Bill
HB 211
HB 211 requires wireless carriers to promptly provide location data to law enforcement or PSAPs in urgent emergencies, with liability protections and an SBI contact database.
Status / Effective date
- Enacted as a new Article 16C to Chapter 15A (G.S. 15A‑300.10).
- Effective date: July 1, 2025.
- Requires the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) to adopt temporary rules to implement the law.
Purpose
- To authorize and streamline access to wireless phone location information by law enforcement and public safety answering points (PSAPs) in certain urgent emergency circumstances.
Key provisions
- Who is covered: A “wireless telecommunications carrier” (same meaning as a commercial mobile radio service provider under G.S. 143B‑1400) and resellers of wireless services; PSAPs and law enforcement agencies are the requesters.
- When carriers must provide location data “without delay” (subject to applicable federal law):
1. If the device was used to place a 911 call requesting emergency assistance; or
2. If a law enforcement officer or PSAP employee/agent has reasonable suspicion that the device is in the possession of an individual involved in an emergency that poses risk of death or serious physical harm.
- Federal-law caveat: Disclosure obligations are “subject to any limitations under applicable federal law.”
- Voluntary protocols: Carriers may establish voluntary internal protocols to disclose phone location information beyond the statutory triggers.
- Liability protection: No civil cause of action may be brought against a carrier (or its officers, employees, agents) that provides phone location information in good faith and in accordance with the statute.
- Carrier contact information / SBI database:
- All wireless carriers and resellers doing business in the State must submit emergency contact information to the SBI annually by June 15 and whenever contact info changes.
- SBI must maintain a database of these contacts and make it immediately available to all PSAPs to facilitate rapid requests.
Who is affected / likely impacts
- Immediate: wireless carriers/resellers (operational and reporting requirements), PSAPs, state and local law enforcement (faster access to location data in emergencies), SBI (rulemaking and database maintenance).
- Public: potential for quicker emergency response and improved public safety outcomes when callers are in imminent danger; also raises privacy and civil‑liberties considerations because the statute lowers procedural barriers to carrier disclosure in urgent situations.
- Legal considerations: disclosures remain constrained by federal law (e.g., ECPA, CALEA, federal warrants/subpoena regimes) — carriers and law enforcement must reconcile state obligations with federal requirements.
Procedural/timeline items
- Effective July 1, 2025.
- SBI to adopt temporary rules immediately to implement the statute; temporary rules remain in effect until permanent rules take effect.
- Annual contact submission by carriers due June 15 (and upon any change).
Plain‑language takeaway
HB 211 creates a state law pathway requiring wireless carriers to promptly provide available phone‑location data to law enforcement or PSAPs in urgent emergencies (911 calls or situations involving imminent risk of death/serious harm), while protecting carriers from civil liability if they act in good faith and preserving limits imposed by federal law. It also establishes an SBI‑maintained contact database to speed requests.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
Sign in to ask a question.
