HR-5201 — Kari's Law Reporting Act

YourVoice.Now Summary

Transparency & Accountability

A public FCC report on how well office and hotel phones let you dial 911 directly — due within 180 days.

Transparency & Accountability

Public report on enforcing the 911 direct-dial rule — 180 days

Kari's Law says phone systems in offices and hotels must let you reach 911 without pressing 9 or another code first. The FCC would post on its website how it enforces that rule, and what it or Congress could do better.

Report must say whether phone makers and sellers follow the 911 rule

The report must say how well the companies that make and sell office and hotel phone systems follow the law. It must also name what makes that hard for them.

More about this bill

Your phone service and your bills would stay the same. What you would get is a public answer to a safety question. Kari's Law says office and hotel phone systems must let you reach 911 directly. You should not have to press 9 or any other code first. The rule covers systems put in place since 2020. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would have to post a report on its website within 180 days of becoming law. The report would say how well the companies that make and sell these systems follow the rule. It would also name what gets in their way. The FCC would say how it could enforce the rule better. It would tell Congress whether more laws are needed. Nothing here adds a new rule for companies or a new cost for you. It is a one-time check on a safety law already on the books.

Congressional Summary

This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to publish a report on the enforcement of Kari’s Law, which requires multiline telephone systems to be preconfigured to allow users to dial 9-1-1 directly from any phone without dialing any additional code or prefix.The report must include (1) a summary of the extent to which multiline telephone system manufacturers and vendors have complied with the law, and any obstacles to their compliance; and (2) related recommendations for improvements to FCC policy or further legislation, if necessary.

Legislative Subjects

Congressional oversightEmergency communications systemsGovernment information and archivesGovernment studies and investigationsService industriesTelephone and wireless communication

Details

Congress: 119th
Chamber: House
Status: summarized
Action: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Action Date: 2026-04-22
Date Added: 2026-04-09
Source: Congress.gov →

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