August 03, 2017
Kari's Law Act of 2017 passed the House on January 23 (H.R. 582) and has now passed the Senate on August 3 (S.123). Once fully enacted and effective, Kari's Law will require all Multi-Line Telephone Systems (MLTS) to have a default configuration that allows users to directly dial 9-1-1, without the need for additional digits or prefix, from any phone with dialing facilities. In addition, the MLTS must be configured to notify a designated central point of contact when someone initiates a call to 9-1-1 using the system. In December 2013, Kari Hunt was killed by her estranged husband in a motel room in Texas. Her daughter repeatedly attempted to dial 9-1-1 from the motel room, but was unable to reach emergency responders because the motel's MLTS required users to dial "9" to reach an outside line.
Below is an FCC News release of a statement from FCC Chairman Pai re Senate passage of Kari's Law Act of 2017.