Walden Bows First Responder Act to Ban 911 Fee Diversion, Repeal T-Band Mandate
House Commerce Committee ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., filed his Fee Integrity and Responsibilities and To Regain Essential Spectrum for Public-safety Operators Needed to Deploy Equipment Reliably (First Responder) Act Tuesday in a bid to address 911 fee diversion and…
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the mandate for public safety to move off the 470-512 MHz T band by 2021. The measure would repeal language in the 2012 spectrum law that mandates the T band move and would give the FCC the power to decide on “acceptable” uses for 911 fees. It requires the FCC to create an "interagency strike force to study how the Federal Government can most expeditiously end" state governments' 911 fee diversion activities. “Public safety officials have been advocating to repeal a federal mandate to auction off their T-Band spectrum,” Walden said in a news release. “Those same people should be knocking down the doors of their state governments to make sure that 9-1-1 fees are used to support their failing infrastructure.” The T-band language appears to mirror the earlier Don’t Break Up the T-Band Act (HR-451/S-2748), while some of the 911 fee diversion text mirrors the 911 Fee Integrity Act (HR-2165). The House Communications Subcommittee has been eyeing a hearing on public safety and national security communications legislation that included an examination of HR-451 and HR-2165 (see 2002070044).