FCC Chairman Ajit Pai plans a Sept. 26 vote on a proposal to improve 911 calling from office buildings, schools, hotels and other locations using multiline, centralized communications systems. In a Tuesday blog, Pai said commissioners' September meeting also will consider orders aimed at speeding 5G wireless deployment (see 1809040056), consolidating rules governing earth stations in motion (ESIM) and eliminating an annual filing requirement by cable operators; a Further NPRM on changing rules governing franchise fees charged by local franchise authorities; an item on a possible auction of toll-free numbers; and two enforcement actions. The preliminary meeting agenda and draft items are due Wednesday.

FCC Republicans Ajit Pai, Mike O’Rielly and Brendan Carr have voted together the vast majority of the time. Carr partially dissented once and has been mostly in step with Pai since he became a member a year ago. O’Rielly, a commissioner throughout Pai's chairmanship, has disagreed more, based on our review. O’Rielly has had partial dissents 12 times and a full dissent once.

DOJ needs to clearly state to courts how law enforcement’s use of cell-site simulators, known as StingRays, disrupts 911 dialing capabilities for targeted phones, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in a recent letter to the agency. Wyden cited confirmation about disruption from “senior officials” at Harris Corp., which manufacturers the surveillance tools most frequently used by police. “It is important that courts understand that the surveillance programs they are being asked to authorize will incidentally rob Americans of the means to communicate,” Wyden wrote. Telecom companies need to collaborate to ensure “cellular infrastructure is safe, secure, and private from attacks by spies, criminals, and rogue law enforcement,” the Electronic Frontier Foundation said Monday. Tuesday, Justice didn’t comment.

Applicants to the 911 grant program must submit by Sept. 10 an initial package including identifying a designated 911 coordinator and required certification, NTIA said Friday. “Once applicants have submitted their initial application, NHTSA and NTIA will publish preliminary funding allocations for each of the States or Tribal Organizations meeting the certification requirements on www.grants.gov.” Revised 911 grant program rules took effect earlier this month (see 1808020021).

The FCC should modify its biennial report on the 21st Century Communication and Accessibility Act to recognize that more progress is needed on the costs of unlimited data smartphone plans for the hearing impaired and to acknowledge that text-to-911 is critical to allow accessibility in emergencies, said a joint filing in docket 10-213 by a host of consumer groups for the hearing impaired, including Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the National Association of the Deaf, and the Cerebral Palsy and Deaf Organization. “Deaf and hard of hearing users disproportionately use data for daily and routine communications out of necessity,” the filing said. The FCC report should also note the progress made on real-time-text technology, the filing said. “We emphasize the importance of incorporating RTT into the native phone capabilities of smartphones as Apple has done, rather than prolonged use of separate apps,” the filing said. The National Federation of the Blind in separate comments said few blind Americans can afford smartphone and data plan costs, and the report should put more emphasis on those cost prohibitions rather than chalking it up to being personal preference. It also said the FCC should create at least one additional secondary audio programming channel for simultaneous broadcast of foreign language and descriptive services and that the agency should institute rules requiring the audio description of live programming.

The Senate voted 85-7 Thursday evening to pass the FY 2019 Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services and Education minibus appropriations legislative package (HR-6157), which includes $445 million in annual funding for the CPB through FY 2021 and $20 million for FY 2019 for CPB's annual interconnection and infrastructure account. The House Appropriations Committee voted in July to advance its FY 2019 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education appropriations bill (HR-6470) with identical CPB funding (see 1807120031). An amendment to HR-6157 added Tuesday would increase funding for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline by $2.8 million (see 1808210048). The amendment, led by Sens. John Kennedy, R-La., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., draws the funding from the amount allocated to substance abuse treatment programs. A week earlier, President Donald Trump signed the National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act, which directs the FCC to work to designate a new national three-digit dialing code in the style of 911 for a mental health crisis and suicide prevention hotline (see 1808140037).

The Senate voted 95-0 Tuesday to adopt an amendment to the FY 2019 Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services and Education “minibus” appropriations legislative package (HR-6157) that would increase funding for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline by $2.8 million. The amendment, led by Sens. John Kennedy, R-La., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., draws the funding from the amount allocated to substance abuse treatment programs. A week earlier, President Donald Trump signed the National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act (HR-2345), which directs the FCC to work to designate a new national three-digit dialing code in the style of 911 for a mental health crisis and suicide prevention hotline (see 1808140037). The underlying HR-6157, as modified by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., includes $445 million in annual funding for the CPB through FY 2021 and $20 million for FY 2019 for CPB's annual interconnection and infrastructure account. Senate Appropriations in June advanced its FY 2019 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education budget bill, which included the CPB funding (see 1806280049). The House Appropriations Committee voted in July to advance its FY 2019 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill (HR-6470) with identical CPB funding (see 1807120031).

“Under no circumstances” should state 911 fee revenue be diverted for purposes unrelated to 911, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Mike O’Rielly wrote Tuesday to Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R). O’Rielly has mailed several states to condemn 911 fund skimming, but Tuesday’s letter appears to be the first to also carry Pai’s signature. Illinois diverted for several years but appeared to stop after 2015, they noted. “We urge you to continue the practice of 2016 and 2017 and devote these critical funds solely to the purpose for which they were intended: maintaining and improving public safety communications systems for the benefit of the people of Illinois.” Illinois Statewide 911 Administrator Cindy Barbera-Brelle told the commission the state won’t divert in the future so it may be eligible for next-generation 911 federal grants, the commissioners said. One Illinois county’s 911 director told them “upgrades have been put off and loans have been taken out to supplement the shortfall associated with past state diversion practices,” they said. National momentum to end 911 fee diversion appears to be growing, with Congress weighing a bill to discourage the practice (see 1808170023).

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) unveiled a $10 million grant program for 911 response and emergency dispatch, but FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly (R) questioned why the state continues to divert state 911 fee revenue. The New York Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) will award grants this year and next to counties, the governor’s office said Monday. "It is critical that first responders have access to the services and technology they need to respond to situations where every second counts," Cuomo said. DHSES Commissioner Roger Parrino said the money will fund next-generation 911 and text-to-911. O’Rielly said it’s “great that New York will provide some new money to counties to operate and maintain their 9-1-1 call centers, but the grant is pittance compared to the many millions New York siphons off from collected 9-1-1 fees.” The FCC has flagged New York as a 911 fee diverter every year since the agency’s 2009 report to Congress. New York didn’t report to the FCC in 2016, the last year for which figures have been released, but the commission said the state diverted 42 percent ($77.3 million) in 2015 (see 1804230042). Congress is weighing a bill to discourage states from the practice (see 1808170023). Cuomo's office didn't comment Monday about diversion.

The federal indictment of Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., won’t set back growing momentum to end 911 fee diversion, with House Communications Subcommittee Vice Chairman Leonard Lance, R-N.J., and Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., ready to keep Collins’ 911 Fee Integrity Act (HR-6424) moving, FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said in an interview. Increasing national attention by Congress and the FCC is putting pressure on states to stop using 911 funds for unrelated purposes, lawmakers and other officials told us.