State, Local or Tribal Governments

PUBLIC LAW 116–172—OCT. 17, 2020

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NATIONAL SUICIDE HOTLINE
DESIGNATION ACT OF 2020

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134 STAT. 832

PUBLIC LAW 116–172—OCT. 17, 2020

Public Law 116–172
116th Congress
An Act
Oct. 17, 2020
[S. 2661]

National Suicide
Hotline
Designation Act
of 2020.
47 USC 609 note.
47 USC 251 note.

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to designate 9–8–8 as the universal
telephone number for the purpose of the national suicide prevention and mental
health crisis hotline system operating through the National Suicide Prevention
Lifeline and through the Veterans Crisis Line, 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 ‘‘National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:
(1) According to the American Foundation for Suicide
Prevention, on average, there are 129 suicides per day in the
United States.
(2) To prevent future suicides, it is critical to transition
the cumbersome, existing 10-digit National Suicide Hotline to
a universal, easy-to-remember, 3-digit phone number and connect people in crisis with life-saving resources.
(3) It is essential that people in the United States have
access to a 3-digit national suicide hotline across all geographic
locations.
(4) The designated suicide hotline number will need to
be both familiar and recognizable to all people in the United
States.

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SEC. 3. UNIVERSAL TELEPHONE NUMBER FOR NATIONAL SUICIDE
PREVENTION AND MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS HOTLINE
SYSTEM.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 251(e) of the Communications Act
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 251(e)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(4) UNIVERSAL TELEPHONE NUMBER FOR NATIONAL SUICIDE
PREVENTION AND MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS HOTLINE SYSTEM.—
9–8–8 is designated as the universal telephone number within
the United States for the purpose of the national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline system operating through
the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline maintained by the
Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use
under section 520E–3 of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 290bb–36c) and through the Veterans Crisis Line maintained by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under section
1720F(h) of title 38, United States Code.’’.

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PUBLIC LAW 116–172—OCT. 17, 2020

134 STAT. 833

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by subsection (a)
shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act.
(c) REQUIRED REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health
and Substance Use and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
jointly submit a report that details the resources necessary to
make the use of 9–8–8, as designated under paragraph (4) of section
251(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 251(e)), as
added by subsection (a) of this section, operational and effective
across the United States to—
(1) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate;
(2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(3) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House
of Representatives; and
(4) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.

47 USC 251 note.

SEC. 4. STATE AUTHORITY OVER FEES.

47 USC 251a.

(a) AUTHORITY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act, any amendment
made by this Act, the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
151 et seq.), or any Commission regulation or order may prevent
the imposition and collection of a fee or charge applicable
to a commercial mobile service or an IP-enabled voice service
specifically designated by a State, a political subdivision of
a State, an Indian Tribe, or village or regional corporation
serving a region established pursuant to the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) for 9–8–8 related
services, if the fee or charge is held in a sequestered account
to be obligated or expended only in support of 9–8–8 services,
or enhancements of such services, as specified in the provision
of State or local law adopting the fee or charge.
(2) USE OF 9–8–8 FUNDS.—A fee or charge collected under
this subsection shall only be imposed, collected, and used to
pay expenses that a State, a political subdivision of a State,
an Indian Tribe, or village or regional corporation serving a
region established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is expected to incur that
are reasonably attributed to—
(A) ensuring the efficient and effective routing of calls
made to the 9–8–8 national suicide prevention and mental
health crisis hotline to an appropriate crisis center; and
(B) personnel and the provision of acute mental health,
crisis outreach and stabilization services by directly
responding to the 9–8–8 national suicide prevention and
mental health crisis hotline.
(b) FEE ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT.—To ensure efficiency, transparency, and accountability in the collection and expenditure of
a fee or charge for the support or implementation of 9–8–8 services,
not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this
Act, and annually thereafter, the Commission shall submit to the
Committees on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and Appropriations of the Senate and the Committees on Energy and Commerce and Appropriations of the House of Representatives a report
that—

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134 STAT. 834

PUBLIC LAW 116–172—OCT. 17, 2020
(1) details the status in each State, political subdivision
of a State, Indian Tribe, or village or regional corporation
serving a region established pursuant to the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) of the collection
and distribution of such fees or charges; and
(2) includes findings on the amount of revenues obligated
or expended by each State, political subdivision of a State,
Indian Tribe, or village or regional corporation serving a region
established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement
Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) for any purpose other than the
purpose for which any such fees or charges are specified.
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
(1) COMMERCIAL MOBILE SERVICE.—The term ‘‘commercial
mobile service’’ has the meaning given that term under section
332(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(d)).
(2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal Communications Commission.
(3) IP-ENABLED VOICE SERVICE.—The term ‘‘IP-enabled voice
service’’ shall include—
(A) an interconnected VoIP service, as defined in section 9.3 of the title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations,
or any successor thereto; and
(B) a one-way interconnected VoIP service.
(4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given that
term in section 7 of the Wireless Communications and Public
Safety Act of 1999 (47 U.S.C. 615b).

SEC. 5. LOCATION IDENTIFICATION REPORT.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission
shall submit to the appropriate committees a report that examines
the feasibility and cost of including an automatic dispatchable location that would be conveyed with a 9–8–8 call, regardless of the
technological platform used and including with calls from multiline telephone systems (as defined in section 6502 of the Middle
Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1471)).
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
(1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate
committees’’ means the following:
(A) The Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate.
(B) The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions of the Senate.
(C) The Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives.
(2) DISPATCHABLE LOCATION.—The term ‘‘dispatchable location’’ means the street address of the calling party and additional information such as room number, floor number, or
similar information necessary to adequately identify the location of the calling party.

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SEC. 6. REPORT ON CERTAIN TRAINING PROGRAMS.

(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress that—
(1) youth who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or
queer (referred to in this section as ‘‘LGBTQ’’) are more than
4 times more likely to contemplate suicide than their peers,
with 1 in 5 LGBTQ youth and more than 1 in 3 transgender
youth reporting attempting suicide;

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PUBLIC LAW 116–172—OCT. 17, 2020

134 STAT. 835

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(2) American Indian and Alaska Natives have the highest
rate of suicide of any racial or ethnic group in the United
States with a suicide rate over 3.5 times higher than the
racial or ethnic group with the lowest rate, with the suicide
rate increasing, since 1999, by 139 percent for American Indian
women and 71 percent for men;
(3) between 2001 and 2015, the suicide death rate in rural
counties in the United States was 17.32 per 100,000 individuals,
which is significantly greater than the national average, and
the data shows that between that same time period, suicide
rates increased for all age groups across all counties in the
United States, with the highest rates and the greatest increases
being in more rural counties; and
(4) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration must be equipped to provide specialized
resources to these and other high-risk populations.
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and
Substance Use shall submit to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and the
Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a report that—
(1) details a strategy, to be developed in consultation with
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National
Institute of Mental Health, and organizations capable of providing nationwide suicide prevention and crisis services for
LGBTQ youth, minorities, rural individuals, or other highrisk populations, for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration to offer, support, or provide technical
assistance to training programs for National Suicide Prevention
Lifeline counselors to increase competency in serving highrisk populations; and
(2) includes recommendations regarding—
(A) the facilitation of access to services that are provided to specially trained staff and partner organizations
for LGBTQ youth, minorities, rural individuals, and other
high-risk populations; and
(B) a strategy for optimally implementing an
Integrated Voice Response, or other equally effective
mechanism, to allow National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
callers who are LGBTQ youth, minorities, rural individuals,

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Strategy.
Consultation.

Recommendations.

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134 STAT. 836

PUBLIC LAW 116–172—OCT. 17, 2020
or members of other high-risk populations to access specialized
services.

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Approved October 17, 2020.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 2661:
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 166 (2020):
May 13, considered and passed Senate.
Sept. 21, considered and passed House.

Æ

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