WCCO Radio 

By Taylor Rivera and Lindsey Peterson

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (DFL- Minnesota) is bringing attention to vital updates that are needed to 911 emergency reporting systems nationwide.

The Enhancing First Response Act would make important changes to first responder communications networks to ensure there is a more reliable connection to 911 dispatchers during natural disasters.

Klobuchar says the bill will also reclassify dispatchers as protective service workers and emphasized the update to the system will help them save more lives.

"They respond to danger every single day," says Klobuchar. "They don't do it for fame or glory. People often don't even see their faces but they're doing their jobs and we've got to make sure we give them the equipment that they deserve."

A major part of the bill includes an improvement in outage reporting and communication between mobile carriers and dispatchers.

This bill comes as Hurricane Milton is hitting Florida, and not long after Hurricane Helene left destruction in its wake all over the southeastern U.S. And when some Minnesotans are still recovering from catastrophic flooding that swept across parts of the state this past summer.

Klobuchar says its time to bring our 911 system into the 21 century.

"Ensuring our system can respond to texts, video calls," she says. "Four out of five 911 calls today come from mobile devices. Minnesota is already ahead of the game with our text to 911 statewide project, but we can even do more."

Klobuchar sponsored the bill along with Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and John Thune (R-SD). It is also co-sponsored by Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Ted Budd (R-NC).

Specifically, the Enhancing First Response Act would:

Require the FCC to issue a report after major natural disasters on the extent to which people were unable to reach 911 during the disaster and subsequent recovery efforts, and make recommendations to improve the resiliency of 911 systems to prevent future service disruptions;

Require the FCC to study the unreported 911 outages and develop recommendations to improve outage reporting and communication between mobile carriers experiencing network outages and 911 centers;

Update the classification of 911 dispatchers from clerical workers to protective service workers in the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) to better reflect the life-saving work they perform each day. The SOC is a tool used by federal agencies to classify the workforce into useful, occupational categories;

Require the FCC to report on the extent to which multi-line telephone system manufacturers and vendors have complied with Kari’s Law, which Senator Klobuchar worked to pass into law in 2018 and requires the manufacturers of multi-line telephone systems to create systems that allow callers to reach 911 without dialing a prefix or postfix.