February 17, 2021 Open Meeting
March 10, 2021
CSRIC Advises FCC to Allow 911 Fees to Be Spent on Cyber The FCC should encourage state and local governments to spend 911 fees on cybersecurity and reject the view that such spending constitutes fee "diversion," according to the FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CSRIC). https://www.fcc.gov/about-fcc/advisory-committees/communications-security-reliability-and-interoperability-council-vii
At its last meeting under its current charter, CSRIC adopted a working group report that advises the FCC to address cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the 911 system by, among other things, explicitly allowing 911 fees collected by states and localities to be used for cybersecurity.
While today’s meeting was the final one for CSRIC VII, Lisa Fowlkes, chief of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, indicated that the Commission was likely to charter an eighth iteration. —Tom Leithauser, tom.leithauser@wolterskluwer.com
TelecomRegulation: Cybersecurity FCC PublicSafety FederalNews
February 17, 2021
FCC Seeks Members for Fee Diversion Strike Force
By this Public Notice, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) announces the formation of a new federal advisory committee, the Ending 9-1-1 Fee Diversion Now Strike Force (911 Strike Force), pursuant to the Don’t Break Up the T-Band Act of 2020, set forth in Division FF, Title IX, Section 902 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Section 902).1 As required by Section 902(d)(3), the 911 Strike Force shall study how the Federal Government can most expeditiously end diversion of 911 fees and charges by states and other taxing jurisdictions (911 fee diversion).
Public Notice: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-21-182A1.pdf
February 17, 2021
FCC Unanimously Adopts 911 Fee Diversion NPRM
The FCC today unanimously adopted a notice of proposed rulemaking that proposes rules to tackle the diversion of 911 fees by states and jurisdictions for other purposes.
The Don’t Break Up the T-Band Act of 2020, which was enacted in December as part of omnibus appropriations legislation, directed the Commission to adopt rules defining what 911 fee uses by states and jurisdictions constitute diversion.
The NPRM, which was adopted in PS dockets 20-291 and 09-14, proposes to (1) "define the types of 911 fee expenditures by states and jurisdictions that are acceptable under the criterial in the new legislation;" (2) "allow states and jurisdictions to petition the Commission for a determination that a 911 fee expenditure not previously designated as acceptable by the Commission could be treated as acceptable;" (3) "prohibit any state or jurisdiction identified by the Commission as a fee diverter from serving on any advisory committee established by the Commission;" and (4) "require any state or jurisdiction that receives a federal 911 grant to provide the Commission with the information it requires to prepare its annual 911 fee report to Congress," a news release noted.
The NPRM was released 2/17/21. Comments are due 20 days after Federal Register publication and replies are due 10 days after that.
The legislation also directed the FCC to establish an "interagency strike force," which will study how the federal government can tackle 911 fee diversion most expeditiously and to report to Congress within 270 days.
The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau issued a public notice today soliciting nominations for membership on the Ending 9-1-1 Fee Diversion Now Strike Force. State, public safety, and consumer representatives are eligible to serve on the panel. Nominations are due March 19.
Strike Force Details - https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-21-182A1.pdf
March 2, 2021 - NPRM Published in Federal Register - https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/03/03/2021-04250/911-fee-diversion-new-and-emerging-technologies-911-improvement-act-of-2008
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January 27, 2021
A draft notice of proposed rulemaking that the FCC tentatively plans to consider at its Feb. 17, 2021 meeting would solicit comment on what types of 911 fee expenditures are permitted and what types constitute 911 fee diversion. The FCC publicly released the draft item on 1/27/21 in PS dockets 29-291 and 09-14.
The FCC plans to consider the item in response to legislation that became law in December 2020. Section 902 of the Don’t Break Up the T-band Act of 2020, which was part of omnibus appropriations legislation, directed the FCC to issue within 180 days rules defining the use of 911 fees by states and taxing jurisdictions that constitute 911 fee diversion.
A fact sheet on the draft NPRM said it would also propose;
(1) "rules that would allow states and taxing jurisdictions to petition the Commission for a determination that expenditures of 911 fees not previously designated as acceptable by the Commission should be treated as acceptable under section 902";
(2) "a rule providing that any state or taxing jurisdiction identified as a 911 fee diverter in the Commission’s annual 911 fee report to Congress would be ineligible to serve on any committee, panel, or council established to advise the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) or any advisory committee established by the Commission"; and
(3) "a rule providing that if a state or taxing jurisdiction receives a federal 911 grant, as a condition of the grant it must provide information that the Commission requires in order to prepare the annual 911 fee report to Congress."
Comment Date: (20 days after date of publication in the Federal Register)
Reply Comment Date: (30 days after date of publication in the Federal Register)
Full Details here - https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-369561A1.pdf