Public Safety Communications Act
The Public Safety Communications Act establishes a new Office of Public Safety Communications within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), a federal agency under the Department of Commerce. The bill creates a leadership position—the Associate Administrator for Public Safety Communications—to oversee federal efforts related to emergency communications, particularly Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG911) systems and the FirstNet network used by first responders. This office would consolidate various public safety communications responsibilities currently scattered across the federal government, including managing grant programs, analyzing policy issues, and overseeing technology development and deployment aimed at improving how emergency services communicate. The legislation is designed to create a unified federal focal point for public safety communications policy and operations. By establishing a dedicated office with a senior career official, the bill aims to improve coordination between federal agencies, state and local governments, and private entities on emergency communications matters.
Key Points
- 1New Office Creation: Establishes the Office of Public Safety Communications within NTIA with an Associate Administrator as its head, a career Senior Executive Service position reporting to the Assistant Secretary of Commerce.
- 2NG911 Grant Administration: The office will administer all federal grant programs related to Next Generation 9-1-1 systems, which represent the modernized emergency call infrastructure replacing traditional 911.
- 3FirstNet Oversight: The office gains responsibility for managing the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), the nationwide broadband network dedicated to public safety communications established in 2012.
- 4Policy Analysis and Coordination: The office will analyze public safety communications policy issues, provide advice to the Assistant Secretary, and evaluate the impact of communications matters pending before the Federal Communications Commission, Congress, and other executive branch entities.
- 5Technology Development and Deployment: The office oversees federal studies, prototyping, and deployment of advanced communications technologies designed to enhance public safety operations, including testing and validation of new systems.
- 6Annual Audits: The Associate Administrator must conduct annual audits of FirstNet's activities and may contract with outside firms to perform these audits.