HR5201-119

Reported

Kari's Law Reporting Act

119th Congress Introduced Sep 8, 2025

Summary

What This Bill Does

This bill requires a Federal Communications Commission report on Kari's Law, the federal requirement that multi-line telephone systems support direct 9-1-1 dialing and related emergency notifications. Within 180 days after enactment, the FCC must publish a report on its enforcement of section 721 of the Communications Act.

The report must summarize the extent to which multi-line telephone system manufacturers and vendors have complied with Kari's Law. It must identify difficulties and obstacles in compliance, describe potential improvements to FCC enforcement policy, and recommend further legislation if needed to mitigate problems like the ones Kari's Law was designed to address. The bill is a transparency and oversight measure rather than a new equipment mandate.

Who Benefits and How

People dialing 9-1-1 from office, hotel, campus, or other multi-line telephone systems benefit if the report improves enforcement of direct emergency calling. Emergency responders benefit from better compliance with systems that can reach 9-1-1 and provide notifications. Building owners and enterprise phone-system purchasers benefit from clearer FCC findings on compliance obstacles. Multi-line telephone system manufacturers and vendors benefit from public guidance on enforcement concerns, even if scrutiny increases. Congress benefits from recommendations on whether additional legislation is needed.

Who Bears the Burden and How

FCC enforcement staff must prepare and publish the report within 180 days. Multi-line telephone system manufacturers and vendors may face public scrutiny over compliance gaps. Enterprise phone-system administrators may need to address obstacles identified in the report. Building owners and hotel operators using multi-line systems may face pressure to verify compliance. FCC policy staff must assess whether enforcement changes or new legislation are needed.

Key Provisions

  • Requires the FCC to publish a Kari's Law enforcement report within 180 days.
  • Directs the report to summarize manufacturer and vendor compliance with multi-line telephone system rules.
  • Requires the FCC to identify compliance difficulties and obstacles.
  • Directs the FCC to identify ways to improve enforcement policy.
  • Requires legislative recommendations if additional law is needed.

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

Requires the FCC to publish a report within 180 days on enforcement of Kari's Law for multi-line telephone systems, including manufacturer and vendor compliance, compliance obstacles, enforcement policy improvements, and any legislative recommendations.

Key Policy Areas

Technology, Public Safety, Telecommunications, Consumer Protection

Primary Purpose

Requires the FCC to publish a report within 180 days on enforcement of Kari's Law for multi-line telephone systems, including manufacturer and vendor compliance, compliance obstacles, enforcement policy improvements, and any legislative recommendations.

Policy Domains

Technology Public Safety Telecommunications Consumer Protection

House resolution provisions

Identified Gains
  • People dialing 9-1-1 from multi-line systems
  • Emergency responders
  • Building owners
  • Enterprise phone-system purchasers
  • Multi-line telephone system manufacturers
  • Multi-line telephone system vendors
  • Congressional communications committees
Model: codex-gpt-5 | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih
Building owners:
Emergency responders:
Enterprise phone-system purchasers:
Multi-line telephone system vendors:
Congressional communications committees:
Multi-line telephone system manufacturers:
People dialing 9-1-1 from multi-line systems:
Identified Costs
  • FCC enforcement staff
  • Multi-line telephone system manufacturers
  • Multi-line telephone system vendors
  • Enterprise phone-system administrators
  • Hotel operators using multi-line systems
  • FCC policy staff
Model: codex-gpt-5 | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih
FCC policy staff:
FCC enforcement staff:
Multi-line telephone system vendors:
Enterprise phone-system administrators:
Hotel operators using multi-line systems:
Multi-line telephone system manufacturers:

Legislative Progress

Reported
Introduced Committee Passed
Apr 22, 2026

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to …

Apr 22, 2026

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, …

Apr 21, 2026

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without …

Apr 21, 2026

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without …

Apr 21, 2026

Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules …

Apr 21, 2026

Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H3025)

Apr 20, 2026

Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H2976; text: …

Apr 20, 2026

Mr. Allen moved to suspend the rules and pass the …

Apr 20, 2026

DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate …

Apr 20, 2026

At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were …

Stakeholder Effects

cui bono?

How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.

Technology
4 mentions across 1 clause
+1 positive -3 negative

Enterprise phone-system administrators, Multi-line telephone system manufacturers, Multi-line telephone system vendors

Positive-direction: People dialing 9-1-1 from multi-line systems

Negative-direction: Enterprise phone-system administrators, Multi-line telephone system manufacturers, Multi-line telephone system vendors

Law Enforcement
1 mention across 1 clause
+1 positive

Emergency responders

Government
1 mention across 1 clause
-1 negative

FCC enforcement staff

2/2
sections analyzed
Full impact breakdown

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Technology Public Safety Telecommunications Consumer Protection
Actor Mappings
"fcc"
→ Federal Communications Commission

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology