Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 3 to 6 and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 3. 25 MRSA §2926, sub-§2, ¶K is enacted to read:
K. Standards and procedures for acceptance of text messages by the E-9-1-1 system and acceptance of text messages by at least one public safety answering point beginning July 1, 2017 from all cellular or wireless telecommunications service providers in the State as required by the Federal Communications Commission.
Sec. 4. 25 MRSA §2929, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2011, c. 623, Pt. D, §1, is further amended to read:
Sec. 5. 25 MRSA §2929, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2011, c. 662, §16, is further amended to read:
Sec. 6. 25 MRSA §2929, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 291, §3, is amended to read:
Sec. 7. 25 MRSA §2929, sub-§6, as amended by PL 2007, c. 209, §6, is further amended to read:
This amendment is the minority report of the committee. The amendment changes the provision of the bill that requires the Public Utilities Commission, Emergency Services Communication Bureau to develop standards and procedures for the acceptance of text messages by all public safety answering points beginning July 1, 2016 to a provision that requires the bureau to develop standards and procedures for acceptance of text messages by the E-9-1-1 system and the acceptance of text messages by at least one public safety answering point from all cellular and wireless telecommunications service providers in the State as required by the Federal Communications Commission beginning July 1, 2017. The amendment changes the provisions of the bill regarding the confidentiality of text messages sent to the E-9-1-1 system to provide that all digital communications sent to the E-9-1-1 system are confidential, subject to the same exceptions that apply to the confidentiality of audio recordings of emergency calls.