Nashville, TN – A bill designed to improve 911 services for multiline phone systems, most commonly found in hotels and office buildings, was signed into state law by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam earlier this month.
Public Chapter No. 808, also known as Kari’s Law, helps ensure people in Tennessee will no longer have to dial a 9 then 9-1-1 to connect to responders in the midst of an emergency.
Hunt’s nine-year-old daughter tried repeatedly to dial 9-1-1 from the motel room’s phone, unaware the phone system required dialing an extra 9 to reach an outside line. Kari’s Law has passed in several other U.S. states including Texas, Illinois, and Maryland, and is currently being considered for nationwide enactment.
“I’m very pleased that we were able to pass this much needed law. It is critically important that everyone, no matter where they may be, can access emergency services instantly with the three famous numbers: 9-1-1,” said Rep. Jimmy Matlock (R-Lenoir City). “I believe this legislation will help first responders get to victims faster during tragedies like the one that happened to Kari Hunt, and I believe it will help save lives.”
The bill requires both phone vendors and residential or business facility owner/operators to have a default configuration that allows users to directly initiate a call to 911 without dialing any additional digit, code, prefix, or postfix, including any trunk access code such as the digit 1 or 9.
The bill also requires those facility owner/operators to configure the telephone system to provide notification to a central location on the site of the residential or business facility when a person within the facility dials 911.
“It is a true blessing for Tennessee that a family has taken such a terrible tragedy and made it their mission to prevent others from suffering in the same manner,” Tennessee Emergency Communication Board Member Jennifer Estes said. “I can only hope that other states will follow the great leadership we have in the Tennessee General Assembly and ensure everyone has direct access to 911.”
