WASHINGTON-Federal E911 legislation has yet to be introduced in the Senate and is on hold in the House.
A bill introduced by Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.), chairman of the House telecommunications subcommittee, was supposed to be marked up last week but was postponed. Part of the reason for that postponement is because Tauzin has agreed to negotiate with Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), the ranking Democrat on the telecom panel, on funding for a federal cellular cancer study and privacy concerns, according to Tauzin spokesman Ken Johnson.
At a hearing earlier this month, Markey suggested 5 percent of the funds derived from antenna siting should go for a study on cellular cancer. These negotiations appear to represent a change of heart on Tauzin’s part, who at the hearing on this legislation seemed to dismiss Markey’s concerns about any link between cellular phone use and cancer out of hand.
Markey also has privacy concerns with the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1998. Tauzin previously has said he wanted to work with Markey on privacy issues.
H.R. 3844 would make 911 calling uniform throughout the country, fund emergency communications systems upgrades with fees wireless carriers pay to site towers on federal land, and extend liability protection to wireless carriers.
In the meantime, three more states have passed E911 laws. South Carolina enacted legislation that provides a cost-recovery mechanism not to exceed $1 for wireless carriers deploying E911 systems. The law also grants immunity to wireless carriers, which prevents wireless carriers from being held liable if 911 calls are mishandled, except in the case of gross neglect.
Florida and Tennessee also passed immunity bills.
The state surcharge efforts are important to the various public safety answering points (PSAPs) because some doubt whether the public-safety community would receive anything near the $1.5 billion promised to them by industry during the next five years.
The federal legislation calls for states to receive grants to be given to PSAPs to pay for the upgrades necessary to facilitate wireless E911. To be eligible for the state grants, states must designate 911 as the emergency access number. Today wireless subscribers use a variety of numbers to access emergency personnel.
