Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII, at the time this report was filed, the cost estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 was not available.
FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective of this legislation is to increase public safety by allowing for wireless notification of emergencies in a specific area which may not have access to traditional terrestrial mobile service.
DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII, no provision of H.R. 7022 is known to be duplicative of another Federal program, including any program that was included in a report to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 or the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.
RELATED COMMITTEE AND SUBCOMMITTEE HEARINGS
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(6) of rule XIII, the following related hearing was used to develop or consider H.R. 7022: On September 9, 2025, the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a hearing entitled, ``Public Safety Communications in the United States.'' The Subcommittee received testimony from: Steve Newton, Emergency Management Director, Chatham County Emergency Management; Sheriff Shannon Dicus, San Bernadino County; Dr. Brian Fontes, Former Chief Executive Officer, National Emergency Number Association; and Randall C. Wright, Executive Director, WUFT/WRUF, Florida Public Radio Emergency Network, and Project Beacon On December 16, 2025, the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a legislative hearing entitled, ``Legislative Improvements to Public Safety Communications in the United States.'' The Subcommittee received testimony from: Captain Jack Varnado, President of APCO International and 9-1-1 Director of Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office; Jennifer Manner, Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and International Strategy, AST SpaceMobile; Matthew Gerst, Partner, Wilkinson Barket Knauer, LLP; and Jeannette Sutton, PhD, Associate Professor of the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity, University at Albany
COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII, the Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. At the time this report was filed, the estimate was not available.
EARMARK, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND LIMITED TARIFF BENEFITS
Pursuant to clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI, the Committee finds that H.R. 7022 contains no earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this legislation.
APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to the terms and conditions of employment or access to public services or accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION
Section 1. Short title
This section provides that the Act may be cited as the ``Mystic Alerts Act.''
Section 2. Transmission of Emergency Alerts by Satellite
Subsection (a) requires filing within 60 days of the final rule issued under section (b) for a covered service provider to notify the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) to whether the provider intends to transmit emergency alerts by satellite. If a provider elects not to transmit emergency alerts by satellite the provider shall notify subscribers of that election. Subscribers may elect to opt out of receiving emergency alerts by satellite and no additional charges may be charged to subscribers if a provider elects to transmit emergency alerts by satellite. Subsection (b) requires the Commission, within 6 months, to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to establish any requirements necessary to facilitate satellite alerting capabilities. The notice of proposed rulemaking shall take into account the capability of satellites to transmit emergency alerts and mobile devices to receive and display such alerts, and shall minimize the impact of emergency alerting on other voice and date communications. The Commission is required to issue a final rule within 18 months after the enactment of this Act and the effective date of that rule shall be the later of 36 months after publication into the Federal Register or 12 months after the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency implement standards, protocols, or procedures necessary to support the transmission of emergency alerts. Subsection (c) establishes a limitation of liability for covered service providers that meet the obligations under this Act, including liability for both sending or failing to send alerts and for sharing subscriber information with government or emergency agencies to deliver those alerts. It also clarifies that electing not to transmit emergency alerts by satellite cannot, by itself, be used as a basis for liability against the provider. Subsection (d) provides a definition for ``covered service provider.''
MINORITY, ADDITIONAL, OR DISSENTING VIEWS