IB
Union Calendar No. 15
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 438
[Report No. 106–25]
To promote and enhance public safety through use of 911 as the universal
emergency assistance number, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 2, 1999
Mr. SHIMKUS (for himself and Mr. TAUZIN) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Commerce
FEBRUARY 23, 1999
Additional sponsors: Mr. SAWYER, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. DEAL of Georgia, Mr.
BLUNT, and Mrs. WILSON
FEBRUARY 23, 1999
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 2, 1999]
A BILL
To promote and enhance public safety through use of 911
as the universal emergency assistance number, and for
other purposes.
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 ‘‘Wireless Communica-
tions and Public Safety Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) the establishment and maintenance of an
end-to-end emergency communications infrastructure
among members of the public, local public safety, fire
service, and law enforcement officials, emergency dis-
patch providers, and hospital emergency and trauma
care facilities will reduce response times for the deliv-
ery of emergency care, assist in delivering appro-
priate care, and thereby prevent fatalities, substan-
tially reduce the severity and extent of injuries, re-
duce time lost from work, and save thousands of lives
and billions of dollars in health care costs;
(2) the rapid, efficient deployment of emergency
telecommunications service requires statewide coordi-
nation of the efforts of local public safety, fire service,
and law enforcement officials, and emergency dis-
patch providers, and the designation of 911 as the
number to call in emergencies throughout the Nation;
(3) improved public safety remains an impor-
tant public health objective of Federal, State, and
local governments and substantially facilitates inter-
state and foreign commerce;
(4) the benefits of wireless communications in
emergencies will be enhanced by the development of
state-wide plans to coordinate the efforts of local pub-
lic safety, fire service, and law enforcement officials,
emergency dispatch providers, emergency medical
service providers on end-to-end emergency commu-
nications infrastructures; and
(5) the construction and operation of seamless,
ubiquitous, and reliable wireless telecommunications
systems promote public safety and provide immediate
and critical communications links among members of
the public, emergency medical service providers and
emergency dispatch providers, public safety, fire serv-
ice and law enforcement officials, and hospital emer-
gency and trauma care facilities.
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to encourage
and facilitate the prompt deployment throughout the United
States of a seamless, ubiquitous, and reliable end-to-end in-
frastructure for communications, including wireless com-
munications, to meet the Nation’s public safety and other
communications needs.
SEC. 3. UNIVERSAL EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIVERSAL SERVICE EMER-
GENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER.—Section 251(e) of the Com-
munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 251(e)) is amended by
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(3) UNIVERSAL EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUM-
BER.—The Commission and any agency or entity to
which the Commission has delegated authority under
this subsection shall designate 911 as the universal
emergency telephone number within the United States
for reporting an emergency to appropriate authorities
and requesting assistance. Such designation shall
apply to both wireline and wireless telephone service.
In making such designation, the Commission (and
any such agency or entity) shall provide appropriate
transition periods for areas in which 911 is not in
use as an emergency telephone number on the date of
enactment of the Wireless Communications and Pub-
lic Safety Act of 1999.’’.
(b) TECHNICAL SUPPORT.—The Federal Communica-
tions Commission shall provide technical support to States
to support and encourage the development of statewide
plans for the deployment and functioning of a comprehen-
sive end-to-end emergency communications infrastructure,
including enhanced wireless 911 service, on a coordinated
statewide basis. In supporting and encouraging such de-
ployment and functioning, the Commission shall consult
and cooperate with State and local officials responsible for
emergency services and public safety, the telecommuni-
cations industry (specifically including the cellular and
other wireless telecommunications service providers), the
motor vehicle manufacturing industry, emergency medical
service providers and emergency dispatch providers, special
911 districts, public safety, fire service and law enforcement
officials, consumer groups, and hospital emergency and
trauma care personnel (including emergency physicians,
trauma surgeons, and nurses).
SEC. 4. PARITY OF PROTECTION FOR PROVISION OR USE OF
WIRELESS SERVICE.
(a) PROVIDER PARITY.—A wireless carrier, and its of-
ficers, directors, employees, vendors, and agents, shall have
immunity or other protection from liability of a scope and
extent that is not less than the scope and extent of immunity
or other protection from liability in a particular jurisdic-
tion that a local exchange company, and its officers, direc-
tors, employees, vendors, or agents, have under Federal and
State law applicable in such jurisdiction with respect to
wireline services, including in connection with an act or
omission involving—
(1) development, design, installation, operation,
maintenance, performance, or provision of wireless
service;
(2) transmission errors, failures, network out-
ages, or other technical difficulties that may arise in
the course of transmitting or handling emergency
calls or providing emergency services (including wire-
less 911 service); and
(3) release to a PSAP, emergency medical service
provider or emergency dispatch provider, public safe-
ty, fire service or law enforcement official, or hospital
emergency or trauma care facility of subscriber infor-
mation related to emergency calls or emergency serv-
ices involving use of wireless services.
(b) USER PARITY.—A person using wireless 911 serv-
ice shall have immunity or other protection from liability
in a particular jurisdiction of a scope and extent that is
not less than the scope and extent of immunity or other
protection from liability under Federal or State law appli-
cable in such jurisdiction in similar circumstances of a per-
son using 911 service that is not wireless.
(c) EXCEPTION FOR STATE LEGISLATIVE ACTION.—
The immunity or other protection from liability required
by subsection (a)(1) shall not apply in any State that, prior
to the expiration of 2 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, enacts a statute that specifically refers to this sec-
tion and establishes a different standard of immunity or
other protection from liability with respect to an act or
omission involving development, design, installation, oper-
ation, maintenance, performance, or provision of wireless
service (other than wireless 911 service). The enactment of
such a State statute shall not affect the immunity or other
protection from liability required by such subsection (a)(1)
with respect to acts or omissions occurring before the date
of enactment of such State statute.
SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE CUSTOMER INFORMATION.
Section 222 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 222) is amended—
(1) in subsection (d)—
(A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of para-
graph (2);
(B) by striking the period at the end of
paragraph (3) and inserting a semicolon;
(C) by adding at the end the following new
paragraphs:
‘‘(4) to provide call location information con-
cerning the user of a commercial mobile service (as
such term is defined in section 332(d))—
‘‘(A) to a public safety answering point,
emergency medical service provider or emergency
dispatch provider, public safety, fire service, or
law enforcement official, or hospital emergency
or trauma care facility, in order to respond to
the user’s call for emergency services;
‘‘(B) to inform the user’s legal guardian or
members of the user’s immediate family of the
user’s location in an emergency situation that
involves the risk of death or serious physical
harm; or
‘‘(C) to providers of information or data-
base management services solely for purposes of
assisting in the delivery of emergency services in
response to an emergency; or
‘‘(5) to transmit automatic crash notification in-
formation as part of the operation of an automatic
crash notification system.’’;
(2) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection
(h) and by inserting before such subsection the follow-
ing new subsections:
‘‘(f) AUTHORITY TO USE WIRELESS LOCATION INFOR-
MATION.—For purposes of subsection (c)(1), without the ex-
press prior authorization of the customer, a customer shall
not be considered to have approved the use or disclosure of
or access to—
‘‘(1) call location information concerning the
user of a commercial mobile service (as such term is
defined in section 332(d)), other than in accordance
with subsection (d)(4); or
‘‘(2) automatic crash notification information to
any person other than for use in the operation of an
automatic crash notification system.
‘‘(g) SUBSCRIBER LISTED AND UNLISTED INFORMA-
TION FOR EMERGENCY SERVICES.—Notwithstanding sub-
sections (b), (c), and (d), a telecommunications carrier that
provides telephone exchange service shall provide informa-
tion described in subsection (h)(3)(A) (including informa-
tion pertaining to subscribers whose information is unlisted
or unpublished) that is in its possession or control (includ-
ing information pertaining to subscribers of other carriers)
on a timely and unbundled basis, under nondiscriminatory
and reasonable rates, terms, and conditions to providers of
emergency services, and providers of emergency support
services, solely for purposes of delivering or assisting in the
delivery of emergency services.’’;
(3) in subsection (h)(1)(A) (as redesignated by
paragraph (2)), by inserting ‘‘location,’’ after ‘‘des-
tination,’’; and
(4) in such subsection (h), by adding at the end
the following new paragraphs:
‘‘(4) PUBLIC
SAFETY
ANSWERING
POINT.—The
term ‘public safety answering point’ means a facility
that has been designated to receive emergency calls
and route them to emergency service personnel.
‘‘(5) EMERGENCY SERVICES.—The term ‘emer-
gency services’ means 911 emergency services and
emergency notification services.
‘‘(6) EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SERVICES.—The
term ‘emergency notification services’ means services
that notify the public of an emergency.
‘‘(7) EMERGENCY SUPPORT SERVICES.—The term
‘emergency support services’ means information or
data base management services used in support of
emergency services.’’.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘State’’ means any of the several
States, the District of Columbia, or any territory or
possession of the United States.
(2) The term ‘‘public safety answering point’’ or
‘‘PSAP’’ means a facility that has been designated to
receive emergency calls and route them to emergency
service personnel.
(3) The term ‘‘wireless carrier’’ means a pro-
vider of commercial mobile services or any other radio
communications service that the Federal Communica-
tions Commission requires to provide wireless emer-
gency service.
(4) The term ‘‘enhanced wireless 911 service’’
means any enhanced 911 service so designated by the
Federal Communications Commission in the proceed-
ing entitled ‘‘Revision of the Commission’s Rules to
Ensure Compatibility with Enhanced 911 Emergency
Calling Systems’’ (CC Docket No. 94–102; RM–8143),
or any successor proceeding.
(5) The term ‘‘wireless 911 service’’ means any
911 service provided by a wireless carrier, including
enhanced wireless 911 service.
Union Calendar No. 15
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 438
[Report No. 106–25]
A BILL
To promote and enhance public safety through use
of 911 as the universal emergency assistance
number, and for other purposes.
FEBRUARY 23, 1999
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commit-
tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
ordered to be printed