§ 942. Coordination of E911 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 December 23, 2004, 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) of this section, 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) of this section;

(D) receive, review, and recommend the approval or disapproval of applications for grants under subsection (b) of this section; 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 and operation of Phase II E–911 services and for migration to an IP-enabled emergency network.

(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 this title) 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 after December 23, 2004, 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. The criteria shall include performance requirements and a timeline for completion of any project to be financed by a grant under this section. Within 180 days after August 3, 2007, the Assistant Secretary and the Administrator shall jointly issue regulations updating the criteria to allow a portion of the funds to be used to give priority to grants that are requested by public safety answering points that were not capable of receiving 911 calls as of August 3, 2007, for the incremental cost of upgrading from Phase I to Phase II compliance. Such grants shall be subject to all other requirements of this section.

(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 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 during the period beginning 180 days immediately preceding the date of the application and continuing through the period of time during which the funds from the grant are available to the applicant.

(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) of this section;

(B) return any grant awarded under subsection (b) of this section during the time that the certification was not valid; and

(d) Migration plan required

(1) National plan required

No more than 270 days after July 23, 2008, the Office shall develop and report to Congress on a national plan for migrating to a national IP-enabled emergency network capable of receiving and responding to all citizen-activated emergency communications and improving information sharing among all emergency response entities.

(2) Contents of plan

The plan required by paragraph (1) shall—

(A) outline the potential benefits of such a migration;

(B) identify barriers that must be overcome and funding mechanisms to address those barriers;

(C) provide specific mechanisms for ensuring the IP-enabled emergency network is available in every community and is coordinated on a local, regional, and statewide basis;

(D) identify location technology for nomadic devices and for office buildings and multi-dwelling units;

(E) include a proposed timetable, an outline of costs, and potential savings;

(F) provide specific legislative language, if necessary, for achieving the plan;

(G) provide recommendations on any legislative changes, including updating definitions, that are necessary to facilitate a national IP-enabled emergency network;

(H) assess, collect, and analyze the experiences of the public safety answering points and related public safety authorities who are conducting trial deployments of IP-enabled emergency networks as of July 23, 2008;

(I) identify solutions for providing 9–1–1 and enhanced 9–1–1 access to those with disabilities and needed steps to implement such solutions, including a recommended timeline; and

(J) analyze efforts to provide automatic location for enhanced 9–1–1 services and provide recommendations on regulatory or legislative changes that are necessary to achieve automatic location for enhanced 9–1–1 services.

(3) Consultation

In developing the plan required by paragraph (1), the Office shall consult with representatives of the public safety community, groups representing those with disabilities, technology and telecommunications providers, IP-enabled voice service providers, Telecommunications Relay Service providers, and other emergency communications providers and others it deems appropriate.

(e) 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 $250,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2005 through 2009, not more than 5 percent of which for any fiscal year may be obligated or expended for administrative costs.

(2) Termination

The provisions of this section shall cease to be effective on October 1, 2009.

(f) 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.

(3) Eligible entity

(A) In general

The term “eligible entity” means a State or local government or a tribal organization (as defined in section 450b (l) of title 25).

(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.

Such term does not include any entity that has failed to submit the most recently required certification under subsection (c) of this section 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 C.F.R. 20.18), as in effect on December 23, 2004, 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 C.F.R. 20.18), as in effect on December 23, 2004, or as subsequently revised by the Federal Communications Commission.

(6) State

The term “State” means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and any territory or possession of the United States.

U.S. Code

§ 942. Coordination of E911 implementation