106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 438
AN ACT
To promote and enhance public safety through use
of 911 as the universal emergency assistance
number, and for other purposes.
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 438
AN ACT
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
dispatch providers, and hospital emergency and
trauma care facilities will reduce response times for
the delivery of emergency care, assist in delivering
appropriate care, and thereby prevent fatalities, sub-
stantially reduce the severity and extent of injuries,
reduce 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 serv-
ice, and law enforcement officials, and emergency
dispatch 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
coordinated statewide basis. In supporting and encourag-
ing such deployment and functioning, the Commission
shall consult and cooperate with State and local officials
responsible for emergency services and public safety, the
telecommunications industry (specifically including the
cellular and other wireless telecommunications service pro-
viders), the motor vehicle manufacturing industry, emer-
gency medical service providers and emergency dispatch
providers, special 911 districts, public safety, fire service
and law enforcement officials, consumer groups, and hos-
pital 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
officers, 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
jurisdiction that a local exchange company, and its offi-
cers, directors, 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
wireless 911 service); and
(3) release to a PSAP, emergency medical serv-
ice provider or emergency dispatch provider, public
safety, fire service or law enforcement official, or
hospital emergency or trauma care facility of sub-
scriber information related to emergency calls or
emergency services involving use of wireless services.
(b) USER PARITY.—A person using wireless 911
service shall have immunity or other protection from liabil-
ity 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
person 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 the
enactment of this Act, enacts a statute that specifically
refers to this section and establishes a different standard
of immunity or other protection from liability with respect
to an act or omission involving development, design, instal-
lation, operation, maintenance, performance, or provision
of wireless service (other than wireless 911 service). The
enactment of such a State statute shall not affect the im-
munity or other protection from liability required by such
subsection (a)(1) with respect to acts or omissions occur-
ring before the date of the enactment of such State stat-
ute.
SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE CUSTOMER INFORMA-
TION.
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 emer-
gency dispatch provider, public safety, fire serv-
ice, or law enforcement official, or hospital
emergency or trauma care facility, in order to
respond to the user’s call for emergency serv-
ices;
‘‘(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
information as part of the operation of an automatic
crash notification system.’’;
(2) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub-
section (h) and by inserting before such subsection
the following new subsections:
‘‘(f) AUTHORITY TO USE WIRELESS LOCATION IN-
FORMATION.—For purposes of subsection (c)(1), without
the express prior authorization of the customer, a cus-
tomer 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 in-
formation described in subsection (h)(3)(A) (including in-
formation pertaining to subscribers whose information is
unlisted or unpublished) that is in its possession or control
(including information pertaining to subscribers of other
carriers) on a timely and unbundled basis, under non-
discriminatory and reasonable rates, terms, and conditions
to providers of emergency services, and providers of emer-
gency 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