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Making National Parks Safer Act
S. 290 To direct the Secretary of the Interior to upgrade existing emergency communications centers in units of the National Park System to Next Generation 9-1-1 systems, and for other purposes.
Summary
- Directs the Secretary of the Interior to assess emergency communications centers in National Park System units to determine Next Generation 9-1-1 implementation status and identify costs for upgrading.
- Requires the assessment to identify estimated costs to purchase and maintain Next Generation 9-1-1 systems across all emergency communications centers in the National Park System.
- Requires submission of a report to Congress describing assessment results and identifying jurisdictional, technological, and legal issues affecting implementation.
- Requires the Secretary to develop a plan within one year of submitting the report to install Next Generation 9-1-1 systems at identified emergency communications centers.
- Requires consultation with state and local emergency officials and federal agencies including the Department of Commerce, Department of Transportation, and Federal Communications Commission in developing the plan.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Sen. Barrasso, John [R-WY] (R-WY)
3 cosponsors
Actions (6)
- Jul 23, 2026 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 469. · senate
- Jul 23, 2026 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Lee without amendment. Without written report. · senate
- Feb 4, 2026 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably. · senate
- Dec 9, 2025 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held. · senate
- Jan 29, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text: CR S481-482) · senate
- Jan 29, 2025 Introduced in Senate
More bills on these subjects (8)
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Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (2)
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Committee action
What happened to this bill in committee — the meetings where it was considered and every recorded vote taken on it.
Meetings where this bill was on the agenda
- Business meeting to consider S.90, to prohibit the use of funds by the Secretary of the Interior to finalize and implement certain travel management plans in the State of Utah, S.91, to improve Federal activities relating to wildfires, S.290, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to upgrade existing emergency communications centers in units of the National Park System to Next Generation 9-1-1 systems, S.291, to establish an interest-bearing account for the non-Federal contributions to the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, S.365, to amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act to allow for additional entities to be eligible to complete the maintenance work on Bolts Ditch and the Bolts Ditch Headgate within the Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado, S.446, to prohibit Big Cypress National Preserve from being designated as wilderness or as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System, S.700 and H.R.837, bills to require the Secretary of Agriculture to convey the Pleasant Valley Ranger District Administrative Site to Gila County, Arizona, S.730, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of establishing the African Burial Ground International Memorial Museum and Educational Center at the African Burial Ground National Monument, S.790, to redesignate the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Casper, Wyoming, as the "Barbara L. Cubin National Historic Trails Interpretive Center", S.791, to establish the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site in the State of Maryland as an affiliated area of the National Park System, S.815, to designate the outdoor amphitheater at the Blue Ridge Music Center in Galax, Virginia, as the "Rick Boucher Amphitheater", S.1319, to withdraw certain Federal land in the Pecos Watershed area of the State of New Mexico from mineral entry, S.1321, to amend the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 to provide for the transfer of the Moab site to Grand County, Utah, S.1341, to amend the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to add certain land to the Sarvis Creek Wilderness, S.1353, to extend the authority for modifications to the Second Division Memorial in the District of Columbia, S.1413, to authorize additional funding for the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act, S.1476, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain segments of the Gila River system in the State of New Mexico as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, to provide for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over certain Federal land in the State of New Mexico, S.1516, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the Cahokia Mounds, Emerald Mounds, and Pulcher Mounds in the State of Illinois, S.1518 and H.R.1550, bills to redesignate Saratoga National Historical Park as Saratoga National Battlefield Park, S.1777, to amend the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 to expand the boundary of Joshua Tree National Park, to redesignate the Cottonwood Visitor Center at Joshua Tree National Park as the "Dianne Feinstein Visitor Center", S.1870, to adjust the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley Corridor, S.2102, to establish the Ralph David Abernathy, Sr., National Historic Site, and S.2881, to provide for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over certain Federal land in the State of California.
- Hearings to examine S.290, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to upgrade existing emergency communications centers in units of the National Park System to Next Generation 9-1-1 systems, S.332, to require a study on Holocaust education efforts of States, local educational agencies, and public elementary and secondary schools, S.446, to prohibit Big Cypress National Preserve from being designated as wilderness or as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System, S.573, to designate a mountain in the State of Alaska as Denali, S.601, to remove restrictions from a parcel of land in Paducah, Kentucky, S.730, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of establishing the African Burial Ground International Memorial Museum and Educational Center at the African Burial Ground National Monument, S.791, to establish the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site in the State of Maryland as an affiliated area of the National Park System, H.R.186, and S.858, bills to authorize the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation to establish a commemorative work on the National Mall to honor the extraordinary acts of valor, selfless service, and sacrifice displayed by Medal of Honor recipients, S.1088, to provide that the memorial to commemorate the sacrifice and service of the women who worked on the home front to support the efforts of the United States military during World War II may be located on the National Mall, S.1131, to establish the Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve in the State of Georgia, S.1135, to amend the National Trails System Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on the feasibility of designating the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, S.1280, to designate six creeks in North Carolina in honor of the lives lost in a plane crash in Carteret County, North Carolina, on February 13, 2022, S.1353, to extend the authority for modifications to the Second Division Memorial in the District of Columbia, S.1377, to ensure the maintenance of a herd of horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, S.1518, to redesignate the Saratoga National Historical Park as the "Saratoga National Battlefield Park", S.1777, to amend the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 to expand the boundary of Joshua Tree National Park, to redesignate the Cottonwood Visitor Center at Joshua Tree National Park as the "Dianne Feinstein Visitor Center", S.1870, to adjust the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley Corridor, S.1926, to encourage reduction of disposable plastic products in units of the National Park System, S.2270, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate the portion of the Myakka River in Sarasota County, Florida, as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, S.2308, to amend the Federal Land Recreation Enhancement Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to collect a surcharge from international visitors to units of the National Park System, S.2369, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to remove or permanently conceal the name of Francis Newlands on the grounds of the memorial fountain located at Chevy Chase Circle in the District of Columbia, S.2385, to codify Executive Order 14253 relating to restoring truth and sanity to American history, S.2546, to provide for an extension of the legislative authority of the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs, S.2708, to enhance the preservation, maintenance, and management of national historic trails and national scenic trails, S.2970, to authorize the use of off-highway vehicles in certain areas of the Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, and H.R.249, to redesignate certain facilities at Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park in honor of Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 29, 2025
Mr. Barrasso (for himself, Mr. King, Mr. Hickenlooper, and Mrs. Hyde- Smith) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
July 23, 2026
Reported by Mr. Lee, without amendment
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to upgrade existing emergency communications centers in units of the National Park System to Next Generation 9-1-1 systems, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Making National Parks Safer Act”.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate committees of congress.—The term “appropriate committees of Congress” means—
(A) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives.
(2) Emergency communications center.—
(A) In general.—The term “emergency communications center” means—
(i) a facility that—
(I) is designated to receive a 9-1- 1 request for emergency assistance; and
(II) performs 1 or more of the functions described in subparagraph
(B); or
(ii) a public safety answering point (as defined in section 222 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222)).
(B) Functions described.—The functions described in this subparagraph are the following:
(i) Processing and analyzing 9-1-1 requests for emergency assistance and information and data related to the requests.
(ii) Dispatching appropriate emergency response providers.
(iii) Transferring or exchanging 9-1-1 requests for emergency assistance and information and data related to the requests with 1 or more other emergency communications centers and emergency response providers.
(iv) Analyzing any communications received from emergency response providers.
(v) Supporting incident command functions.
(3) Interoperability.—The term “interoperability” means the capability of emergency communications centers—
(A) to receive 9-1-1 requests for emergency assistance and information and data related to the requests, such as location information and callback numbers from a person initiating the request; and
(B) to process and share 9-1-1 requests for emergency assistance and information and data related to the requests with other emergency communications centers and emergency response providers without the need for proprietary interfaces and regardless of jurisdiction, equipment, device, software, service provider, or other relevant factors.
(4) Next generation 9-1-1 system.—The term “Next Generation 9-1-1 system” has the meaning given the term “Next Generation 911” in section 9.28 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation).
(5) Secretary.—The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service.
SEC. 3. ASSESSMENT OF EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CENTERS LOCATED IN UNITS OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM.
(a) In General.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall complete an assessment of emergency communications centers located in units of the National Park System to identify—
(1) the implementation status of Next Generation 9-1-1 systems at existing emergency communications centers in units of the National Park System;
(2) estimated costs to purchase Next Generation 9-1-1 systems for emergency communications centers in units of the National Park System that have not begun to implement Next Generation 9-1-1 systems; and
(3) estimated costs to maintain and operate Next Generation 9-1-1 systems across all emergency communications centers in units of the National Park System.
(b) Report.—On completion of the assessment under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress, and make available on the website of the Department of the Interior, a report—
(1) describing the results of the assessment; and
(2) identifying issues that may affect the implementation of Next Generation 9-1-1 systems across all emergency communications centers in units of the National Park System, including—
(A) jurisdictional issues;
(B) technological issues;
(C) issues relating to relevant authorities; and
(D) issues relating to legal agreements.
SEC. 4. PLAN TO INSTALL NEXT GENERATION 9-1-1 SYSTEMS IN UNITS OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM.
(a) In General.—Not later than 1 year after the date on which the report under section 3(b) is submitted, the Secretary shall develop a plan, based on the results of the assessment completed under section 3(a) and subject to subsection (c), to install Next Generation 9-1-1 systems at identified emergency communications centers in units of the National Park System.
(b) Consultation.—In developing the plan under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with—
(1) State and local emergency operations officials to ensure interoperability of the Next Generation 9-1-1 systems;
(2) State and local stakeholders that the superintendent of the applicable unit of the National Park System determines to be appropriate; and
(3) relevant Federal agencies, including—
(A) the Department of Commerce;
(B) the Department of Transportation; and
(C) the Federal Communications Commission.
(c) Limitation.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), a plan developed under that subsection shall not be required to address emergency communications centers in any unit of the National Park System at which the superintendent of the unit of the National Park System determines that sufficient Next Generation 9-1-1 systems have already been installed or are being installed, as applicable. Calendar No. 469
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 290
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to upgrade existing emergency communications centers in units of the National Park System to Next Generation 9-1-1 systems, and for other purposes.
July 23, 2026
Reported without amendment
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