I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4167 
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require multi-line telephone 
systems to have a default configuration that permits users to directly 
initiate a call to 9–1–1 without dialing any additional digit, code, prefix, 
or post-fix, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 3, 2015 
Mr. GOHMERT (for himself, Mr. FARENTHOLD, Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee, 
Mr. THOMPSON of California, and Mr. CULBERSON) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce 
A BILL 
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require multi- 
line telephone systems to have a default configuration 
that permits users to directly initiate a call to 9–1– 
1 without dialing any additional digit, code, prefix, or 
post-fix, 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 ‘‘Kari’s Law Act of 
2015’’. 
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SEC. 2. DEFAULT CONFIGURATION OF MULTI-LINE TELE-
PHONE SYSTEMS FOR DIRECT DIALING OF 9– 
1–1. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Communications 
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 721. DEFAULT CONFIGURATION OF MULTI-LINE 
TELEPHONE SYSTEMS FOR DIRECT DIALING 
OF 9–1–1. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A person engaged in the busi-
ness of manufacturing, importing, selling, leasing, or in-
stalling multi-line telephone systems may not manufacture 
or import for use in the United States, sell or lease or 
offer to sell or lease in the United States, or install in 
the United States a multi-line telephone system, unless the 
default configuration of such system is such that a user 
may directly initiate a call to 9–1–1 from any station 
equipped with dialing facilities, without dialing any addi-
tional digit, code, prefix, or post-fix, including any trunk- 
access code such as the digit ‘9’, regardless of whether 
the user is required to dial such a digit, code, prefix, or 
post-fix for other calls. 
‘‘(b) ON-SITE NOTIFICATION.—A person engaged in 
the business of installing multi-line telephone systems, in 
installing such a system, shall configure the system to pro-
vide a notification to a central location at the facility 
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where the system is installed when a person at the facility 
initiates a call to 9–1–1 using the system, if the system 
is able to be configured to provide the notification without 
an improvement to the hardware of the system. 
‘‘(c) ENFORCEMENT.—This section shall be enforced 
under title V, except that section 501 applies only to the 
extent that such section provides for the punishment of 
a fine. 
‘‘(d) MULTI-LINE TELEPHONE SYSTEM DEFINED.— 
The term ‘multi-line telephone system’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 6502 of the Middle Class Tax 
Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1471).’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall apply with respect to a multi-line tele-
phone system that is manufactured, imported, offered for 
first sale or lease, first sold or leased, or installed after 
the date that is 2 years after the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
Æ 
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