Federal efforts to halt state diversion of 911 fees may need to be strengthened, said FCC Commissioners Michael O'Rielly and Jessica Rosenworcel Friday, the same week the agency sought comment for an annual report on the issue (see 1802080062). They said state and local 911 fees on consumer phone bills are supposed to help upgrade emergency calling systems. "But too many states are stealing these funds and using them for other purposes, like filling budget gaps, purchasing vehicles, or worse," they wrote in an opinion piece in The Hill. They said the FCC found "five states and territories suctioned almost $130 million from their 9-1-1 systems and another seven didn’t even bother to respond to our inquiry to examine their diversion practices. None of this is acceptable." They said federal public safety programs shouldn't be available to states that engage in 911 fee diversion, an effort that has begun in a $115 million 911 grant program under the 2012 Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act. NTIA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which are running the program, are barred from making grants available to jurisdictions that divert 911 fees, they said. "This can serve as a template for any other funds provided at the federal level, including in new infrastructure legislation," they wrote. "We may need to be more creative in order to build the right mechanisms to prevent fee diversion. This could include, for instance, precluding representatives from states that repeatedly divert 9-1-1 fees from participating on advisory panels and task forces that inform the emergency calling work of the FCC, NTIA and NHTSA. We also may need to examine more aggressive actions at the FCC’s disposal." NARUC and the National Counsel of State Legislatures didn't comment.
The House Science Committee's Oversight and Technology subcommittees plan a Feb. 14 hearing on possible uses for blockchain technology beyond virtual currencies. The hearing will “explore the science of blockchain technology” and its possible non-bitcoin uses, “including cybersecurity, identity authentication and verification, supply chain risk management, and digital rights management,” said a Thursday news release. “The hearing will also look at standards, guidelines, uses for government, and best practices for the effective use of blockchain technology in the emerging applications.” IBM Cloud Vice President-Blockchain Technologies Jerry Cuomo, Congressional Research Service Government and Finance Division cybersecurity policy analyst Chris Jaikaran, National Institute of Standards and Technology IT Division Director Charles Romine, Cardozo School of Law Blockchain Project Co-Director Aaron Wright and Walmart Vice President-Food Safety Frank Yiannas are to testify. The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in 2318 Rayburn.
The House Science Committee's Oversight and Technology subcommittees plan a Feb. 14 hearing on possible uses for blockchain technology beyond virtual currencies. The hearing will “explore the science of blockchain technology” and its possible non-bitcoin uses, “including cybersecurity, identity authentication and verification, supply chain risk management, and digital rights management,” said a Thursday news release. “The hearing will also look at standards, guidelines, uses for government, and best practices for the effective use of blockchain technology in the emerging applications.” IBM Cloud Vice President-Blockchain Technologies Jerry Cuomo, Congressional Research Service Government and Finance Division cybersecurity policy analyst Chris Jaikaran, National Institute of Standards and Technology IT Division Director Charles Romine, Cardozo School of Law Blockchain Project Co-Director Aaron Wright and Walmart Vice President-Food Safety Frank Yiannas are to testify. The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in 2318 Rayburn.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority said it’s on track with a six-year project to upgrade to radio and cellular communications in Metro tunnels, as regulators' and others' concerns mount amid two-way radio and other problems hampering emergency responses. FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, who recently asked WMATA for an update (see 1801250052), told us he's still waiting.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority said it’s on track with a six-year project to upgrade to radio and cellular communications in Metro tunnels, as regulators' and others' concerns mount amid two-way radio and other problems hampering emergency responses. FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, who recently asked WMATA for an update (see 1801250052), told us he's still waiting.
Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, led Tuesday's filing of the Authenticating Local Emergencies and Real Threats (Alert) Act to address issues with the emergency alert system highlighted in the Jan. 13 false missile warning in Hawaii, as expected (see 1801160054 and 1802060055). Sens. Cory Gardner, R-Colo.; Kamala Harris, D-Calif.; Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii; and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, joined Schatz in sponsoring the bill. It would give the federal government the sole authority to issue missile threat alerts and pre-empt state and local governments' role in issuing such warnings. The legislation also would require the Federal Emergency Management Agency National Advisory Council's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System subcommittee to “make recommendations on the best practices that state and local governments should follow to maintain the integrity of IPAWS,” which would at minimum “make recommendations regarding the incident management tools used to originate alerts, and the procedures for testing and sending notifications to the public to avoid false alarms.” The bill would require FEMA to establish minimum requirements for state and local governments to participate in IPAWS within 120 days of receiving the subcommittee’s recommendations.
Some residents along the East Coast received a false tsunami warning Tuesday morning, in the hours leading up to a hearing by the House Homeland Security Communications Subcommittee on last month’s false missile alert in Hawaii (see 1801160054). Effective and reliable alerts are vital to the public and wireless emergency alerts need to be improved, said Chairman Dan Donovan, R-N.Y. False alerts undermine confidence in them, he said.
Hawaii’s false missile alert stemmed from lack of safeguards and human error, including a Hawaii Emergency Management Agency employee who repeatedly confused drills and real alerts, said reports from the Public Safety Bureau at an FCC commissioners' meeting and later Tuesday from Bruce Oliveira, the retired brigadier general investigating for HI-EMA (see 1801250061). That staffer was fired and other employees were disciplined. Members of Congress told us they continue to be concerned, as are FCC members.
Hawaii’s false missile alert stemmed from lack of safeguards and human error, including a Hawaii Emergency Management Agency employee who repeatedly confused drills and real alerts, said reports from the Public Safety Bureau at an FCC commissioners' meeting and later Tuesday from Bruce Oliveira, the retired brigadier general investigating for HI-EMA (see 1801250061). That staffer was fired and other employees were disciplined. Members of Congress told us they continue to be concerned, as are FCC members.
Next-generation 911 is about as far as along as can be expected since Congress hasn’t provided adequate funding and a number of states have raided 911 funds, speakers said at an FCBA brown-bag seminar Thursday. A week ago, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said the agency was making a push on the development of best practices for calls to 911 and working to speed transition of public safety answering points to NG-911 (see 1801170047).