Kari's Law and Ray Baum's Act (Effective February 16, 2020)

Beginning February 16, 2020, each manufacturer, seller, installer, manager or operator of a multi-line telephone system shall act in compliance with Kari's Law and Ray Baum's Act. 560 CMR 4.00 apply to: (a) A person engaged in the business of manufacturing, importing, selling, or leasing multi-line telephone systems; (b) A person engaged in the business of installing, managing, or operating multi-line telephone systems; and (c) Any multi-line telephone system that is manufactured, imported, offered for first sale or lease, first sold or leased, or installed after February 16, 2020. The FCC Order can be found at: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-19-76A1.pdf. (1) General Obligations - Direct 911 Dialing, Notification and Dispatchable Location. (a) A person engaged in the business of manufacturing, importing, selling, or leasing multi-line telephone systems may not manufacture or import for use in the United States, or sell or lease or offer to sell or lease in the United States, a multi-line telephone system, unless such system is pre-configured such that, when properly installed in accordance with 560 CMR 4.07(2), a user may directly initiate a call to 911 from any station equipped with dialing facilities, without dialing any additional digit, code, prefix, or post-fix, including any trunk-access code such as the digit 9, regardless of whether the user is required to dial such a digit, code, prefix, or post-fix for other calls. (b) A person engaged in the business of manufacturing, importing, selling, or leasing multi-line telephone systems may not manufacture or import for use in the United States, or sell or lease or offer to sell or lease in the United States, a multi-line telephone system, unless such system has the capability, after proper installation in accordance with 560 CMR 4.07(2), of providing the dispatchable location of the caller to the PSAP with 911 calls. (2) Obligations of Installers, Managers or Operators. (a) A person engaged in the business of installing, managing, or operating multi-line telephone systems may not install, manage, or operate for use in the United States such a system, unless such system is configured such that a user may directly initiate a call to 911 from any station equipped with dialing facilities, without dialing any additional digit, code, prefix, or post-fix, including any trunk-access code such as the digit 9, regardless of whether the user is required to dial such a digit, code, prefix, or post-fix for other calls. (b) A person engaged in the business of installing, managing, or operating multi-line telephone systems shall, in installing, managing, or operating such a system for use in the United States, configure the system to provide MLTS notification to a central location at the facility where the system is installed or to another person or organization, regardless of location, if the system is able to be configured to provide the notification without an improvement to the hardware or software of the system. MLTS notification must meet the following requirements: 1. MLTS notification must be initiated contemporaneously with the 911 call, provided that it is technically feasible to do so; 2. MLTS notification must not delay the call to 911; and 3. MLTS notification must be sent to a location where someone is likely to see or hear it. (c) A person engaged in the business of installing multi-line telephone systems may not install such a system in the United States, unless it is configured such that it is capable of being programmed with and conveying the dispatchable location of the caller to the PSAP with 911 calls consistent with 560 CMR 4.07(2)(c)1. through 3. A person engaged in the business of managing or operating multi-line telephone systems may not manage or operate such a system in the United States, unless it is configured such that the dispatchable location of the caller is conveyed to the PSAP with 911 calls consistent with 560 CMR 4.07(2)(c)1. through 3. 1. Dispatchable location requirements for on-premises fixed telephones associated with a multi-line telephone system. An on-premises fixed telephone associated with a multi-line telephone system shall provide automated dispatchable location no later than February 16, 2021; 2. Dispatchable location requirements for on-premises non-fixed devices associated with a multiline telephone system. No later than February 16, 2022, an on-premises non-fixed device associated with a multi-line telephone system shall provide to the appropriate PSAP automated dispatchable location, when technically feasible; otherwise, it shall provide dispatchable location based on end user manual update, or alternative location information sufficient to identify the caller's civic address and approximate in-building location, including floor level, in large buildings; and 3. Dispatchable location requirements for off-premises devices associated with a multi-line telephone system. No later than February 16, 2022, an off-premises device associated with a multi-line telephone system shall provide to the appropriate PSAP automatic dispatchable location, if technically feasible; otherwise, it shall provide dispatchable location based on end user manual update, or enhanced location information, which may be coordinate-based, consisting of the best available location that can be obtained from any available technology or combination of technologies at reasonable cost.