PHONE Act of 2023
Latest action · Dec 15, 2023 Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedDec 14, 2023
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Preserving Home and Office Numbers in Emergencies Act of 2023 or the PHONE Act of 2023
This bill restricts the reassignment of wireline (or landline) telephone numbers following the declaration of a major disaster in a given geographic area.
Specifically, for up to two years after a major disaster has been declared, wireline telephone numbers may not be reassigned except at the request of the subscriber. Further, where a subscriber demonstrates that the residence associated with a telephone number is inaccessible or uninhabitable following a disaster, the subscriber may generally cancel their telephone service and resubscribe with the same number at the same address or at a new address. Such cancellations and resubscriptions may not be subject to cancellation or connection fees.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must publish a list of areas affected by declared disasters, as determined by states, on its website. The bill takes effect 180 days after the FCC determines it is able to publish lists of affected areas in accordance with the bill's requirements.
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Dec 14, 2023.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-WA | Dan Newhouse | Original | Dec 14, 2023 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 15, 2023Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
- Dec 14, 2023Introduced in House
- Dec 14, 2023Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Dec 14, 2023Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.