House bill would support local, state efforts to modernize 9-1-1 call centers

Additional federal funding, technical support, and training would be made available to ease state and local governments’ transition to next-generation technology in 9-1-1 call centers under a bill introduced in the House of Representatives on Monday.

The Next Generation (NG) 9-1-1 Act of 2017 aims to give call centers the ability to receive emergency text messages, pictures, videos and information from other devices, and to forward that information onto first responders across multiple jurisdictions to improve emergency responses.

U.S. Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Norma Torres (D-CA) introduced the bill to ensure that 9-1-1 call centers can be modernized while retaining local control. The measure would expand the NG 9-1-1 grant program, establish an advisory board and help protect NG 9-1-1 systems from cyberattacks.

“Our 9-1-1 call centers are the first point of contact for Americans in an emergency situation, but they rely on technology that has been in place since the time of the first 9-1-1 call 50 years ago,” Eshoo, the co-chair of the Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus, said. “We need to make certain the public safety community has all the tools it needs to serve and protect our communities because in life-threatening situations, seconds matter. This legislation will help bring our 9-1-1 call centers into the 21st Century.”

Pallone, the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the rash of natural disasters that have struck this year has made clear the need to make 9-1-1- systems more secure and resilient.

“Americans deserve access to better technology when they call 9-1-1 — that means ensuring that 9-1-1 knows your location when you place a call at the very least,” Pallone said. “I’m proud that we’re introducing legislation that will help save lives and modernize our 9-1-1 centers.”

Torres, who spent 17 years as a 9-1-1 dispatcher, said she has witnessed the stress and the demands of the job first-hand.

“Dispatchers must process powerful pleas for help and deliver the information in just seconds to our first responders,” Torres said. “I’ll never forget my experience in the job – where I was asked to interpret callers’ information only from the limited information they could share over the phone. The transition to a new system won’t be easy, but NextGen 9-1-1 will provide our dispatchers with greater tools to save lives — tools I could have used to expedite help to those I was trying to help. The NG 9-1-1 Act of 2017 will bridge the gap between what is needed and what is possible.”

U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) introduced a Senate version of the bill earlier this year.