By:  Geren                                                        H.B. No. 802


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the number and location information requirements provided by business phones in certain 9-1-1 emergency communication districts. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 772.218, Health and Safety Code, is amended by amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsections (e), (f), (g), (h), and (i) to read as follows: (d) A business service user that owns or leases a publicly or privately owned telephone switch used to provide telephone services to nonaffiliated businesses shall provide to those business end users the same level of 9-1-1 service that a service supplier is required to provide under Subsection (a) to other business end users in the district. (e) A business service user that owns or leases a publicly or privately owned telephone switch used to consolidate telephone services at two or more physical addresses shall provide a level of 9-1-1 service that identifies an accurate physical address and telephone number for each 9-1-1 call. For purposes of this section, each floor of a multitenant building is a different physical address. (f) A hotel, motel, or similar lodging facility that does not operate with a 24-hour, seven-day on-site telephone operator must use a system that furnishes the telephone number and location of the individual unit from which a 9-1-1 call is placed. (g) A service supplier, [or] business service user, or lodging facility that implements the network and database enhancements necessary to provide a service described in [under] Subsection (b), (d), (e), or (f), including a supplier, user, or facility that is not required to provide the service, is not liable to a person who uses a 9-1-1 system created under this subchapter for the release to the district of the information specified in this section [Subsections (a) and (b)]. (h) Subsections (d) and (e) do not apply to a telecommunications system installed by a public school district or a state agency. (i) Subsections (d), (e), and (f) apply only to a telecommunications system installed on or after September 1, 2003. SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.