Enhancing First Response Act

The bill, titled the "Enhancing First Response Act," directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to improve its response to communication outages during disasters. Specifically, after the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) is activated for seven or more days, the FCC must hold annual public hearings. These hearings will gather input from various stakeholders, including state and local governments, residents, service providers, and first responders, to assess the impact of outages. Following these hearings, the FCC is required to issue a report detailing the number and duration of outages for services like broadband internet access and commercial mobile service , including their impact on 911 services. The report must also include recommendations to enhance communications resiliency and recovery efforts. Furthermore, the FCC must investigate and report on ways to improve network outage reporting, such as the value of visual information for public safety answering points and addressing unreported 911 outages. A significant provision of the bill mandates the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification system within 30 days, acknowledging their critical role in emergency response. Finally, the bill requires the FCC to publish a report on the implementation and enforcement of Kari's Law , assessing compliance by multi-line telephone system manufacturers and vendors, identifying challenges, and recommending improvements or further legislation.