SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reliable Emergency 
Alert Distribution Improvement Act of 2020’’ or the 
‘‘READI Act’’. 
SEC. 2. RELIABLE EMERGENCY ALERT DISTRIBUTION IM-
PROVEMENT. 
(a) WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERTS SYSTEM OFFER-
INGS.— 
(1) AMENDMENT.—Section 602(b)(2)(E) of the 
Warning, Alert, and Response Network Act (47 
U.S.C. 1201(b)(2)(E)) is amended— 
(A) by striking the second and third sen-
tences; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘other than an alert issued 
by the President.’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘other than an alert issued by— 
‘‘(i) the President; or 
‘‘(ii) the Administrator of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency.’’. 
(2) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis-
sion, in consultation with the Administrator, shall 
adopt regulations to implement the amendment 
made by paragraph (1)(B). 
(b) STATE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM PLANS AND 
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEES.—
(1) STATE EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS COM-
MITTEE.—Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall adopt 
regulations that— 
(A) encourage the chief executive of each 
State— 
(i) to establish an SECC if the State 
does not have an SECC; or 
(ii) if the State has an SECC, to re-
view the composition and governance of the 
SECC; 
(B) provide that— 
(i) each SECC, not less frequently 
than annually, shall— 
(I) meet to review and update its 
State EAS Plan; 
(II) certify to the Commission 
that the SECC has met as required 
under subclause (I); and 
(III) submit to the Commission 
an updated State EAS Plan; and 
(ii) not later than 60 days after the 
date on which the Commission receives an 
updated State EAS Plan under clause 
(i)(III), the Commission shall—
(I) approve or disapprove the up-
dated State EAS Plan; and 
(II) notify the chief executive of 
the State of the Commission’s ap-
proval or disapproval of such plan, 
and reason therefor; and 
(C) establish a State EAS Plan content 
checklist for SECCs to use when reviewing and 
updating a State EAS Plan for submission to 
the Commission under subparagraph (B)(i). 
(2) CONSULTATION.—The Commission shall 
consult with the Administrator regarding the adop-
tion of regulations under paragraph (1)(C). 
(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 
(A) the term ‘‘SECC’’ means a State 
Emergency Communications Committee; 
(B) the term ‘‘State’’ means any State of 
the United States, the District of Columbia, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United 
States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, 
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is-
lands, and any possession of the United States; 
and 
(C) the term ‘‘State EAS Plan’’ means a 
State Emergency Alert System Plan.
(c) FALSE ALERT REPORTING.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis-
sion, in consultation with the Administrator, shall com-
plete a rulemaking proceeding to establish a system to re-
ceive from the Administrator or State, Tribal, or local gov-
ernments reports of false alerts under the Emergency 
Alert System or the Wireless Emergency Alerts System 
for the purpose of recording such false alerts and exam-
ining the causes of such false alerts. 
(d) REPEATING EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM MES-
SAGES FOR NATIONAL SECURITY.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis-
sion, in consultation with the Administrator, shall 
complete a rulemaking proceeding to modify the 
Emergency Alert System to provide for repeating 
Emergency Alert System messages while an alert re-
mains pending that is issued by— 
(A) the President; 
(B) the Administrator; or 
(C) any other entity determined appro-
priate under the circumstances by the Commis-
sion, in consultation with the Administrator. 
(2) SCOPE
OF
RULEMAKING.—Paragraph (1) 
shall—
(A) apply to warnings of national security 
events, meaning emergencies of national signifi-
cance, such as a missile threat, terror attack, or 
other act of war or threat to public safety; and 
(B) not apply to more typical warnings, 
such as a weather alert, AMBER Alert, or dis-
aster alert. 
(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 
subsection shall be construed to impair, limit, or 
otherwise change— 
(A) the authority of the President granted 
by law to alert and warn the public; or 
(B) the role of the President as com-
mander-in-chief with respect to the identifica-
tion, dissemination, notification, or alerting of 
information of missile threats against the 
United States, or threats to public safety. 
(e) INTERNET AND ONLINE STREAMING SERVICES 
EMERGENCY ALERT EXAMINATION.— 
(1) STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, and after providing 
public notice and opportunity for comment, the 
Commission shall complete an inquiry to examine 
the feasibility of updating the Emergency Alert Sys-
tem to enable or improve alerts to consumers pro-
vided through the internet, including through 
streaming services. 
(2) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after 
completing the inquiry under paragraph (1), the 
Commission shall submit a report on the findings 
and conclusions of the inquiry to— 
(A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate; and 
(B) the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce of the House of Representatives. 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
(1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad-
ministrator of the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency; 
(2) the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal 
Communications Commission; 
(3) the term ‘‘Emergency Alert System’’ means 
the national public warning system, the rules for 
which are set forth in part 11 of title 47, Code of 
Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation); 
and 
(4) the term ‘‘Wireless Emergency Alerts Sys-
tem’’ means the wireless national public warning 
system established under the Warning, Alert, and 
Response Network Act (47 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.), the
rules for which are set forth in part 10 of title 47, 
Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regu-
lation). 
Passed the House of Representatives November 17, 
2020. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6096 
AN ACT 
To improve oversight by the Federal Communica-
tions Commission of the wireless and broadcast 
emergency alert systems.