‘Kari’s Law’ Makes Dialing 911 Easier from Multiline Phones

Washington, D.C. - August 7, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) issued the following statement after the Senate passed the Developing Innovation and Growing the Internet of Things (DIGIT) Act, which included Kari’s Law, a bill that amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require multiline telephone systems, common in hotels and offices, to have the ability to directly dial 911 without locating an outside line first:

“In an emergency situation, every moment counts. By ensuring all callers are able to directly dial 911, we can help save critical seconds that could mean the difference between life and death,” said Sen. Cornyn. “Following the example of the State of Texas, I’m glad my colleagues in the Senate have taken this commonsense step to help prevent tragedies across the nation.”

Sen. Cornyn is an original co-sponsor of Kari’s Law, named after Kari Hunt, who was tragically killed in her hotel room in 2013. Kari’s daughter was unable to reach emergency personnel because she failed to dial “9” to locate an outside line on the multiline phone in the hotel room before dialing 911. The Texas legislature passed a similar state law that went into effect in 2016. A similar bill passed the House of Representatives on January 23, 2017.

Kari Hunt was killed in her hotel room after her daughter was unable to reach emergency responders due to the hotel phone system's requirement of dialing an extra “9” to reach 911.

“I am grateful my colleagues in the Senate have come together to pass this bill that has the potential to save many lives,” Senator Ted Cruz said. “No family should have to endure the grief inflicted upon the Hunt family, when technology that was supposed to be there in Kari's time of need was not easily accessible. I am a proud supporter of this bipartisan bill that will make dialing 911 easier and I hope it quickly becomes law.”