Public Law 114-143

PUBLIC LAW 114–143—APR. 11, 2016

130 STAT. 327

Public Law 114–143
114th Congress
An Act
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Administrator of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency to modernize the integrated public alert
and warning system of the United States, 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 ‘‘Integrated Public Alert and
Warning System Modernization Act of 2015’’.

Apr. 11, 2016
[S. 1180]

Integrated Public
Alert and
Warning System
Modernization
Act of 2015.
6 USC 101 note.

SEC. 2. INTEGRATED PUBLIC ALERT AND WARNING SYSTEM MODERNIZATION.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Homeland Security Act of
2002 (6 U.S.C. 311 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following:

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‘‘SEC. 526. INTEGRATED PUBLIC ALERT AND WARNING SYSTEM MODERNIZATION.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To provide timely and effective warnings
regarding natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made
disasters or threats to public safety, the Administrator shall—
‘‘(1) modernize the integrated public alert and warning
system of the United States (in this section referred to as
the ‘public alert and warning system’) to help ensure that
under all conditions the President and, except to the extent
the public alert and warning system is in use by the President,
Federal agencies and State, tribal, and local governments can
alert and warn the civilian population in areas endangered
by natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made
disasters or threats to public safety; and
‘‘(2) implement the public alert and warning system to
disseminate timely and effective warnings regarding natural
disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters or
threats to public safety.
‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out subsection (a), the Administrator shall—
‘‘(1) establish or adopt, as appropriate, common alerting
and warning protocols, standards, terminology, and operating
procedures for the public alert and warning system;
‘‘(2) include in the public alert and warning system the
capability to adapt the distribution and content of communications on the basis of geographic location, risks, and multiple
communication systems and technologies, as appropriate and
to the extent technically feasible;

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Disasters.
Terrorism.
6 USC 3210.

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130 STAT. 328

Time period.

Consultation.
Coordination.

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Consultation.
Coordination.

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PUBLIC LAW 114–143—APR. 11, 2016

‘‘(3) include in the public alert and warning system the
capability to alert, warn, and provide equivalent information
to individuals with disabilities, individuals with access and
functional needs, and individuals with limited-English proficiency, to the extent technically feasible;
‘‘(4) ensure that training, tests, and exercises are conducted
for the public alert and warning system, including by—
‘‘(A) incorporating the public alert and warning system
into other training and exercise programs of the Department, as appropriate;
‘‘(B) establishing and integrating into the National
Incident Management System a comprehensive and periodic training program to instruct and educate Federal,
State, tribal, and local government officials in the use
of the Common Alerting Protocol enabled Emergency Alert
System; and
‘‘(C) conducting, not less than once every 3 years, periodic nationwide tests of the public alert and warning
system;
‘‘(5) to the extent practicable, ensure that the public alert
and warning system is resilient and secure and can withstand
acts of terrorism and other external attacks;
‘‘(6) conduct public education efforts so that State, tribal,
and local governments, private entities, and the people of the
United States reasonably understand the functions of the public
alert and warning system and how to access, use, and respond
to information from the public alert and warning system
through a general market awareness campaign;
‘‘(7) consult, coordinate, and cooperate with the appropriate
private sector entities and Federal, State, tribal, and local
governmental authorities, including the Regional Administrators and emergency response providers;
‘‘(8) consult and coordinate with the Federal Communications Commission, taking into account rules and regulations
promulgated by the Federal Communications Commission; and
‘‘(9) coordinate with and consider the recommendations of
the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Subcommittee
established under section 2(b) of the Integrated Public Alert
and Warning System Modernization Act of 2015.
‘‘(c) SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.—The public alert and warning
system shall—
‘‘(1) to the extent determined appropriate by the Administrator, incorporate multiple communications technologies;
‘‘(2) be designed to adapt to, and incorporate, future technologies for communicating directly with the public;
‘‘(3) to the extent technically feasible, be designed—
‘‘(A) to provide alerts to the largest portion of the
affected population feasible, including nonresident visitors
and tourists, individuals with disabilities, individuals with
access and functional needs, and individuals with limitedEnglish proficiency; and
‘‘(B) to improve the ability of remote areas to receive
alerts;
‘‘(4) promote local and regional public and private partnerships to enhance community preparedness and response;
‘‘(5) provide redundant alert mechanisms where practicable
so as to reach the greatest number of people; and

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PUBLIC LAW 114–143—APR. 11, 2016

130 STAT. 329

‘‘(6) to the extent feasible, include a mechanism to ensure
the protection of individual privacy.
‘‘(d) USE OF SYSTEM.—Except to the extent necessary for testing
the public alert and warning system, the public alert and warning
system shall not be used to transmit a message that does not
relate to a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made
disaster or threat to public safety.
‘‘(e) PERFORMANCE REPORTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date
of enactment of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning
System Modernization Act of 2015, and annually thereafter
through 2018, the Administrator shall make available on the
public website of the Agency a performance report, which
shall—
‘‘(A) establish performance goals for the implementation of the public alert and warning system by the Agency;
‘‘(B) describe the performance of the public alert and
warning system, including—
‘‘(i) the type of technology used for alerts and
warnings issued under the system;
‘‘(ii) the measures taken to alert, warn, and provide
equivalent information to individuals with disabilities,
individuals with access and function needs, and
individuals with limited-English proficiency; and
‘‘(iii) the training, tests, and exercises performed
and the outcomes obtained by the Agency;
‘‘(C) identify significant challenges to the effective operation of the public alert and warning system and any
plans to address these challenges;
‘‘(D) identify other necessary improvements to the
system; and
‘‘(E) provide an analysis comparing the performance
of the public alert and warning system with the performance goals established under subparagraph (A).
‘‘(2) CONGRESS.—The Administrator shall submit to the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Homeland Security of the
House of Representatives each report required under paragraph
(1).’’.
(b) INTEGRATED PUBLIC ALERT AND WARNING SYSTEM SUBCOMMITTEE.—
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (in this subsection referred
to as the ‘‘Administrator’’) shall establish a subcommittee to
the National Advisory Council established under section 508
of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 318) to be
known as the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System
Subcommittee (in this subsection referred to as the ‘‘Subcommittee’’).
(2) MEMBERSHIP.—Notwithstanding section 508(c) of the
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 318(c)), the Subcommittee shall be composed of the following members (or
their designees):

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Public
information.
Web posting.

Analysis.

Deadline.

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130 STAT. 330

(A) The Deputy Administrator for Protection and
National Preparedness of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(B) The Chairman of the Federal Communications
Commission.
(C) The Administrator of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration of the Department of Commerce.
(D) The Assistant Secretary for Communications and
Information of the Department of Commerce.
(E) The Under Secretary for Science and Technology
of the Department of Homeland Security.
(F) The Under Secretary for the National Protection
and Programs Directorate.
(G) The Director of Disability Integration and
Coordination of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency.
(H) The Chairperson of the National Council on Disability.
(I) Qualified individuals appointed by the Administrator as soon as practicable after the date of enactment
of this Act from among the following:
(i) Representatives of State and local governments,
representatives of emergency management agencies,
and representatives of emergency response providers.
(ii) Representatives from federally recognized
Indian tribes and national Indian organizations.
(iii) Individuals who have the requisite technical
knowledge and expertise to serve on the Subcommittee,
including representatives of—
(I) communications service providers;
(II) vendors, developers, and manufacturers
of systems, facilities, equipment, and capabilities
for the provision of communications services;
(III) third-party service bureaus;
(IV) the broadcasting industry, including
public broadcasting;
(V) the commercial mobile radio service
industry;
(VI) the cable industry;
(VII) the satellite industry;
(VIII) national organizations representing
individuals with disabilities, the blind, deaf, and
hearing-loss communities, individuals with access
and functional needs, and the elderly;
(IX) consumer or privacy advocates; and
(X) organizations representing individuals
with limited-English proficiency.
(iv) Qualified representatives of such other stakeholders and interested and affected parties as the
Administrator considers appropriate.
(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The Deputy Administrator for Protection and National Preparedness of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency shall serve as the Chairperson of the
Subcommittee.
(4) MEETINGS.—

Deadlines.

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PUBLIC LAW 114–143—APR. 11, 2016

130 STAT. 331

(A) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meeting of the Subcommittee shall take place not later than 120 days after
the date of enactment of this Act.
(B) OTHER MEETINGS.—After the initial meeting, the
Subcommittee shall meet, at least annually, at the call
of the Chairperson.
(5) CONSULTATION WITH NONMEMBERS.—The Subcommittee
and the program offices for the integrated public alert and
warning system for the United States shall consult with individuals and entities that are not represented on the Subcommittee
to consider new and developing technologies that may be beneficial to the public alert and warning system, including—
(A) the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency;
(B) entities engaged in federally funded research; and
(C) academic institutions engaged in relevant work
and research.
(6) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Subcommittee shall—
(A) develop recommendations for an integrated public
alert and warning system; and
(B) in developing the recommendations under subparagraph (A), consider—
(i) recommendations for common alerting and
warning protocols, standards, terminology, and operating procedures for the public alert and warning
system; and
(ii) recommendations to provide for a public alert
and warning system that—
(I) has the capability to adapt the distribution
and content of communications on the basis of
geographic location, risks, or personal user preferences, as appropriate;
(II) has the capability to alert and warn
individuals with disabilities and individuals with
limited-English proficiency;
(III) to the extent appropriate, incorporates
multiple communications technologies;
(IV) is designed to adapt to, and incorporate,
future technologies for communicating directly
with the public;
(V) is designed to provide alerts to the largest
portion of the affected population feasible,
including nonresident visitors and tourists, and
improve the ability of remote areas to receive
alerts;
(VI) promotes local and regional public and
private partnerships to enhance community
preparedness and response; and
(VII) provides redundant alert mechanisms,
if practicable, to reach the greatest number of
people regardless of whether they have access to,
or use, any specific medium of communication or
any particular device.
(7) REPORT.—
(A) SUBCOMMITTEE SUBMISSION.—Not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Subcommittee
shall submit to the National Advisory Council a report
containing any recommendations required to be developed

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Deadline.

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6 USC 3210 note.

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PUBLIC LAW 114–143—APR. 11, 2016

under paragraph (6) for approval by the National Advisory
Council.
(B) SUBMISSION BY NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL.—If
the National Advisory Council approves the recommendations contained in the report submitted under subparagraph (A), the National Advisory Council shall submit the
report to—
(i) the head of each agency represented on the
Subcommittee;
(ii) the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; and
(iii) the Committee on Homeland Security and the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the
House of Representatives.
(8) TERMINATION.—The Subcommittee shall terminate not
later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act.
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this Act and the amendments
made by this Act such sums as may be necessary for each of
fiscal years 2016, 2017, and 2018.
(d) LIMITATIONS ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—
(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘participating
commercial mobile service provider’’ has the meaning given
that term under section 10.10(f) of title 47, Code of Federal
Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
(2) LIMITATIONS.—Nothing in this Act, including an amendment made by this Act, shall be construed—
(A) to affect any authority—
(i) of the Department of Commerce;
(ii) of the Federal Communications Commission;
or
(iii) provided under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121
et seq.);
(B) to provide the Secretary of Homeland Security with
authority to require any action by the Department of Commerce, the Federal Communications Commission, or any
nongovernmental entity;
(C) to apply to, or to provide the Administrator of
the Federal Emergency Management Agency with authority
over, any participating commercial mobile service provider;
(D) to alter in any way the wireless emergency alerts
service established under the Warning, Alert, and Response
Network Act (47 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.) or any related orders
issued by the Federal Communications Commission after
October 13, 2006; or

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PUBLIC LAW 114–143—APR. 11, 2016

130 STAT. 333

(E) to provide the Federal Emergency Management
Agency with authority to require a State or local jurisdiction to use the integrated public alert and warning system
of the United States.

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Approved April 11, 2016.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 1180:
SENATE REPORTS: No. 114–73 (Comm. on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:
Vol. 161 (2015): July 9, considered and passed Senate.
Vol. 162 (2016): Mar. 21, considered and passed House.

Æ

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