President Donald Trump signed the Kari's Law Act (HR-582) Friday amid commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the first U.S. 911 call, the White House said. The bill, which the House gave final approval to earlier this month (see 1802080050 and 1802090050), mandates direct 911 dialing in U.S. hotels and other multiline telephone systems. “Today, 9-1-1 services are available to roughly 97 percent of the geographic United States,” Trump said in a statement. “Advances in technology have made this system more widespread, precise, and efficient -- enabling dispatchers to provide rapid response and timely assistance when the difference between life and death can be only a matter of seconds.” House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., lauded HR-582's enactment. “In the heat of a crisis, Kari’s Law ensures that dialing 9-1-1 means your call will go through, no matter what kind of phone you’re using,” Walden and Blackburn said in a statement. “With this bill now the law of the land, the tragedy that took Kari Hunt's life in 2013 has become a source for positive change, making emergency communications faster and more reliable for every American.” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai also praised the bill: “An access code should not stand between people who call 911 in need of help and emergency responders who can provide assistance.” Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus co-Chairwoman Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., touted the Next Generation 9-1-1 Act (HR-4672/S-2061), which aims to bolster state and local governments’ transition to the technology (see 1702280062 and 1712180066). She tweeted that 911 has become “the first point of contact for Americans in an emergency situation, but we’re still relying on technology that’s fifty years old ... In life-threatening situations seconds matter, and this enhanced information will be a game changer for first responders and the public safety community.”

A Wednesday Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Donald Trump's four FTC nominees is expected to touch on a wide range of issues, including the nominees' views on the agency's role in net neutrality, antitrust, cybersecurity and privacy issues, lawmakers and industry observers told us. Trump nominated Paul Weiss antitrust lawyer Joseph Simons, whom he plans to designate chairman; former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Assistant Director Rohit Chopra; Noah Phillips, aide to Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas; and former Delta Air Lines Senior Vice President-Legal, Regulatory and International Christine Wilson (see 1801250055 and 1801250066). The hearing is to begin at 9:30 a.m. in 216 Hart.

Federal efforts to halt state diversion of 911 fees may need to be strengthened, said FCC Commissioners Michael O'Rielly and Jessica Rosenworcel Friday, the same week the agency sought comment for an annual report on the issue (see 1802080062). They said state and local 911 fees on consumer phone bills are supposed to help upgrade emergency calling systems. "But too many states are stealing these funds and using them for other purposes, like filling budget gaps, purchasing vehicles, or worse," they wrote in an opinion piece in The Hill. They said the FCC found "five states and territories suctioned almost $130 million from their 9-1-1 systems and another seven didn’t even bother to respond to our inquiry to examine their diversion practices. None of this is acceptable." They said federal public safety programs shouldn't be available to states that engage in 911 fee diversion, an effort that has begun in a $115 million 911 grant program under the 2012 Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act. NTIA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which are running the program, are barred from making grants available to jurisdictions that divert 911 fees, they said. "This can serve as a template for any other funds provided at the federal level, including in new infrastructure legislation," they wrote. "We may need to be more creative in order to build the right mechanisms to prevent fee diversion. This could include, for instance, precluding representatives from states that repeatedly divert 9-1-1 fees from participating on advisory panels and task forces that inform the emergency calling work of the FCC, NTIA and NHTSA. We also may need to examine more aggressive actions at the FCC’s disposal." NARUC and the National Counsel of State Legislatures didn't comment.

Lawmakers and communications sector lobbyists are watching closely for any final clues about President Donald Trump's long-anticipated infrastructure legislative proposal, before expected Monday release. Several told us they would gauge the proposal's viability based on what funding the proposal allocates directly for broadband projects. Trump's glancing mention of infrastructure plans during his January State of the Union speech, and particularly omission of broadband, left many industry officials disappointed and surprised. Some predicted it was a bad omen for their push to strengthen a broadband title in coming legislation (see 1801310071).

NARUC supported 911 direct dialing in hotels and other enterprises, in replies posted Monday in FCC docket 17-239. NARUC passed a resolution at its November meeting (see 1711160006). Don’t pre-empt states, the association said. “It is counterproductive for the FCC to limit State’s ability to enforce compliance with any federal mandates or limit State rules that provide additional protections/requirements that enhance efficient and reliable operations of 9-1-1 systems.” West Safety supported an FCC rulemaking proposing uniform E-911 rules for enterprise communications systems (ECS) requiring direct 911 dialing, on-site notification, appropriate routing to public safety answering points and reasonably precise location information. NCTA replied the FCC should recognize that providing location information for ECS customers is more technically complex than with residential customers. ECS services should be accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing, said the National Association of the Deaf and others.

Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus co-Chairwoman Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif., filed the House version of the Next Generation 9-1-1 Act Monday to bolster state and local governments’ transition to the technology. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., filed the Senate version, S-2061, in early November (see 1702280062). The legislation would add new federal funding for NG-911 transitions and technical assistance while also maintaining state and local control of 911 systems. “In life-threatening situations, seconds matter,” Eshoo said. “This legislation will help bring our 9-1-1 call centers into the 21st Century.”

A group led by the Competitive Carriers Association met with FCC Public Safety Bureau staff on the wireless network resiliency cooperative framework, proposed by carriers and agreed to by the FCC last year (see 1612210008). “CCA noted its members’ continued collaboration with Public Safety Answering Points,” said a filing in docket 11-60. “CCA discussed its commitment to ‘provide relevant contact information for appropriate carrier and PSAP databases only within a reasonable period of time when an emergency situation is announced, subject to promises of confidentiality.’” CCA reminded that competitive carriers’ ability to comply with the voluntary commitments “is contingent upon their technical feasibility and prioritizing the needs of their consumers." Officials from APCO, CTIA, National Association of State 9-1-1 Administrators and Verizon also attended.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai appears poised to make another move on contraband cellphones in prisons. Chief of Staff Matthew Berry tweeted Monday the wireless industry isn’t doing enough (see 1711130055). Berry was retweeted by Zenji Nakazawa, Pai’s public safety adviser. The agency didn’t comment. Earlier this month, Pai wrote House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and 51 other House and Senate members, saying the FCC is “actively” communicating “with state and local law enforcement and corrections officials,” and others about “effective, efficient solutions” (see 1711070067). In March, commissioners approved an order that focused on quicker deployment of contraband interdiction systems as an alternative to jamming (see 1703230056). In September (see 1708290054), DOJ said the Communications Act “does not necessarily preclude" jamming. A former spectrum official said the FCC appears to be contemplating allowing corrections officials to jam cell signals, though industry is likely to challenge that as prohibited by the act. Since Commissioner Mike O’Rielly made clear he would oppose jamming, it’s unclear where Pai would get a third vote, even if he has the support of Commissioner Brendan Carr, the former official said. Pai "has been very vocal about wanting to address the epidemic of contraband cell phones in prisons and the crime that they facilitate,” said Jamie Barnett, former Public Safety Bureau chief, now at Venable. “Commissioner Carr also has been diligent in searching for innovative technical solutions." Berry's tweet "seems to be a signal of frustration and possibly indicates that the FCC may move forward with one or more solutions," Barnett said. "The chairman may be showing an independent streak on this issue.” The Office of Engineering and Technology recently OK'd special temporary authority for Securus to test technology aimed at curbing contraband cellphones. The STA started Tuesday and expires May 4. “Contraband cellphone use is among the highest public safety issues for the Georgia Department of Corrections (DoC) and Securus has been contracted to test and deploy Managed Access Systems (MAS),” said its application. “This STA is necessary to support expedited testing of new antennal types and locations as well as new software.” Carriers support “the goal of blocking the flow of contraband phones into prisons and denying service to those phones that do get smuggled into the hands of prisoners, while allowing 9-1-1 and legitimate calls to go through," a CTIA spokesman said. "We continue to work with all stakeholders, including government, the public safety community and technology providers, to identify and implement effective and lawful solutions."

The 911 grant program should target funds to proofs of concept in urban, suburban and rural areas, while requiring interoperability, APCO commented this week on revised implementation rules proposed by NTIA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (see 1709200043). Also in docket NTIA-2017-0002, some state and local agencies urged the agencies not to exclude certain areas from grants. The 2012 Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act made $115 million available from the Public Safety Trust Fund for the 911 grant program, which funds improvements to 911, E-911 and next-generation 911 services and applications. NTIA and NHTSA plan to award NG-911 grants in FY 2018, which started Oct. 1 (see 1701200026).

Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., filed their Next Generation 9-1-1 Act (S-2061) Thursday. The bill, first floated in late February (see 1702280062), aims to accelerate deployment of such systems by expanding the existing 911 grant program and the 911 Implementation Coordination Office (ICO) guidance to federal, state and local entities on deploying the new systems. The bill would make it the sense of Congress that the nation should complete the transition to NG-911 "as soon as practicable" but "not later than 10 years" after enactment. The legislation would direct ICO to issue a request for information on possible changes to federal law to encourage next-gen deployments and to recommend changes to state and local laws to encourage them. Possible changes to federal law could include requiring a “national public safety answering points certification or credentialing process” related to NG-911, the legislation said. S-2061 would create the Advisory Board for NG-911 Interoperability within ICO to review the existing definition of the services. “Upgrading the nation’s 9-1-1 system is literally a life and death matter that must become more of a national priority,” Nelson said: “In this digital world, Americans must have more than one way to access" 911.