H. R. 5419
One Hundred Eighth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the twentieth day of January, two thousand and four
An Act
To amend the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organi-
zation Act to facilitate the reallocation of spectrum from governmental to commer-
cial users; to improve, enhance, and promote the Nation’s homeland security,
public safety, and citizen activated emergency response capabilities through the
use of enhanced 911 services, to further upgrade Public Safety Answering Point
capabilities and related functions in receiving E–911 calls, and to support in
the construction and operation of a ubiquitous and reliable citizen activated
system; and to provide that funds received as universal service contributions
under section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934 and the universal service
support programs established pursuant thereto are not subject to certain provisions
of title 31, United States Code, commonly known as the Antideficiency Act,
for a period of time.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
TITLE I—E–911
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Ensuring Needed Help Arrives
Near Callers Employing 911 Act of 2004’’ or the ‘‘ENHANCE 911
Act of 2004’’.
SEC. 102. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) for the sake of our Nation’s homeland security and
public safety, a universal emergency telephone number (911)
that is enhanced with the most modern and state-of-the-art
telecommunications capabilities possible should be available
to all citizens in all regions of the Nation;
(2) enhanced emergency communications require Federal,
State, and local government resources and coordination;
(3) any funds that are collected from fees imposed on con-
sumer bills for the purposes of funding 911 services or enhanced
911 should go only for the purposes for which the funds are
collected; and
(4) enhanced 911 is a high national priority and it requires
Federal leadership, working in cooperation with State and local
governments and with the numerous organizations dedicated
to delivering emergency communications services.
SEC. 103. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this title are—
(1) to coordinate 911 services and E–911 services, at the
Federal, State, and local levels; and
H. R. 5419—2
(2) to ensure that funds collected on telecommunications
bills for enhancing emergency 911 services are used only for
the purposes for which the funds are being collected.
SEC. 104. COORDINATION OF E–911 IMPLEMENTATION.
Part C of title I of the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 901 et
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 158. COORDINATION OF E–911 IMPLEMENTATION.
‘‘(a) E–911 IMPLEMENTATION COORDINATION OFFICE.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Assistant Secretary and the
Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis-
tration shall—
‘‘(A) establish a joint program to facilitate coordination
and communication between Federal, State, and local emer-
gency communications systems, emergency personnel,
public safety organizations, telecommunications carriers,
and telecommunications equipment manufacturers and
vendors involved in the implementation of E–911 services;
and
‘‘(B) create an E-911 Implementation Coordination
Office to implement the provisions of this section.
‘‘(2) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The Assistant Secretary and the
Administrator shall jointly develop a management plan for
the program established under this section. Such plan shall
include the organizational structure and funding profiles for
the 5-year duration of the program. The Assistant Secretary
and the Administrator shall, within 90 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, submit the management plan to
the Committees on Energy and Commerce and Appropriations
of the House of Representatives and the Committees on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation and Appropriations of the
Senate.
‘‘(3) PURPOSE OF OFFICE.—The Office shall—
‘‘(A) take actions, in concert with coordinators des-
ignated in accordance with subsection (b)(3)(A)(ii), to
improve such coordination and communication;
‘‘(B) develop, collect, and disseminate information con-
cerning practices, procedures, and technology used in the
implementation of E–911 services;
‘‘(C) advise and assist eligible entities in the prepara-
tion of implementation plans required under subsection
(b)(3)(A)(iii);
‘‘(D) receive, review, and recommend the approval or
disapproval of applications for grants under subsection (b);
and
‘‘(E) oversee the use of funds provided by such grants
in fulfilling such implementation plans.
‘‘(4) REPORTS.—The Assistant Secretary and the Adminis-
trator shall provide a joint annual report to Congress by the
first day of October of each year on the activities of the Office
to improve coordination and communication with respect to
the implementation of E–911 services.
‘‘(b) PHASE II E–911 IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.—
‘‘(1) MATCHING GRANTS.—The Assistant Secretary and the
Administrator, after consultation with the Secretary of Home-
land Security and the Chairman of the Federal Communications
H. R. 5419—3
Commission, and acting through the Office, shall provide grants
to eligible entities for the implementation and operation of
Phase II E–911 services.
‘‘(2) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—The Federal share of the
cost of a project eligible for a grant under this section shall
not exceed 50 percent. The non-Federal share of the cost shall
be provided from non-Federal sources.
‘‘(3) COORDINATION REQUIRED.—In providing grants under
paragraph (1), the Assistant Secretary and the Administrator
shall require an eligible entity to certify in its application
that—
‘‘(A) in the case of an eligible entity that is a State
government, the entity—
‘‘(i) has coordinated its application with the public
safety answering points (as such term is defined in
section 222(h)(4) of the Communications Act of 1934)
located within the jurisdiction of such entity;
‘‘(ii) has designated a single officer or governmental
body of the entity to serve as the coordinator of
implementation of E–911 services, except that such
designation need not vest such coordinator with direct
legal authority to implement E–911 services or manage
emergency communications operations;
‘‘(iii) has established a plan for the coordination
and implementation of E–911 services; and
‘‘(iv) has integrated telecommunications services
involved in the implementation and delivery of phase
II E–911 services; or
‘‘(B) in the case of an eligible entity that is not a
State, the entity has complied with clauses (i), (iii), and
(iv) of subparagraph (A), and the State in which it is
located has complied with clause (ii) of such subparagraph.
‘‘(4) CRITERIA.—The Assistant Secretary and the Adminis-
trator shall jointly issue regulations within 180 days after
the date of enactment of the ENHANCE 911 Act of 2004,
after a public comment period of not less than 60 days, pre-
scribing the criteria for selection for grants under this section,
and shall update such regulations as necessary. The criteria
shall include performance requirements and a timeline for
completion of any project to be financed by a grant under
this section.
‘‘(c) DIVERSION OF E–911 CHARGES.—
‘‘(1) DESIGNATED E–911 CHARGES.—For the purposes of this
subsection, the term ‘designated E–911 charges’ means any
taxes, fees, or other charges imposed by a State or other taxing
jurisdiction that are designated or presented as dedicated to
deliver or improve E–911 services.
‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION.—Each applicant for a matching grant
under this section shall certify to the Assistant Secretary and
the Administrator at the time of application, and each applicant
that receives such a grant shall certify to the Assistant Sec-
retary and the Administrator annually thereafter during any
period of time during which the funds from the grant are
available to the applicant, that no portion of any designated
E–911 charges imposed by a State or other taxing jurisdiction
within which the applicant is located are being obligated or
expended for any purpose other than the purposes for which