Title: PHONE Act of 2020
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Preserving Home and Office Numbers in Emergencies Act of 2019
This bill restricts the reassignment of telephone numbers during a declared major disaster. Specifically, a number may not be reassigned except at the request of the subscriber during a period in which a major disaster has been declared. The bill also allows a subscriber to cancel service without a cancellation fee and to subscribe again with the same number with no fee if the subscriber is located in a disaster area and the disaster resulted in certain types of damage to the subscriber's residence.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1289 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1289

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for a moratorium on 
    number reassignment after a disaster declaration, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2019

  Mr. Thompson of California (for himself, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr. 
Dunn, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Garamendi, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Ms. Kuster of New 
 Hampshire, Ms. Norton, Mr. Rooney of Florida, and Mr. Weber of Texas) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for a moratorium on 
    number reassignment after a disaster declaration, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Preserving Home and Office Numbers 
in Emergencies Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. MORATORIUM ON NUMBER REASSIGNMENT AFTER DISASTER DECLARATION.

    (a) In General.--Section 251(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 
(47 U.S.C. 251(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Moratorium on number reassignment after disaster 
        declaration.--
                    ``(A) In general.--During a covered period with 
                respect to an area, a number assigned in such area may 
                not be reassigned, and the assignment of such number 
                may not be rescinded or otherwise modified, except at 
                the request of the subscriber to which such number is 
                assigned.
                    ``(B) Extension at request of subscriber.--At the 
                request of the subscriber, the prohibition in 
                subparagraph (A) shall be extended with respect to the 
                number assigned to such subscriber for 2 years beyond 
                the end of the covered period.
                    ``(C) Subscriber right to cancel and resubscribe.--
                            ``(i) In general.--In the case of a number 
                        that is assigned to a subscriber for the 
                        provision of wireline voice service at a 
                        residence that is located in an area that is in 
                        a covered period (or in the case of such a 
                        number with respect to which the subscriber 
                        requests an extension under subparagraph (B)), 
                        if the major disaster involved results in 
                        covered damage to such residence--
                                    ``(I) the provider of such service 
                                may not charge the subscriber any early 
                                termination or other fee in connection 
                                with the cancellation of such service; 
                                and
                                    ``(II) if the subscriber cancels 
                                such service, such provider (or any 
                                other provider of wireline voice 
                                service that serves the location 
                                involved)--
                                            ``(aa) shall permit the 
                                        subscriber to subscribe or 
                                        resubscribe, as the case may 
                                        be, to wireline voice service 
                                        with such number at such 
                                        residence or at a different 
                                        residence (if such number is 
                                        available in the location of 
                                        such different residence); and
                                            ``(bb) may not charge the 
                                        subscriber any connection fee 
                                        or other fee relating to the 
                                        initiation of such service.
                            ``(ii) Timing.--Clause (i) shall cease to 
                        apply with respect to the number at the end of 
                        the covered period or at the end of the 
                        extended period under subparagraph (B), as the 
                        case may be.
                            ``(iii) Limitation.--Except as provided in 
                        this subparagraph, the prohibition in 
                        subparagraph (A) and any extension of such 
                        prohibition under subparagraph (B) shall cease 
                        to apply with respect to a number when the 
                        subscriber cancels the service with respect to 
                        which the number is assigned.
                    ``(D) Identification on commission website.--The 
                Commission shall publicly identify on the website of 
                the Commission each area that is in a covered period.
                    ``(E) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
                            ``(i) Covered damage.--The term `covered 
                        damage' means, with respect to a residence, 
                        damage--
                                    ``(I) that renders a residence 
                                inaccessible or uninhabitable, or that 
                                results in displacement from the 
                                residence; and
                                    ``(II) with respect to which the 
                                President determines that an individual 
                                or household is eligible for housing 
                                assistance or other needs assistance 
                                under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
                                Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
                                U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).
                            ``(ii) Covered period.--The term `covered 
                        period' means, with respect to an area, any 
                        period that--
                                    ``(I) begins on the date of a 
                                declaration by the President of a major 
                                disaster under section 401 of the 
                                Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
                                Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
                                5170) with respect to such area; and
                                    ``(II) ends on the date that is 1 
                                year after the date on which such 
                                declaration expires.
                            ``(iii) Wireline voice service.--The term 
                        `wireline voice service' has the meaning given 
                        the term `voice service' in section 227(e)(8), 
                        except that the term `wireline voice service' 
                        does not include commercial mobile service (as 
                        defined in section 332(d)).''.
    (b) Effective Date.--Paragraph (4) of section 251(e) of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 251(e)), as added by subsection 
(a), shall apply with respect to a major disaster declared by the 
President under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) after the date that is 
180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Transitional Rule.--Clause (iii) of subparagraph (E) of 
paragraph (4) of section 251(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 251(e)), as added by subsection (a), shall apply before the 
effective date of the amendment made to section 227(e)(8) of such Act 
(47 U.S.C. 227(e)(8)) by subparagraph (C) of section 503(a)(2) of 
division P of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Public Law 
115-141) as if such amendment were already in effect.
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