House clears bills on FCC, dialing 911

The House cleared a trio of communications bills May 23, including one meant to make it easier to dial 911 in some situations and another that supporters say makes the Federal Communications Commission more transparent. Kari’s Law mandates that multi-line phone systems allow people to dial 911 directly. It also requires phone systems to notify people at the location where it is installed, like a hotel, that someone has dialed 911. The bill passed on a voice vote.
The House also passed a bill requiring the Federal Communications Commission to publish the content of rules it approves within 24 hours of the last dissent on the item being submitted.

The third bill, the Securing Access to Networks in Disasters Act, requires the commission to start a proceeding with the aim of making sure that people have access to mobile service during the disasters. It passed 389 to 2. One bill, however, failed to pass under suspension of the rules — a bruising outcome for House leadership. That legalisation would have required telecommunications operators to provider law enforcement with cellphone location data in emergency situations. But advocates said that it was too broadly written and had the potential to be abused by police officers.