YourVoice.Now Summary
Your MoneyWorkers & JobsCivil LibertiesCorporate BenefitsTransparency & AccountabilityWould pay states to upgrade 911 for texts, photos, and video — but only if they spend 911 phone fees on 911.
Your Money
Next Generation 9-1-1 is built to take voice, text, pictures, and other data. Congress would authorize money for 2027 through 2031, but sets no dollar amount.
Phone bills often carry a 911 fee. A state that has spent any of that money on other purposes in the past 180 days could not get a grant.
Each state must already have a steady way to pay 911's ongoing costs, or promise one within three years of getting the money. The text does not say where that money comes from.
Workers & Jobs
Grant money can pay for training staff at 911 centers, including overtime and the wages of whoever covers their shift. The cap is 3% of the grant, or 5% for Tribes.
Civil Liberties
To win a grant, a state's plan must let 911 centers process, analyze, and store what people send. Nothing in the text sets a limit on how long that material is kept.
Corporate Benefits
A state's plan must use open, competitive bidding for 911 upgrades. Systems must follow common public standards so one vendor's equipment cannot lock a state in.
Grant money cannot go to any company the federal government has blocked, for national security reasons, from bidding on contracts, joining auctions, or getting grants.
Transparency & Accountability
NTIA must write the rules for picking grant winners within a year of the law taking effect. It must take public comment before those rules are final.
The agency must build a management plan for the grant program and put it on two federal websites within 180 days. It must also send the plan to four committees in Congress.
A state or Tribe that knowingly gives false information loses the grant and must give the money back. It can never get one of these grants again.
Grant winners must renew their promises every year the money is available. If a state or any taxing area inside it falls short, the whole grant goes back to the agency.
More about this bill
You could reach 911 by text, photo, or video — not just by voice. Federal grants would help states, territories, and Tribes upgrade to Next Generation 9-1-1. That is an internet-based 911 system built to take all those message types. Money is authorized for 2027 through 2031, with no dollar amount set. Nothing would change until Congress funds it. Your state would then have to finish the switch. States would have to meet conditions to get the money. A state that spends its 911 phone fees on other things could not get a grant. Each state must also show it has a lasting way to pay 911's ongoing bills. If it does not, it must promise one within three years. Contracts would have to go out for open, competitive bids. Grants could pay for cybersecurity tools, staff training, and public outreach. State plans would have to let 911 centers process, analyze, and store what you send. Nothing in the text limits how long that material is kept. A new federal center would help states defend 911 systems against hackers. A 16-member board of police, fire, medical, and 911 staff would advise on the rollout. A state that knowingly gives false information on a grant form would be banned for good.
Congressional Summary
This bill establishes a grant program to support implementation of next generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) systems by state, territorial, and tribal governments and requires other related activities. NG9-1-1 means a secure, interoperable, Internet Protocol-based (IP-based) system for receiving 9-1-1 requests for emergency assistance. (IP-based 9-1-1 systems have capabilities that legacy telephone systems do not, including enhanced location-finding and the ability to receive text and multimedia messages.)Under the bill, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) must provide grants to state, territorial, and tribal governments (and entities established by those governments) to support the implementation and maintenance of NG9-1-1 systems. Grant funds may also be used for public outreach on NG9-1-1, implementation of cybersecurity measures, and, subject to certain limits, training and administrative costs.Entities applying for grants must submit a plan for NG9-1-1 coordination and implementation that ensures interoperability and reliability, incorporates cybersecurity tools, and meets other requirements related to technology and procurement. Applicants must also certify that they have established, or will establish within a specified time frame, a sustainable funding mechanism to support NG9-1-1 and effective cybersecurity resources.The NTIA must advise applicants on the preparation of implementation plans and provide technical assistance to grant recipients.Further, the NTIA must establish (1) an advisory board to provide recommendations with respect to the grant program and other topics related to NG9-1-1; and (2) a cybersecurity center to coordinate with state, local, and regional governments on the sharing of cybersecurity information related to NG9-1-1.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2026-03-11
- Date Added
- 2026-04-14
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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