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Calendar No. 255
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 800
[Report No. 106-138]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote and enhance public safety through use of 9-1-1 as the
universal emergency assistance number, further deployment of wireless
9-1-1 service, support of States in upgrading 9-1-1 capabilities and
related functions, encouragement of construction and operation of
seamless, ubiquitous, and reliable networks for personal wireless
services, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
August 4, 1999
Reported with amendments
Calendar No. 255
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 800
[Report No. 106-138]
To promote and enhance public safety through use of 9-1-1 as the
universal emergency assistance number, further deployment of wireless
9-1-1 service, support of States in upgrading 9-1-1 capabilities and
related functions, encouragement of construction and operation of
seamless, ubiquitous, and reliable networks for personal wireless
services, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 14, 1999
Mr. Burns (for himself, Mr. McCain, Mr. Dorgan, and Mr. Wyden)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
August 4, 1999
Reported by Mr. McCain, with amendments
[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote and enhance public safety through use of 9-1-1 as
the universal emergency assistance number, further deployment of
wireless 9-1-1 service, support of States in upgrading 9-1-1
capabilities and related functions, encouragement of construction and
operation of seamless, ubiquitous, and reliable networks for personal
wireless services, 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 ``Wireless Communications 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
communications infrastructure among members of the public,
emergency safety, fire service and law enforcement officials,
emergency dispatch providers, transportation officials, 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,
substantially 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 coordination of
the efforts of local public safety, fire service and law
enforcement officials, emergency dispatch providers, and
transportation officials; the establishment of sources of
adequate funding for carrier and public safety, fire service
and law enforcement agency technology development and
deployment; the coordination and integration of emergency
communications with traffic control and management systems and
the designation of 9-1-1 as the number to call in emergencies
throughout the Nation;
(3) emerging technologies can be a critical component of
the end-to-end communications infrastructure connecting the
public with emergency medical service providers and emergency
dispatch providers, public safety, fire service and law
enforcement officials, and hospital emergency and trauma care
facilities, to reduce emergency response times and provide
appropriate care;
(4) improved public safety remains an important public
health objective of Federal, State, and local governments and
substantially facilitates interstate and foreign commerce;
(5) emergency care systems, particularly in rural areas of
the Nation, will improve with the enabling of prompt
notification of emergency services when motor vehicle crashes
occur; and
(6) 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
service and law enforcement officials; transportation
officials, and hospital emergency 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 infrastructure for
communications, including wireless communications, to meet the Nation's
public safety and other communications needs.
SEC. 3. UNIVERSAL EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER.
(a) Establishment of Universal Emergency Telephone Number.--Section
251(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 251(e)) is amended
by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(3) Universal emergency telephone number.--The Commission
and any agency or entity to which the Commission has delegated
authority under this subsection shall designate 9-1-1 as the
universal emergency telephone number within the United States
for reporting an emergency to appropriate authorities and requesting
assistance. The designation shall apply to both wireline and wireless
telephone service. In making the designation, the Commission (and any
such agency or entity) shall provide appropriate transition periods for
areas in which 9-1-1 is not in use as an emergency telephone number on
the date of enactment of the Wireless Communications and Public Safety
Act of 1999.''.
(b) Support.--The Federal Communications Commission shall encourage
and support efforts by States to deploy comprehensive end-to-end
emergency communications infrastructure and programs, based on
coordinated statewide plans, including seamless, ubiquitous, reliable
wireless telecommunications networks and enhanced wireless 9-1-1
service. In encouraging and supporting that deployment, 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 providers), the motor vehicle manufacturing
industry, emergency medical service providers and emergency dispatch
providers, transportation officials, special 9-1-1 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). The Commission shall
encourage each State to develop and implement coordinated statewide
deployment plans, through an entity designated by the governor, and to
include representatives of the foregoing organizations and entities in
development and implementation of such plans. Nothing in this
subsection shall be construed to authorize or require the Commission to
impose obligations or costs on any person.
SEC. 4. PARITY OF PROTECTION FOR PROVISION OR USE OF WIRELESS
<DELETED>9-1-1 </DELETED>SERVICE.
(a) Provider Parity.--A wireless carrier, and its officers,
directors, employees, vendors, and agents, shall have immunity or other
protection from liability in a State of a scope and extent that is not
less than the scope and extent of immunity or other protection from
liability that any local exchange company, and its officers, directors,
employees, vendors, or agents, have under Federal and State law
(whether through statute, judicial decision, tariffs filed by such
local exchange company, or otherwise) applicable in such State,
including in connection with an act or omission <DELETED>involving--
<DELETED> (1) development, design, installation, operation,
maintenance, performance, or provision of telecommunications
service (including 9-1-1 service);</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) transmission errors, failures, network
outages, or other technical difficulties that may arise in the
course of handling emergency calls or providing emergency
services (including 9-1-1 service); or</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) release to a PSAP, emergency medical service
provider or emergency dispatch provider, public safety, fire
service or law enforcement official, or hospital emergency or
trauma care facility of subscriber information related to
emergency calls or emergency services.</DELETED>
involving the release to a PSAP, emergency medical service provider or
emergency dispatch provider, public safety, fire service or law
enforcement official, or hospital emergency or trauma care facility of
subscriber information related to emergency calls or emergency
services.
(b) User Parity.--A person using wireless 9-1-1 service 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 under applicable law in similar circumstances of a
person using 9-1-1 service that is not wireless.
(c) PSAP Parity.--In matters related to wireless 9-1-1
communications, a PSAP, and its employees, vendors, agents, and
authorizing government entity (if any) 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
under applicable law accorded to such PSAP, employees, vendors, agents,
and authorizing government entity, respectively, in matters related to
9-1-1 communications that are not wireless.
(d) Basis for Enactment.--This section is enacted as an exercise of
the enforcement power of the Congress under section 5 of the Fourteenth
Amendment to the Constitution and the power of the Congress to regulate
commerce with foreign nations, among the several States, and with
Indian tribes.
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 paragraph (2);
(B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph
(3) and inserting a semicolon and ``and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) to provide call location information concerning 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 database
management services solely for purposes of assisting in
the delivery of emergency services in response to an
emergency.''.
(2) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (h) and
by inserting the following after subsection (e):
``(f) Authority To Use Wireless Location Information.--For purposes
of subsection (c)(1), without the express 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 Information for Emergency
Services.--Notwithstanding subsections (b), (c), and (d), a
telecommunications carrier that provides telephone exchange service
shall provide information described in subsection (i)(3)(A) (including
information 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 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) by inserting ``location,'' after ``destination,'' in
subsection (h)(1)(A) (as redesignated by paragraph (2)); and
(4) by adding at the end of subsection (h) (as
redesignated), the following:
``(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 `emergency services'
means 9-1-1 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) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Transportation.
(2) State.--The term ``State'' means any of the several
States, the District of Columbia, or any territory or
possession of the United States.
(3) Public safety answering point; PSAP.--The term ``public
safety answering point'' or ``PSAP'' means a facility that has
been designated to receive 9-1-1 calls and route them to
emergency service personnel.
(4) Wireless carrier.--The term ``wireless carrier'' means
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