We have received text from H.R. 5200: Emergency Reporting Act. This bill was received on 2025-09-08, and currently has 1 cosponsor.
Here is a short summary of the bill:
This bill, titled the Emergency Reporting Act, aims to enhance disaster response related to communication services by directing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to improve reporting mechanisms and hold public hearings following disasters.
Key Provisions
Public Hearings
The FCC is required to hold public hearings at least once a year after the activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS). This system becomes operational during significant events that disrupt communications, and the FCC must review these events annually. The hearings will include representatives from:
- State and local governments, and Indian tribal governments
- Residents and consumer advocates from affected areas
- Providers of communications services
- Academics from institutions of higher education
- Other federal agencies
- Electric utility providers
- Communications infrastructure companies
- First responders and emergency managers
Reporting Requirements
After each public hearing, the FCC must issue a report within 120 days that includes:
- The number and duration of outages for various communication services, including broadband internet, VoIP, and mobile services
- The estimated number of users affected and the communications infrastructure impacted
- Outages that hinder emergency calls and the routing of these calls
- Recommendations to improve the resilience of communications networks
The reports will be based on information gathered from the hearings and other data collected by the FCC.
Investigation of Outage Reporting
The FCC must conduct an investigation within a year to assess:
- The value of visual information in outage notifications for public safety agencies
- The nature and volume of unreported 9-1-1 outages
- The benefits and challenges of providing additional information to emergency communications centers
- Any recommended changes to current rules based on these findings
Limitations on Authority
The bill specifies that nothing in this legislation grants the FCC or any other entity authority over broadband internet service providers beyond what is explicitly allowed.
Definitions and Framework
The bill includes definitions for key terms such as:
- Broadband internet access service
- Commercial mobile service
- Emergency communications center - facilities designated to receive 9-1-1 calls
- Outage
Relevant Companies
- VZ (Verizon Communications Inc.) - As a major telecommunications provider, Verizon would be directly impacted by new reporting requirements and potential changes to service protocols following disaster events.
- T (AT&T Inc.) - Similar to Verizon, AT&T will need to adapt its network and reporting practices in response to this bill's mandates regarding outage reporting and public hearings.
- S (Sprint Corporation) - Sprint, being part of the telecommunications industry, would be involved in any required reporting and cooperation with the FCC as outlined in the proposed legislation.
Representative Doris O. Matsui Bill Proposals
Here are some bills which have recently been proposed by Representative Doris O. Matsui:
- H.R.5200: Emergency Reporting Act
- H.R.4857: Cruise Passenger Protection Act of 2025
- H.R.4581: 340B PATIENTS Act of 2025
- H.R.4515: Climate Change Health Protection and Promotion Act of 2025
- H.R.4341: International Maritime Pollution Accountability Act of 2025
- H.R.4191: MAPS Act
You can track bills proposed by Representative Doris O. Matsui on Quiver Quantitative's politician page for Matsui.
Representative Doris O. Matsui Stock Trading
We have data on up to $10.3M of trades from Representative Doris O. Matsui, which we parsed from STOCK Act filings.
You can track Representative Doris O. Matsui's stock trading on Quiver Quantitative's politician page for Matsui.
This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information.
