I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5926 To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for expedient restora- tion of advanced communications service networks during times of emer- gency, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 18, 2020 Mr. PALLONE (for himself and Mr. MCNERNEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for expedient restoration of advanced communications service networks during times of emergency, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reinforcing and Evalu- 4 ating Service Integrity, Local Infrastructure, and Emer- 5 gency Notification for Today’s Networks Act’’ or the ‘‘RE- 6 SILIENT Networks Act’’. 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5926.IH H5926 pamtmann on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5926 IH SEC. 2. NETWORK RESILIENCY COOPERATIVE REQUIRE- 1 MENTS. 2 Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 3 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 4 following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 723. NETWORK RESILIENCY COOPERATIVE REQUIRE- 6 MENTS. 7 ‘‘(a) REQUIRED COORDINATED RESPONSE IN TIMES 8 OF EMERGENCY.— 9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 10 the date of the enactment of this section, the Com- 11 mission, in consultation with the Secretary of Home- 12 land Security, shall conduct a proceeding and, after 13 public notice and an opportunity for comment, adopt 14 rules to provide for coordination among providers of 15 advanced communications service during times of 16 emergency. 17 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED ASPECTS OF COORDINATION.— 18 In issuing the rules required by paragraph (1), the 19 Commission shall require that, where technically fea- 20 sible— 21 ‘‘(A) providers of wireless advanced com- 22 munications service have in place reasonable 23 roaming and peering agreements for times of 24 emergency, which can be employed without ad- 25 ditional negotiation, as necessary; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5926.IH H5926 pamtmann on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5926 IH ‘‘(B) providers of advanced communica- 1 tions service have in place reasonable arrange- 2 ments for the provision of mutual aid for times 3 of emergency, as necessary. 4 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED ASSISTANCE FOR FIRST RESPOND- 5 ERS.— 6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 7 the date of the enactment of this section, the Com- 8 mission shall, after public notice and an opportunity 9 for comment, adopt rules designed to improve co- 10 ordination for times of emergency between providers 11 of advanced communications service and public safe- 12 ty answering points and covered public safety enti- 13 ties. 14 ‘‘(2) PROVIDING DETAILED TIMELY NETWORK 15 OUTAGE DATA TO FIRST RESPONDERS.—In issuing 16 the rules required by paragraph (1), the Commission 17 shall— 18 ‘‘(A) make changes to the Disaster Infor- 19 mation Reporting System to facilitate the par- 20 ticipation in such System by all providers of ad- 21 vanced communications service; 22 ‘‘(B) require providers of advanced com- 23 munications service to participate in the Dis- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5926.IH H5926 pamtmann on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5926 IH aster Information Reporting System during 1 times of emergency; 2 ‘‘(C) ensure information collected through 3 the Disaster Information Reporting System is 4 made available to public safety answering points 5 and covered public safety entities in those areas 6 where the Disaster Information Reporting Sys- 7 tem is activated in an easily accessible format 8 that— 9 ‘‘(i) facilitates the provision of such 10 information as soon as possible, in light of 11 efforts to remedy network disruption and 12 restore services, with reasonably sufficient 13 granularity and speed to help such public 14 safety answering points and covered public 15 safety entities understand the timing, na- 16 ture, and scope of reported disruptions to 17 the provision of advanced communications 18 service during times of emergency, includ- 19 ing disruptions to the provision of such 20 service to public safety answering points or 21 covered public safety entities; 22 ‘‘(ii) reflects the status of operations 23 of and disruptions affecting the individual 24 reporting provider’s network during times 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5926.IH H5926 pamtmann on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5926 IH of emergency and does not reflect the con- 1 tinued provision of advanced communica- 2 tions service using roaming and peering ar- 3 rangements; and 4 ‘‘(iii) allows such information to be 5 accessed through a secure internet website; 6 and 7 ‘‘(D) ensure that providers of advanced 8 communications service are not held liable for 9 outage reports based upon reasonable efforts to 10 identify accurately any such outages as soon as 11 reasonably practicable during times of emer- 12 gency that may later be determined to have 13 contained inaccurate information. 14 ‘‘(3) ACCESS AND SECURITY.—In issuing the 15 rules required by paragraph (1), the Commission 16 shall ensure that— 17 ‘‘(A) the information described in para- 18 graph (2)(C) is secured against access by any 19 person not authorized to access such informa- 20 tion and that persons authorized to access such 21 information are trained in reasonable security 22 measures to protect such information; 23 ‘‘(B) such information will be used by pub- 24 lic safety answering points and covered public 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5926.IH H5926 pamtmann on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5926 IH safety entities exclusively for the purpose of re- 1 sponding to public safety concerns during times 2 of emergency, and that public safety answering 3 points and covered public safety entities will be 4 required to notify the Commission and affected 5 providers of advanced communications service 6 as soon as reasonably practicable in the event 7 of any breach or other unauthorized use; and 8 ‘‘(C) the public continues to have access to 9 the information published by the Commission 10 on its websites in times of emergency in a man- 11 ner that is at least as accessible to the public 12 as before the date of the enactment of this sec- 13 tion. 14 ‘‘(c) COORDINATED RESPONSE MASTER DIREC- 15 TORY.— 16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 17 the date of the enactment of this section, the Com- 18 mission, in consultation with the Secretary of En- 19 ergy, shall, after public notice and an opportunity 20 for comment, establish a master point-of-contact di- 21 rectory to provide for effective communication be- 22 tween providers of advanced communications service, 23 tower owner or operators, and public safety answer- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5926.IH H5926 pamtmann on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5926 IH ing points, covered public safety entities, and utili- 1 ties. 2 ‘‘(2) ACCESS AND SECURITY.—In establishing 3 the directory under paragraph (1), the Commission 4 shall ensure that— 5 ‘‘(A) the directory established under para- 6 graph (1) is secured against access by any per- 7 son not authorized to access such directory in- 8 formation and that persons authorized to access 9 such information are trained in reasonable se- 10 curity measures to protect such information; 11 ‘‘(B) such information is updated by the 12 Commission no less frequently than quarterly; 13 and 14 ‘‘(C) such information will be used by pub- 15 lic safety answering points and covered public 16 safety entities exclusively for the purpose of re- 17 sponding to public safety concerns, and that 18 public safety answering points and covered pub- 19 lic safety entities will be required to notify the 20 Commission and affected providers of advanced 21 communications service, tower owner or opera- 22 tors, and utilities as soon as reasonably prac- 23 ticable in the event of any breach or other un- 24 authorized use. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5926.IH H5926 pamtmann on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5926 IH ‘‘(d) TRIENNIAL REVIEW OF COORDINATED RE- 1 SPONSE POLICIES.— 2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the date 3 that is 4 years after the date of the enactment of 4 this section, and every 3 years thereafter, the Com- 5 mission shall, after public notice and an opportunity 6 for comment, evaluate whether the rules adopted 7 and directory established under this section, coupled 8 with any other actions that the Commission has 9 taken regarding network resiliency, are substantially 10 improving the resiliency of advanced communications 11 services in times of emergency. 12 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL ACTION.—If the Commission 13 finds in an evaluation under paragraph (1) that the 14 rules issued pursuant to this section and the direc- 15 tory established under this section, coupled with any 16 other actions that the Commission has taken regard- 17 ing network resiliency, are not substantially improv- 18 ing the resiliency of advanced communications serv- 19 ices, the Commission shall seek comment and con- 20 sider amending such rules and directory to take ad- 21 ditional action that may be necessary and within its 22 jurisdiction to help ensure those rules more effi- 23 ciently promote the resiliency of advanced commu- 24 nications services in times of emergency. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5926.IH H5926 pamtmann on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5926 IH ‘‘(e) EXEMPTION FROM PAPERWORK REDUCTION 1 ACT.—Information collected under this section shall not 2 constitute a collection of information for the purposes of 3 subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code 4 (commonly referred to as the Paperwork Reduction Act). 5 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 6 ‘‘(1) ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE.— 7 The term ‘advanced communications service’ has the 8 meaning given such term in section 3 and has the 9 meaning given to the term ‘advanced telecommuni- 10 cations capability’ in section 706 of the Tele- 11 communications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 1302), but 12 such term shall not include the network of the First 13 Responder Network Authority established by section 14 6204 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Cre- 15 ation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1424). 16 ‘‘(2) DISASTER INFORMATION REPORTING SYS- 17 TEM.—The term ‘Disaster Information Reporting 18 System’ means the system described in the public 19 notice released by the Commission on September 11, 20 2007 (DA 07–3871). 21 ‘‘(3) UTILITY.—The term ‘utility’ has the 22 meaning given to the term ‘distribution utility’ in 23 section 217 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 24 824q). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5926.IH H5926 pamtmann on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 5926 IH ‘‘(4) PUBLIC SAFETY ANSWERING POINT.—The 1 term ‘public safety answering point’ has the meaning 2 given such term in section 222. 3 ‘‘(5) COVERED PUBLIC SAFETY ENTITY.—The 4 term ‘covered public safety entity’ is an entity re- 5 sponsible for emergency management functions dur- 6 ing times of emergency that is expressly authorized 7 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency or 8 Governor of a State as eligible to access outage in- 9 formation pursuant to subsections (b) and (c). 10 ‘‘(6) ROAMING.—The term ‘roaming’ means the 11 ability of a subscriber of wireless advanced commu- 12 nications service to originate or terminate a call, to 13 continue an in-progress call, or to transmit or re- 14 ceive data, using the facilities of a provider of wire- 15 less advanced communications service different than 16 the one with whom the subscriber has a direct pre- 17 existing service or financial relationship. 18 ‘‘(7) TIME OF EMERGENCY.—The term ‘time of 19 emergency’ means— 20 ‘‘(A) the time period of an emergency (as 21 defined in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford 22 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 23 (42 U.S.C. 5122)); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5926.IH H5926 pamtmann on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 5926 IH ‘‘(B) the time period that the Federal 1 Communications Commission activates the Dis- 2 aster Information Reporting System; or 3 ‘‘(C) the time period of an emergency as 4 declared by the Governor of a State. 5 ‘‘(8) TOWER OWNER OR OPERATOR.—The term 6 ‘tower owner or operator’ has the meaning given to 7 such term in section 427 of the Robert T. Stafford 8 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 9 U.S.C. 5189e). 10 ‘‘(9) RESILIENCY.—The term ‘resiliency’ means 11 the ability to withstand and recover rapidly from dis- 12 ruptions. Resiliency includes the ability to withstand 13 and recover from deliberate attacks, accidents, or 14 naturally occurring threats or incidents.’’. 15 SEC. 3. STOPPING ACCIDENTAL CUTS TO COMMUNICA- 16 TIONS NETWORKS. 17 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the date 18 of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall, in con- 19 sultation with the Secretary of Transportation, and after 20 public notice and an opportunity for comment, complete 21 a study on the feasibility of expanding the one-call notifi- 22 cation system programs under chapter 61 and section 23 60114 of title 49, United States Code, to cover advanced 24 communications service. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5926.IH H5926 pamtmann on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 5926 IH (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the study 1 under subsection (a), the Commission shall consider addi- 2 tional solutions to prevent third-party damage to infra- 3 structure used in the provision of advanced communica- 4 tions service, including dig-once policies, and the use of 5 wireless backhaul. 6 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 7 of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall publish 8 on the website of the Commission and submit to the Com- 9 mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep- 10 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 11 and Transportation of the Senate a report detailing the 12 findings and recommendations of the study con [Text truncated for display. 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