photo by Lorie Shaull
From the office of Councilmember Christina Henderson:
“Councilmember Henderson introduced the E911 Modernization Amendment Act of 2025. The bill would enhance resources for the District’s emergency response telecommunications system, with the goal of creating a safer and more responsive public safety system.
“Each year, the Office of Unified Communications (OUC) handles hundreds of thousands of emergency and non-emergency calls which are supported through the District’s Emergency and Non-Emergency Number Telephone Calling Systems Fund,” said Councilmember Henderson. “While this fund has provided a critical foundation for OUC, across the country jurisdictions are transitioning to Next Generation 911 (NG911), which enables voice, text, photos, video, and precise geolocation. These capabilities are essential for ensuring residents can reach emergency services using communication methods they rely on every day and require our 911 services to evolve to match the pace of the nation.”
The proposed legislation would modernize 911 and 311 telecommunication systems, helping the District remain a leader in emergency response technology and service delivery by ensuring critical upgrades that require dedicated funding are met.
Specifically, the E911 Modernization Amendment Act of 2025 would:
Modernize outdated definitions and add definitions for “access line”, “family or shared plan”, and “Next Generation 911”;
Update the E911 Fund’s allowable uses by authorizing funding for Next Generation 911 infrastructure, IP-based networks, GIS systems, cybersecurity, multimedia-to-911 capabilities, and training, and by directing OUC to develop and maintain a NG911 implementation and readiness plan;
Revise the 911 surcharge structure by establishing a uniform $1.00 monthly fee per access line across non-prepaid technologies and increasing the prepaid wireless surcharge from 2% to 5%;
Require annual reporting on revenues, expenditures, performance metrics, and NG911 progress, and mandate an annual independent audit conducted by the Chief Financial Officer;
Require a triennial review of the surcharge that considers inflation (CPI-U), call volume trends, modernization costs, and overall system needs.
This bill was co-introduced by Councilmember Matthew Frumin.”