S. 428 (110th): IP-Enabled Voice Communications and Public Safety Act of 2007

Introduced:
Jan 30, 2007 (110th Congress, 2007–2009)
Sponsor:
Sen. Bill Nelson [D-FL]
Status:
Died (Passed Senate)

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. S. stands for Senate bill.

(About Ads | Go Ad-Free for $5)
Status

This bill was introduced in a previous session of Congress and was passed by the Senate on February 26, 2008 but was never passed by the House.

Progress
Introduced Jan 30, 2007
Referred to Committee Jan 30, 2007
Reported by Committee Apr 25, 2007
Passed Senate Feb 26, 2008
Cosponsors
3 cosponsors (2D, 1R) (show)
Committees

Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

A bill to amend the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999, and for other purposes.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated Feb 26, 2008.
15 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

GovTrack gets most information from THOMAS, which is updated generally one day after events occur. Activity since the last update may not be reflected here.

Citation

Click a format for a citation suggestion:

GovTrack’s Bill Summary

We don’t have a summary available yet.

Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

2/26/2008.
Section 2 -
Amends the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999 to impose on IP-enabled voice service providers engaged in interstate or foreign communication a requirement to provide 9-1-1 service, including enhanced 9-1-1 service, to its subscribers.
Requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to issue regulations granting IP-enabled voice service providers right of access to 9-1-1 components that are necessary to provide 9-1-1 service, on the same rates, terms, and conditions that are provided to commercial mobile service providers.
Requires the providers to establish a point of contact for public safety and government officials relative to 9-1-1 service and access.
Authorizes the FCC to delegate enforcement authority to state agencies or programs with emergency communications jurisdiction.
Authorizes the FCC to require any provider of a voice service that is a substitute for telephone exchange service to provide 9-1-1 service, including enhanced 9-1-1 service.
Section 3 -
Requires that, when IP-enabled voice service or alternative emergency communications service is involved, there be parity in liability (as compared to local exchange companies and others) for service carriers, users, and public safety answering points (facilities designated to receive 9-1-1 calls and route them to emergency personnel) (PSAPs). Defines "alternative emergency communications service" as the provision of emergency information to a PSAP via wire or radio communications, possibly including 9-1-1 and enhanced 9-1-1 services.
Section 4 -
Declares that nothing in this Act, the Communications Act of 1934, the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999, or any FCC regulation or order prevents states, their subdivisions, or Indian tribes from imposing a fee on or collecting a fee from IP-enabled voice services to support 9-1-1 or E-9-1-1 services.
Section 5 -
Requires the FCC to report annually to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce on the status in each state of the collection and distribution of 9-1-1 fees.
Section 6 -
Amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to require the E-9-1-1 Implementation Coordination Office to develop a national plan for migrating to a national IP-enabled emergency network.
Requires, after plan completion, grants for migration to such a network.
Authorizes the FCC to compile a list of PSAP contact information, as well as contact information for 9-1-1 component providers, to assist providers in complying with this Act and specified provisions of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act. Allows the FCC to make any part of that information available to the public to improve public safety.
Requires the FCC to work cooperatively with public safety organizations, industry participants, and the E-9-1-1 Implementation Coordination Office to develop best practices that promote consistency.
Section 7 -
Requires the FCC to enforce the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999 as if that Act was part of the Communications Act of 1934 and deems any violation to be a violation of the Communications Act of 1934.
Section 8 -
Sets deadlines for: (1) the FCC to remit all amounts promised for the completion of an update to the Report on Technical and Operational Issues Impacting the Provision of Wireless Enhanced 9-1-1 Services; and (2) the filing of related written findings.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

No summary available.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.

So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.

We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.

The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)