E-911 Implementation Act of 2003 (Engrossed as Agreed
to or Passed by House)
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2898
AN ACT
To improve homeland
security, public safety, and citizen activated emergency response capabilities
through the use of enhanced 911 wireless services, and for other purposes.
HR 2898 EH
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2898
AN ACT
To improve homeland security,
public safety, and citizen activated emergency response capabilities through the
use of enhanced 911 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 `E-911 Implementation Act of 2003'.
SEC. 2. COORDINATION OF E-911 IMPLEMENTATION.
Part C of title I of the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
`SEC. 158. COORDINATION OF E-911 IMPLEMENTATION.
`(a) E-911 IMPLEMENTATION COORDINATION OFFICE-
`(1) ESTABLISHMENT- The Assistant Secretary
and the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
shall--
`(A) establish a joint program to
facilitate coordination and communication between Federal, State, and
local emergency communications systems, emergency personnel, public safety
organizations, telecommunications carriers, and telecommunications
equipment manufacturers and vendors involved in the implementation of
E-911 services; and
`(B) create an E-911 Implementation
Coordination Office to implement the provisions of this section.
`(2) MANAGEMENT PLAN- The Assistant Secretary
and the Administrator shall jointly develop a management plan for the
program established under this section. Such plan shall include the
organizational structure and funding profiles for the 5-year duration of the
program. The Assistant Secretary and the Administrator shall, within 90 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, submit the management plan to the
Committees on Energy and Commerce and Appropriations of the House of
Representatives and the Committees on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
and Appropriations of the Senate.
`(3) PURPOSE OF OFFICE- The Office shall--
`(A) take actions, in concert with
coordinators designated in accordance with subsection (b)(3)(A)(ii), to
improve such coordination and communication;
`(B) develop, collect, and disseminate
information concerning practices, procedures, and technology used in the
implementation of E-911 services;
`(C) advise and assist eligible entities in
the preparation of implementation plans required under subsection
(b)(3)(A)(iii);
`(D) receive, review, and recommend the
approval or disapproval of applications for grants under subsection (b);
and
`(E) oversee the use of funds provided by
such grants in fulfilling such implementation plans.
`(4) REPORTS- The Assistant Secretary and the
Administrator shall provide a joint annual report to Congress by the first
day of October of each year on the activities of the Office to improve
coordination and communication with respect to the implementation of E-911
services.
`(b) PHASE II E-911 IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS-
`(1) MATCHING GRANTS- The Assistant Secretary
and the Administrator, after consultation with the Secretary of Homeland
Security and the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, and
acting through the Office, shall provide grants to eligible entities for the
implementation of phase II E-911 services through planning, infrastructure
improvements, telecommunications equipment purchases, and personnel
training.
`(2) MATCHING REQUIREMENT- The Federal share
of the cost of a project eligible for a grant under this section shall not
exceed 50 percent. The non-Federal share of the cost shall be provided from
non-Federal sources.
`(3) COORDINATION REQUIRED- In providing
grants under paragraph (1), the Assistant Secretary and the Administrator
shall require an eligible entity to certify in its application that--
`(A) in the case of an eligible entity that
is a State government, the entity--
`(i) has coordinated its application with
the public safety answering points (as such term is defined in section
222(h)(4) of the Communications Act of 1934) located within the
jurisdiction of such entity;
`(ii) has designated a single officer or
governmental body of the entity to serve as the coordinator of
implementation of E-911 services, except that such designation need not
vest such coordinator with direct legal authority to implement E-911
services or manage emergency communications operations;
`(iii) has established a plan for the
coordination and implementation of E-911 services; and
`(iv) has integrated telecommunications
services involved in the implementation and delivery of phase II E-911
services; or
`(B) in the case of an eligible entity that
is not a State, the entity has complied with clauses (i), (iii), and (iv)
of subparagraph (A), and the State in which it is located has complied
with clause (ii) of such subparagraph.
`(4) CRITERIA- The Assistant Secretary and
the Administrator shall jointly issue regulations within 180 days of the
enactment of the E-911 Implementation Act of 2003, after a public comment
period of not less than 60 days, prescribing the criteria for selection for
grants under this section, and shall update such regulations as necessary.
`(c) DIVERSION OF E-911 CHARGES-
`(1) DESIGNATED E-911 CHARGES- For the
purposes of this subsection, the term `designated E-911 charges' means any
taxes, fees, or other charges imposed by a State or other taxing
jurisdiction that--
`(A) appear on telecommunications services
customers' bills; and
`(B) are designated or presented as
dedicated to deliver or improve E-911 services.
`(2) CERTIFICATION- Each applicant for a
matching grant under this section shall certify to the Assistant Secretary
and the Administrator at the time of application, and each applicant that
receives such a grant shall certify to the Assistant Secretary and the
Administrator annually thereafter during any period of time during which the
funds from the grant are available to the applicant, that no portion of any
designated E-911 charges imposed by a State or other taxing jurisdiction
within which the applicant is located are being obligated or expended for
any purpose other than the purposes for which such charges are designated or
presented.
`(3) CONDITION OF GRANT- Each applicant for a
grant under this section shall agree, as a condition of receipt of the
grant, that if the State or other taxing jurisdiction within which the
applicant is located, during any period of time during which the funds from
the grant are available to the applicant, obligates or expends designated
E-911 charges for any purpose other than the purposes for which such charges
are designated or presented, all of the funds from such grant shall be
returned to the Office.
`(4) PENALTY FOR PROVIDING FALSE INFORMATION-
Any applicant that provides a certification under paragraph (1) knowing that
the information provided in the certification was false shall--
`(A) not be eligible to receive the grant
under subsection (b);
`(B) return any grant awarded under
subsection (b) during the time that the certification was not valid; and
`(C) not be eligible to receive any
subsequent grants under subsection (b).
`(d) AUTHORIZATION; TERMINATION-
`(1) AUTHORIZATION- There are authorized to
be appropriated to the Department of Transportation, for the purposes of
grants under the joint program operated under this section with the
Department of Commerce, not more than $100,000,000 for each of the fiscal
years 2004 through 2008.
`(2) TERMINATION- The provisions of this
section shall cease to be effective on October 1, 2008.
`(e) DEFINITIONS- As used in this section:
`(1) OFFICE- The term `Office' means the
E-911 Implementation Coordination Office.
`(2) ADMINISTRATOR- The term `Administrator'
means the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration.
`(A) IN GENERAL- The term `eligible entity'
means a State or local government or a tribal organization (as defined in
section 4(l) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
(25 U.S.C. 450b(l))).
`(B) INSTRUMENTALITIES- Such term includes
public authorities, boards, commissions, and similar bodies created by one
or more eligible entities described in subparagraph (A) to provide E-911
services.
`(C) EXCEPTION- Such term does not include
any entity that has failed to submit the most recently required
certification under subsection (c) within 30 days after the date on which
such certification is due.
`(4) E-911 SERVICES- The term `E-911
services' means both phase I and phase II enhanced 911 services, as
described in section 20.18 of the Commission's regulations (47 CFR 20.18),
as in effect on the date of enactment of this section, or as subsequently
revised by the Federal Communications Commission.
`(5) PHASE II E-911 SERVICES- The term `phase
II E-911 services' means only phase II enhanced 911 services, as described
in such section 20.18 (47 CFR 20.18), as in effect on such date, or as
subsequently revised by the Federal Communications Commission.'.
SEC. 3. REPORT ON THE DEPLOYMENT OF E-911 PHASE II SERVICES BY TIER III
SERVICE PROVIDERS.
Within 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal
Communications Commission shall submit a report to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate detailing--
(1) the number of tier III commercial mobile
service providers that are offering phase II E-911 services;
(2) the number of requests for waivers from
compliance with the Commission's phase II E-911 service requirements
received by the Commission from such tier III providers;
(3) the number of waivers granted or denied
by the Commission to such tier III providers;
(4) how long each waiver request remained
pending before it was granted or denied;
(5) how many waiver requests are pending at
the time of the filing of the report;
(6) when the pending requests will be granted
or denied;
(7) actions the Commission has taken to
reduce the amount of time a waiver request remains pending; and
(8) the technologies that are the most
effective in the deployment of phase II E-911 services by such tier III
providers.
Passed the House of Representatives November 4,
2003.
Attest:
Clerk.