Emergency Reporting Act

The Emergency Reporting Act (HR 7043) mandates the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to issue detailed reports after major disasters activate its Disaster Information Reporting System. Specifically, the FCC must publish a preliminary report within 6 weeks of system deactivation (after a 7+ day activation), detailing outage durations for broadband, mobile, and emergency call services, followed by public hearings within 8 months and a final report with recommendations within 12 months. The bill also requires the FCC to investigate gaps in 911 outage reporting and the value of visual outage notifications for public safety agencies within one year of enactment. These requirements directly affect the FCC, communications service providers, and public safety agencies responsible for emergency response.