Advocacy Resources
The resources below can help APCO members stay informed and effectively engage with lawmakers on public safety communications issues. Here you’ll find practical tools, guidance, and updates to support your outreach and strengthen your advocacy efforts.
Legislative Ledger
| Bill 119th Congress | Lead Sponsors | Summary | Status |
| Next Generation 9-1-1 Act (H.R. 6505) | Reps. Richard Hudson (R-NC) and Troy Carter (D-LA) | Would create a grant program within NTIA to facilitate the transition to NG9-1-1. Requires a state plan for NG9-1-1 implementation, coordination with ECCs, interoperability, reliability, and cybersecurity measures. Establishes a Public Safety Advisory Board to advise on the grant program and a Cybersecurity Resource Center to provide guidance on detecting and preventing cyberattacks. | 12/09/2025: Introduced in the House of Representatives |
| 9-1-1 SAVES Act (H.R. 637) | Reps. Norma Torres (D-CA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) | Directs the Office of Management and Budget to reclassify public safety telecommunicators as a protective service in the Standard Occupational Classification. | 1/22/2025: Introduced in the House of Representatives |
| PROTECT 9-1-1 Act (H.R. 2937) | Reps. Robin Kelly (D-IL) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) | Establishes grants and provides best practice resources to support the mental health and wellness of public safety telecommunicators | 12/25/2025: Introduced in the House of Representatives |
| Emergency Reporting Act (H.R. 5200) | Reps. Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) | Directs the Federal Communications Commission to conduct a field hearing following a major disaster to examine the resiliency of communications infrastructure during disaster. Directs the FCC to conduct a report on outage notifications to 9-1-1 centers, including the number of unreported outages and the utility of visual information in outage notifications. | 9/08/2025: Introduced in the House of Representatives |
| Kari’s Law Reporting Act (H.R. 5201) | Reps. Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) | Directs the FCC to issue a report on the extent to which entities are complying with the requirement that multiline telephone systems be capable of direct dialing 9-1-1. | 9/08/2025: Introduced in the House of Representatives |
| Enhancing First Response Act (S. 725) | Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) | Directs the Office of Management and Budget to reclassify public safety telecommunicators as a protective service in the Standard Occupational Classification. Directs the Federal Communications Commission to conduct a field hearing following a major disaster to examine the resiliency of communications infrastructure during disaster. Directs the FCC to conduct a report on outage notifications to 9-1-1 centers, including the number of unreported outages and the utility of visual information in outage notifications. Directs the FCC to issue a report on the extent to which entities are complying with the requirement that multiline telephone systems be capable of direct dialing 9-1-1. | 9/11/2025: Received in the House of Representatives 9/10/2025: Unanimously passed in the Senate 2/25/2025: Introduced in the Senate |
| 988 Lifeline Improvement Act (S. 3199) | Sens. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) and John Barrasso (R-WY) | Directs the FCC to establish a committee to study technical and policy considerations for providing dispatchable location information with calls to 988. | 11/19/2025: Introduced in the Senate |
| Making National Parks Safer Act (S. 290) | Sens. John Barrasso (R-WY) and Angus King (I-ME) | Directs the Secretary of the Interior to develop a report and plan for the implementation of NG9-1-1 in 9-1-1 centers in national parks. | 1/29/2025: Introduced in the Senate |
Advocacy 101
The Advocacy 101 PowerPoint outlines how to organize and conduct meetings with your federal representatives. It highlights the key steps for securing time with an office and offers practical guidance to ensure your message is clear, timely, and effective.
Share Your Views on APCO's Advocacy Priorities
APCO Members! Your input is critical to developing our policy priorities and guides our advocacy before federal agencies and Congress. We want to hear about your experiences in key policy areas, including what challenges you’ve encountered, what improvements are needed, and how policy changes might impact your operations.
