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Legislative bills

Bipartisan Legislation Passes Senate to Improve 9-1-1 Emergency Response System

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

United States senators from New Mexico, Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan, announced the passage of their bipartisan Enhancing First Response Act, which aims to improve Americans' ability to reach help when dialing 9-1-1, particularly during natural disasters. The legislation also seeks to reclassify 9-1-1 dispatchers as protective service workers, acknowledging the lifesaving nature of their work. This bill now moves to the House of Representatives for a vote.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Enhancing First Response Act would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to issue a report on the extent to which people were unable to reach 9-1-1 during major natural disasters and make recommendations to improve the resiliency of 9-1-1 systems.
  • The bill would also require the FCC to study unreported 9-1-1 outages and develop recommendations to improve outage reporting and communication between mobile carriers and 9-1-1 centers.
  • 9-1-1 dispatchers would be reclassified from clerical workers to protective service workers in the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) to better reflect their life-saving work.
  • The FCC would be required to report on the compliance of multi-line telephone system manufacturers and vendors with Kari's Law, which requires the creation of systems that allow callers to reach 9-1-1 without dialing a prefix or postfix.
  • The bill is cosponsored by 12 senators, including Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D) and Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.).
  • The legislation aims to strengthen the nation's 9-1-1 emergency response system and recognize the essential work of dispatchers.

Statistics:

  • The Enhancing First Response Act is a bipartisan bill that aims to improve the resiliency and reliability of 9-1-1 services.
  • The bill has 13 cosponsors, including senators from both parties.
  • The legislation would require the FCC to report on unreported 9-1-1 outages and develop recommendations to improve outage reporting.
  • The bill aims to reclassify 9-1-1 dispatchers as protective service workers, acknowledging the lifesaving nature of their work.

Sources:

  • U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) announced the passage of the Enhancing First Response Act.
  • The legislation is sponsored by U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), John Thune (R-S.D), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Angus King (I-Maine), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.).

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