108TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2898
AN ACT
To improve homeland security, public safety, and citizen
activated emergency response capabilities through the use
of enhanced 911 wireless services, and for other pur-
poses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘E–911 Implementation
Act of 2003’’.
SEC. 2. 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 OF-
FICE.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Assistant Sec-
retary and the Administrator of the National High-
way Traffic Safety Administration shall—
‘‘(A) establish a joint program to facilitate
coordination and communication between Fed-
eral, State, and local emergency communica-
tions systems, emergency personnel, public safe-
ty organizations, telecommunications carriers,
and telecommunications equipment manufactur-
ers and vendors involved in the implementation
of E–911 services; and
‘‘(B) create an E-911 Implementation Co-
ordination Office to implement the provisions of
this section.
‘‘(2) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The Assistant Sec-
retary and the Administrator shall jointly develop a
management plan for the program established under
this section. Such plan shall include the organiza-
tional 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 man-
agement plan to the Committees on Energy and
Commerce and Appropriations of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committees on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation and Appropriations of
the Senate.
‘‘(3) PURPOSE OF OFFICE.—The Office shall—
‘‘(A) take actions, in concert with coordi-
nators designated in accordance with subsection
(b)(3)(A)(ii), to improve such coordination and
communication;
‘‘(B) develop, collect, and disseminate in-
formation concerning practices, procedures, and
technology used in the implementation of E–
911 services;
‘‘(C) advise and assist eligible entities in
the preparation of implementation plans re-
quired 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 Administrator 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 coordina-
tion and communication with respect to the imple-
mentation of E–911 services.
‘‘(b) PHASE II E–911 IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.—
‘‘(1) MATCHING GRANTS.—The Assistant Sec-
retary and the Administrator, after consultation with
the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Chair-
man of the Federal Communications Commission,
and acting through the Office, shall provide grants
to eligible entities for the implementation of phase II
E–911 services through planning, infrastructure im-
provements, telecommunications equipment pur-
chases, and personnel training.
‘‘(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) lo-
cated 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 serv-
ices or manage emergency communications
operations;
‘‘(iii) has established a plan for the
coordination and implementation of E–911
services; and
‘‘(iv) has integrated telecommuni-
cations services involved in the implemen-
tation and delivery of phase II E–911 serv-
ices; 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 com-
plied with clause (ii) of such subparagraph.
‘‘(4) CRITERIA.—The Assistant Secretary and
the Administrator shall jointly issue regulations
within 180 days of the enactment of the E–911 Im-
plementation Act of 2003, after a public comment
period of not less than 60 days, prescribing the cri-
teria for selection for grants under this section, and
shall update such regulations as necessary.
‘‘(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—
‘‘(A) appear on telecommunications serv-
ices customers’ bills; and