All Eyes on Kari's Law as U.S. Senate Considers Approval and Texas Commission on State Emergency Communications Begins Implementation

SANTA CLARA, CA--(Marketwired - July 25, 2017) - Avaya, the global market leader in contact center and call taking solutions for public safety communication centers, today announced that it will be honoring the Texas Commission on State Emergency Communications (CSEC) this Fall for demonstrating its leadership in the development and implementation of Kari's Law in Texas.

The 2015 law mandates that owners of multi-line telephone systems (MLTS) used in commercial businesses, schools and government facilities in the State must provide direct-dial access to 9-1-1 without having to first dial an additional digit such as 9 before getting an outside line, and recommends that critical on-site notification be deployed, when available in the system. The award presentation is scheduled to take place at the Illinois Institute of Technology during its Real Time Collaboration Lab Conference being held on campus on September 25-28.

In alignment with Kari's Law, enacted by Governor Abbot in 2015, current MLTS operators must now be compliant by September, or if applicable, file for a financial hardship waiver for their telephone system, as provided by the legislation. The State recently reminded MLTS operators in a press release from CSEC that the window to remediate systems or file for a hardship waiver is quickly approaching. Business owners and operators of a MLTS system have until September 1, 2017 according to the recent CSEC press release. This action is the latest milestone for Kari's Law, which has been gaining momentum throughout the country.

Despite a unanimous House bill approving H.R. 582, Hank Hunt hasn't been waiting to keep the ball moving on a State by State basis until this becomes the law of the land. After testimony in 2016 by Avaya's Mark J. Fletcher, ENP just last year, Elizabeth Crowley introduced the NYC 911 Direct Access Bill. Fletcher said, "Avaya's influence and expertise was clearly visible in this law recently enacted in all five boroughs of New York City Council following similar legislation by the governors of Illinois, Maryland, Texas, Tennessee, and Maine, as well as local Suffolk County, NY Legislators."