Kari's Law Reporting Act (H.R. 5201)

Where This Stands

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Signed

Currently in_committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.

Last action

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.Apr 22, 2026

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

The Frame

What this does

The bill mandates a federal review of 911 access compliance in office and hotel phone systems, which could lead to future FCC policy changes or new legislation regarding emergency calling requirements.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Multi-line telephone system manufacturers and vendors

Their compliance with 911 direct-dialing requirements will be evaluated and summarized in a public FCC report.

Federal Communications Commission

The agency is legally required to conduct the study and publish the report within 180 days.

What changed

Current stage: in_committee.

What's next

Floor Vote.

Summary

This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to publish a report on how well businesses and manufacturers are following 'Kari's Law,' which ensures multi-line phone systems can directly dial 911. The report must identify compliance challenges and suggest potential policy or legislative improvements.

Key Facts

The FCC must publish a report on the implementation and enforcement of Kari's Law within 180 days of the bill's enactment.
The report must be published on the FCC's official website.
The report must summarize the compliance levels of multi-line telephone system manufacturers and vendors.
The report must identify obstacles and difficulties in complying with current 911 direct-dialing requirements.
The report must suggest potential FCC policy improvements to increase enforcement.
The report must provide recommendations to Congress for potential future legislation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Kari's Law?

Kari's Law is a 2017 federal requirement that s (like those in hotels or offices) must allow users to dial 911 directly without needing to dial an extra digit (like a '9' for an outside line).

What will the FCC report actually do?

The report will evaluate how well companies are following the law, identify why some might be struggling to comply, and suggest ways the government can improve enforcement or update the law.

Why It Matters

The bill mandates a federal review of 911 access compliance in office and hotel phone systems, which could lead to future FCC policy changes or new legislation regarding emergency calling requirements.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Voting Record

Outcome not reportedhouse4/21/2026voteview

Total

403

Yes

398

No

5

Present

0

Not Voting

0

Abstain

0

How they voted (403)

+ 379 more

Full roll-call analysis →

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Focus on Enforcement

The bill signals a shift from initial implementation of Kari's Law to a focus on evaluating the effectiveness of current enforcement mechanisms.

Federal Communications Commission

Connected Entities

personMr. Bilirakis“Co-sponsor of the bill.”Map →

otherKari's Law Act of 2017“The existing law regarding direct 911 dialing that this bill seeks to evaluate.”Map →

personMs. Matsui“Primary sponsor of the bill in the House of Representatives.”Map →

organizationFederal Communications Commission“The agency tasked with producing the report required by the bill.”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.congress.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance40
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy10
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz20
Current news / social attention level