Emergency Reporting Act
H.R. 5200, the Emergency Reporting Act, would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to produce public-facing reports after the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) is activated during disasters, and to tighten the FCC’s oversight of network outage reporting. Specifically, the FCC would hold annual public hearings (at least 7 days each year) about events in the prior year in which DIRS was activated, and include a broad mix of stakeholders such as state/local/tribal governments, residents, consumer advocates, communications providers, higher education, other federal agencies, electric utilities, first responders, and 9-1-1 staff. Within 120 days of each hearing, the FCC would publish a report summarizing outage data by service type (broadband, interconnected VoIP, commercial mobile service, and commercial mobile data), the approximate scale of affected users and infrastructure, any outages affecting emergency communications centers’ ability to process caller location or route emergency calls, and recommendations to improve network resiliency. The act also directs the FCC to study whether allowing “visual information” in outage notifications to emergency communications centers adds public-safety value, whether some 9-1-1 outages go unreported under current thresholds, and what rule changes might address these issues. The bill emphasizes publication on the FCC website and allows the withholding of confidential information. It clarifies that FCC authority is limited to what is authorized by the bill, and it provides defined terms for key concepts (e.g., types of communication services, emergency centers, etc.). In short, the bill aims to enhance post-disaster reporting, public accountability, and network resiliency by expanding hearings, reporting requirements, and a focused review of how outage notifications are collected and shared, including potential use of visual information.
Key Points
- 1Mandatory public hearings after DIRS-activated events: At least one public hearing each year for the preceding year’s events, lasting no less than 7 days, with broad stakeholder participation (states, local governments, tribes, residents/advocates, service providers, higher ed, federal agencies, electric utilities, 9-1-1 officials, etc.).
- 2Reporting requirements after hearings: Within 120 days after each hearing’s conclusion, the FCC must publish a report that (to the extent possible) covers outage data by service type, approximate numbers of users and affected infrastructure, outages impacting emergency communications centers’ caller location/911 routing, and recommendations to improve resiliency.
- 3Use of DIRS and hearings to develop reports: The FCC should base findings on information collected through DIRS and the related public hearings, ensuring the reports reflect both system data and stakeholder input.
- 4Investigation of outage-notification improvements (visual information): The FCC must, within one year, publish a report evaluating the value of including visual information in outage notifications to emergency call centers, how many 9-1-1 outages may go unreported under current thresholds, the burden on providers, and proposed rule changes to address these issues.
- 5Definitions and safeguards: The bill defines key terms (e.g., broadband, commercial mobile service, interconnected VoIP, emergency communications centers) and states that nothing in the act gives the FCC authority beyond what is expressly authorized, preserving a narrow statutory scope. Confidential information can be redacted in published reports.