Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1997 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R20831 AJZ-F
2	2	By: Paddie H.B. No. 1997
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1997:
4	4	By: Phillips C.S.H.B. No. 1997
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to requiring direct access to 9-1-1 service from certain
10	10	telephone systems and equivalent systems that use Internet Protocol
11	11	enabled services.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as Kari's Law.
14	14	SECTION 2. Subtitle B, Title 9, Health and Safety Code, is
15	15	amended by adding Chapter 771A to read as follows:
16	16	CHAPTER 771A. ACCESS TO EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES IN
17	17	GENERAL
18	18	Sec. 771A.001. DIRECT ACCESS TO 9-1-1 SERVICE REQUIRED. (a)
19	19	In this chapter:
20	20	(1) "9-1-1 service" means a communications service
21	21	that connects users to a public safety answering point through a
22	22	9-1-1 system.
23	23	(2) "Business service user" means a user of business
24	24	service that provides telecommunications service, including 9-1-1
25	25	service, to end users through a publicly or privately owned or
26	26	controlled telephone switch.
27	27	(3) "Commission" means the Commission on State
28	28	Emergency Communications.
29	29	(4) "Emergency communication district" means:
30	30	(A) a public agency or group of public agencies
31	31	acting jointly that provided 9-1-1 service before September 1,
32	32	1987, or that had voted or contracted before that date to provide
33	33	that service; or
34	34	(B) a district created under Subchapter B, C, D,
35	35	F, or G, Chapter 772.
36	36	(5) "Internet Protocol enabled service" has the
37	37	meaning assigned by Section 51.002, Utilities Code.
38	38	(6) "Telephone system" includes a multiline telephone
39	39	system.
40	40	(b) This section applies to the extent the section is not
41	41	inconsistent with or preempted by federal law.
42	42	(c) Notwithstanding any other law, a business service user
43	43	that owns or controls a telephone system or an equivalent system
44	44	that uses Internet Protocol enabled service and provides outbound
45	45	dialing capacity or access shall configure the telephone system or
46	46	equivalent system to allow a person initiating a 9-1-1 call on the
47	47	system to directly access 9-1-1 service by dialing the digits 9-1-1
48	48	without an additional code, digit, prefix, postfix, or trunk-access
49	49	code.
50	50	(d) A business service user that provides residential or
51	51	business facilities, owns or controls a telephone system or an
52	52	equivalent system that uses Internet Protocol enabled service, and
53	53	provides outbound dialing capacity or access shall configure the
54	54	telephone system or equivalent system to provide a notification to
55	55	a central location on the site of the residential or business
56	56	facility when a person within the residential or business facility
57	57	dials 9-1-1 if the system is able to be configured to provide the
58	58	notification without an improvement to the system's hardware. This
59	59	subsection does not require a business service user to have a person
60	60	available at the central location to receive a notification.
61	61	(e) The commission or the applicable emergency
62	62	communication district shall grant a one-year waiver of the
63	63	requirements under this section to a business service user if:
64	64	(1) the requirements would be unduly and unreasonably
65	65	cost prohibitive for a business service user to comply with; and
66	66	(2) the business service user provides an affidavit
67	67	not later than September 1 of each year stating:
68	68	(A) the manufacturer and model number of the
69	69	telephone system or equivalent system that needs to be reprogrammed
70	70	or replaced;
71	71	(B) that the business service user made a good
72	72	faith attempt to reprogram or replace the system; and
73	73	(C) if the telephone system or equivalent system
74	74	does not comply with Subsection (c), that the business service user
75	75	agrees to place an instructional sticker, indicating that the
76	76	telephone is unable to directly dial 9-1-1 and providing
77	77	instructions for accessing 9-1-1 in case of an emergency,
78	78	immediately adjacent to each telephone that is accessed using the
79	79	noncompliant system.
80	80	(f) The instructional sticker described by Subsection
81	81	(e)(2)(C) must be printed in at least 16-point boldface type in a
82	82	contrasting color using a font that is easily readable.
83	83	(g) The commission may adopt rules to implement this section
84	84	for areas that are governed by a regional plan, and an emergency
85	85	communication district may adopt those rules in accordance with
86	86	Section 771.062.
87	87	(h) On the request of the business service user, the
88	88	commission, an emergency communication district, or a home-rule
89	89	municipality that independently operates a 9-1-1 system shall
90	90	provide assistance to a business service user that is within the
91	91	applicable governmental entity's jurisdiction in complying with
92	92	this section.
93	93	SECTION 3. A business service user, as defined by Section
94	94	771A.001(a), Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, shall
95	95	comply with Section 771A.001, Health and Safety Code, as added by
96	96	this Act, not later than September 1, 2016.
97	97	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
98	98	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
99	99	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
100	100	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
101	101	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.