Implementation of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012; Establishment of a Public Safety Answering Point Do-Not-Call Registry

In this document, the Commission adopts rules to create a Do- Not-Call registry for public safety answering points (PSAPs) as required by the "Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012" (Tax Relief Act). Specifically, section 6507 of the Tax Relief Act requires the Commission, among other things, to establish a registry that allows PSAPs to register telephone numbers on a Do-Not- Call list and prohibit the use of automatic dialing equipment to contact those numbers. Therefore, the Commission adopts rules necessary for the creation and ongoing management of the Do-Not-Call registry, including requirements for adding PSAP telephone numbers, granting and tracking access by operators of automatic dialing equipment, and protecting the registry from unauthorized disclosure or dissemination of registered numbers. In addition, the Commission adopts specific monetary penalties for unauthorized disclosure or contact of any numbers on the PSAP registry. These provisions are designed to address concerns about the use automatic dialing equipment which can generate large numbers of phone calls in a short period of time, tie up public safety lines, divert critical responder resources away from emergency services, and impede access by the public to emergency lines.