by 

6 requiring the use of commonly accept7 ed standards; 

8 ‘‘(II) enables emergency commu9 nications centers to process, analyze, 

10 and store multimedia, data, and other 

11 information; 

12 ‘‘(III) incorporates the use of ef13 fective cybersecurity resources; 

14 ‘‘(IV) uses open and competitive 

15 request for proposal processes, or the 

16 applicable State equivalent, for de17 ployment of Next Generation 9–1–1; 

18 ‘‘(V) includes input from relevant 

19 emergency communications centers, 

20 regional authorities, local authorities, 

21 and Tribal authorities; and 

22 ‘‘(VI) includes a governance body 

23 or bodies, either by creation of new or 

24 use of existing body or bodies, for the 


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1 development and deployment of Next 

2 Generation 9–1–1 that— 

3 ‘‘(aa) includes relevant 

4 stakeholders; and 

5 ‘‘(bb) consults and coordi6 nates with the State point of con7 tact required by clause (ii); or 

8 ‘‘(B) in the case of an eligible entity that 

9 is not a State, the entity has complied with 

10 clauses (i) and (iii) of subparagraph (A), and 

11 the State in which the entity is located has 

12 complied with clause (ii) of such subparagraph. 

13 ‘‘(4) CRITERIA.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 9 

15 months after the date of enactment of this sec16 tion, the Assistant Secretary and the Adminis17 trator shall issue regulations, after providing 

18 the public with notice and an opportunity to 

19 comment, prescribing the criteria for selection 

20 for grants under this section. 

21 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The criteria 

22 shall— 

23 ‘‘(i) include performance requirements 

24 and a schedule for completion of any 


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1 project to be financed by a grant under 

2 this section; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) specifically permit regional or 

4 multi-State applications for funds. 

5 ‘‘(C) UPDATES.—The Assistant Secretary 

6 and the Administrator shall update such regula7 tions as necessary. 

8 ‘‘(5) GRANT CERTIFICATIONS.—Each applicant 

9 for a grant under this section shall certify to the As10 sistant Secretary and the Administrator at the time 

11 of application, and each applicant that receives such 

12 a grant shall certify to the Assistant Secretary and 

13 the Administrator annually thereafter during any pe14 riod of time the funds from the grant are available 

15 to the applicant, that— 

16 ‘‘(A) no portion of any designated 9–1–1 

17 charges imposed by a State or other taxing ju18 risdiction within which the applicant is located 

19 are being obligated or expended for any purpose 

20 other than the purposes for which such charges 

21 are designated or presented during the period 

22 beginning 180 days immediately preceding the 

23 date on which the application was filed and con24 tinuing through the period of time during which 


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1 the funds from the grant are available to the 

2 applicant; 

3 ‘‘(B) any funds received by the applicant 

4 will be used to support deployment of Next 

5 Generation 9–1–1 that ensures interoperability 

6 by requiring the use of commonly accepted 

7 standards; 

8 ‘‘(C) the State in which the applicant re9 sides has established, or has committed to es10 tablish no later than 3 years following the date 

11 on which the funds are distributed to the appli12 cant, a sustainable funding mechanism for Next 

13 Generation 9–1–1 to be deployed pursuant to 

14 the grant; 

15 ‘‘(D) the applicant will promote interoper16 ability between Next Generation 9–1–1 emer17 gency communications centers and emergency 

18 response providers including users of the na19 tionwide public safety broadband network im20 plemented by the First Responder Network Au21 thority; 

22 ‘‘(E) the applicant has taken or will take 

23 steps to coordinate with adjoining States to es24 tablish and maintain Next Generation 9–1–1; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(F) the applicant has developed a plan for 

2 public outreach and education on how to best 

3 use Next Generation 9–1–1 and on its capabili4 ties and usefulness. 

5 ‘‘(6) CONDITION OF GRANT.—Each applicant 

6 for a grant under this section shall agree, as a con7 dition of receipt of the grant, that if the State or 

8 other taxing jurisdiction within which the applicant 

9 is located, during any period of time during which 

10 the funds from the grant are available to the appli11 cant, fails to comply with the certifications required 

12 under paragraph (5), all of the funds from such 

13 grant shall be returned to the Office. 

14 ‘‘(7) PENALTY FOR PROVIDING FALSE INFOR15 MATION.—Any applicant that provides a certification 

16 under paragraph (5) knowing that the information 

17 provided in the certification was false shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) not be eligible to receive the grant 

19 under this subsection; 

20 ‘‘(B) return any grant awarded under this 

21 subsection during the time that the certification 

22 was not valid; and 

23 ‘‘(C) not be eligible to receive any subse24 quent grants under this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(8) PROHIBITION.—No grant funds under this 

2 subsection may be used— 

3 ‘‘(A) for any component of the nationwide 

4 public safety broadband network; or 

5 ‘‘(B) to make any payments to a person 

6 who has been, for reasons of national security, 

7 prohibited by any entity of the Federal Govern8 ment from bidding on a contract, participating 

9 in an auction, or receiving a grant. 

10 ‘‘(c) FUNDING AND TERMINATION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any funds 

12 authorized for grants under section 158, there is au13 thorized to be appropriated $12,000,000,000 for fis14 cal years 2019 through 2023. 

15 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The Office may 

16 use up to 5 percent of the funds authorized under 

17 this subsection for reasonable and necessary admin18 istrative costs associated with the grant program. 

19 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 ‘‘(1) 9–1–1 REQUEST FOR EMERGENCY ASSIST21 ANCE.—The term ‘9–1–1 request for emergency as22 sistance’ means a communication, such as voice, 

23 text, picture, multimedia, or any other type of data, 

24 that is sent to an emergency communications center 

25 for the purpose of requesting emergency assistance. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis2 trator’ means the Administrator of the National 

3 Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

4 ‘‘(3) COMMONLY ACCEPTED STANDARDS.—The 

5 term ‘commonly accepted standards’ means— 

6 ‘‘(A) the technical standards followed by 

7 the communications industry for network, de8 vice, and Internet Protocol connectivity, includ9 ing standards developed by the Third Genera10 tion Partnership Project (3GPP), the Institute 

11 of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 

12 (IEEE), the Alliance for Telecommunications 

13 Industry Solutions (ATIS), the Internet Engi14 neering Taskforce (IETF), and the Inter15 national Telecommunications Union (ITU); and 

16 ‘‘(B) standards that are accredited by a 

17 recognized authority such as the American Na18 tional Standards Institute (ANSI). 

19 ‘‘(4) DESIGNATED 9–1–1 CHARGES.—The term 

20 ‘designated 9–1–1 charges’ means any taxes, fees, or 

21 other charges imposed by a State or other taxing ju22 risdiction that are designated or presented as dedi23 cated to deliver or improve 9–1–1 services, E9–1–1 

24 services, or Next Generation 9–1–1. 


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1 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en2 tity’— 

3 ‘‘(A) means a State, a local government, or 

4 a tribal organization (as defined in section 4(l) 

5 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 

6 Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304(l))); 

7 ‘‘(B) includes public authorities, boards, 

8 commissions, and similar bodies created by one 

9 or more eligible entities described in subpara10 graph (A) to coordinate or provide Next Gen11 eration 9–1–1; and 

12 ‘‘(C) does not include any entity that has 

13 failed to submit the certifications required 

14 under subsection (b)(5). 

15 ‘‘(6) EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CENTER.— 

16 The term ‘emergency communications center’ means 

17 a facility that is designated to receive a 9–1–1 re18 quest for emergency assistance and perform one or 

19 more of the following functions: 

20 ‘‘(A) Process and analyze 9–1–1 requests 

21 for emergency assistance and other gathered in22 formation. 

23 ‘‘(B) Dispatch appropriate emergency re24 sponse providers. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Transfer or exchange 9–1–1 requests 

2 for emergency assistance and other gathered in3 formation with other emergency communica4 tions centers and emergency response providers. 

5 ‘‘(D) Analyze any communications received 

6 from emergency response providers. 

7 ‘‘(E) Support incident command functions. 

8 ‘‘(7) EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROVIDER.—The 

9 term ‘emergency response provider’ has the meaning 

10 given that term in section 2 of the Homeland Secu11 rity Act of 2002 (47 U.S.C. 101). 

12 ‘‘(8) INTEROPERABLE.—The term ‘interoper13 able’ or ‘interoperability’ means the capability of 

14 emergency communications centers to receive 9–1–1 

15 requests for emergency assistance and related data 

16 such as location information and callback numbers 

17 from the public, then process and share the 9–1–1 

18 requests for emergency assistance and related data 

19 with other emergency communications centers and 

20 emergency response providers, regardless of jurisdic21 tion, equipment, device, software, service provider, or 

22 other relevant factors, and without the need for pro23 prietary interfaces. 


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1 ‘‘(9) NATIONWIDE.—The term ‘nationwide’ 

2 means with respect to all States and all federally 

3 recognized Indian Tribes. 

4 ‘‘(10) NATIONWIDE PUBLIC SAFETY

5 BROADBAND NETWORK.—The term ‘nationwide pub6 lic safety broadband network’ has the meaning given 

7 the term in section 6001 of the Middle Class Tax 

8 Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 

9 1401). 

10 ‘‘(11) NEXT GENERATION 9–1–1.—The term 

11 ‘Next Generation 9–1–1’ means an interoperable, se12 cure, Internet Protocol-based system that— 

13 ‘‘(A) employs commonly accepted stand14 ards; 

15 ‘‘(B) enables the appropriate emergency 

16 communications centers to receive, process, and 

17 analyze all types of 9–1–1 requests for emer18 gency assistance; 

19 ‘‘(C) acquires and integrates additional in20 formation useful to handling 9–1–1 requests for 

21 emergency assistance; and 

22 ‘‘(D) supports sharing information related 

23 to 9–1–1 requests for emergency assistance 

24 among emergency communications centers and 

25 emergency response providers. 


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1 ‘‘(12) OFFICE.—The term ‘Office’ means the 

2 9–1–1 Implementation Coordination Office estab3 lished under section 158 of this title. 

4 ‘‘(13) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any 

5 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 

6 Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the United 

7 States Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Is8 lands, and any other territory or possession of the 

9 United States. 

10 ‘‘(14) SUSTAINABLE FUNDING MECHANISM.— 

11 The term ‘sustainable funding mechanism’ means a 

12 funding mechanism that provides adequate revenues 

13 to cover ongoing expenses, including operations, 

14 maintenance, and upgrades.’’. 

15 SEC. 6. SAVINGS PROVISION. 

16 Nothing in this Act or any amendment made by this 

17 Act shall affect any application pending or grant awarded 

18 under section 158 of the National Telecommunications 

19 and Information Administration Organization Act (47 

20 U.S.C. 942) prior to the date of the enactment of this 

21 Act. 

Æ 


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