Senators prepare to introduce legislation to promote transition to next-gen 911

Legislation designed to promote the transition from legacy 911 systems to next-generation 911 (NG911) platforms “as soon as practicable” is expected to be introduced by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) during the next few weeks, according to multiple Beltway sources.

Draft legislation released this week by the two senators would designate would establish a target date for “full implementation” of NG911 services, although that target date has not been determined.

Federal funding—the amount is not specified yet—and federal participation in the coordination of the NG911 initiative would be included, but “the governance and control of the nation’s 911 systems, including next-generation 911 services, should remain at the state, regional and local level,” the draft legislation states.

Klobuchar, who is co-chair of the Congressional NextGen 911 Caucus, emphasized the importance of public-safety answering points (PSAPs) migrating to NG911, so they can provide emergency help effectively to citizens whose communications modes are not limited to voice.

“I believe we have a duty to give our brave first responders the tools they need to do their jobs as safely and effectively as possible,” Sen. Klobuchar said in a statement provided to IWCE’s Urgent Communications. “While our current emergency communications system works well, and 911 saves lives every day, we know that there are important steps we need to make it even better.

“That’s why Senator Nelson and I are working on the Next Generation 911 Act of 2017, which creates a path forward for a rapid and effective transition to Next Generation 911 across the country. In addition to making the transition a national priority, our bill would ensure that 911 systems are able to accept voice, text, data, and video and pass that onto first responders in a seamless, interoperable fashion.”