State Diversion of 911 Fees Emerges as Big Concern in House NG-911 Hearing

Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., kept pressing Souder on how to tackle the problem. If Congress puts together grants aimed at NG-911, a criterium could be that recipients must comply with a condition demanding any fee diversion must stop, Souder responded. The FCC monitors fee diversion closely, Souder told Eshoo.

Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., also cited fee diversion and addressing NG-911 through what could be a $1 trillion infrastructure package pushed by the administration this session. Full committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., are recommending their draft NG-911 bill be wrapped into the infrastructure effort (see 1702280062). West Safety Services Vice President Mary Boyd also testified to that effect on behalf of the Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies (see 1703280069). A national infrastructure bill “gives us a unique opportunity to do this in the right way,” Pallone said.

“Every member of this committee should agree to work together to tackle this issue aggressively,” said House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., calling fee diversion “a troubling pattern.” Blackburn also referred to Rep. Susan Brooks, R-Ind., the former chair of the Homeland Security Emergency Communications Subcommittee, as “the leader of our NG-911 efforts.” Blackburn has delegated certain policy topics such as encryption and broadband deployment to certain subcommittee members.

Although nearly all states collect 911 fees, “some states have taken monies collected for 911 and used it for other purposes,” House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., said in his opening statement. “This cannot continue. Aside from the fact that this erodes the public trust, it ultimately impairs the transition to NG911 for the nation as a whole.”

“If that money is being diverted for whatever the reason, that is not good,” Souder said. People expect that money to go to 911, he said.

“There’s a lot to like in the discussion draft circulated in the Senate,” National Emergency Number Association Director-Governmental Affairs Trey Forgety told lawmakers of the Nelson/Klobuchar effort. But there are other things “we’d like to see as well,” he said, noting the merits of state 911 boards. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., asked about state regulations based on legacy technology, and Forgety said “we may need some kind of backstop” to break through such barriers. Boyd recommended legislation “enabling grant distribution” on NG-911, funding areas where the tech is both deployed and not deployed. It should establish planning and deployment time frames, she said.

Lawmakers of both parties expressed dissatisfaction with NG-911 progress and wanted that transition and FirstNet’s setup to be moving along. Subcommittee ranking member Mike Doyle, D-Pa., said “the funding mechanisms are not sufficient to meet current needs” or handle upgrades. He said “national solutions” are needed to ensure uniformity. An FCC report saying 12 states have NG-911 operational in the entirety of those states is “a solid start” but “well short of where I think we need to be,” Blackburn said. Eshoo, who helps head the NG-911 Caucus, called the stalling and disparate systems “unsettling” due to how many years it has been. “I don’t think we have made the headway that we should,” Eshoo said, suggesting a hearing with NTIA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and FirstNet “because they’re the implementers of this. … I think it needs a revving up, I really do.” Congress should “push hard” on ensuring location technology is a part of these upgrades, she said.

“In-building location is a real problem,” said Texas A&M University Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center Director Walt Magnussen, suggesting difficulties. Many solutions are especially expensive and hard to implement, Magnussen said.

No dollar figure could be placed on what would be needed as part of the NG-911 transition. Witnesses blamed bad data. Doyle said the lack of a number was “disappointing.” Blackburn initially asked about hosted solutions and ways to lower costs for 911 call centers. “Consolidation has been a controversial term in the 911 community for a long time,” Magnussen said. Witnesses agreed a system could have local call center workers and remote hosting. “We have evidence already that economies of scale can benefit the 911 community,” said Forgety, who lauded the FirstNet model of governance and saw merits for both local and state stakeholders in play.

The hearing also focused on cybersecurity. The phone network’s vulnerability is a part of why a transition to NG-911 must happen soon, Forgety said. “Our public safety agencies don’t know they’re even in an attack today,” said Boyd. “They can actually infiltrate the [public safety answering points] themselves.” In an IP world, there will be better intelligence and a better chance of thwarting attacks, said Boyd, acknowledging vulnerabilities. Doyle asked about IoT implications, a concept that “for a long time has generated a lot of angst in the public safety world,” Forgety told him. The technology is advancing “where sensors don’t work on a one-off basis,” reassuring some anxieties, he said. Magnussen emphasized the “private cloud” and how some of the NG-911 activities happen over a private internet connection, aiding in security.

“We are all aware that these IP-based networks will be vulnerable to cyberattack,” Blackburn said in her opening statement. “The FCC has said that additional work must be done to protect these networks, including encrypting data to ensure the ‘integrity’ of traffic. What more can be done? What is the best approach?”