READI Act

Reliable Emergency Alert Distribution Improvement Act of 2018 or the READI Act This bill amends the Warning, Alert, and Response Network Act to include emergency alerts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a type of alert that subscribers of commercial mobile service licensees may not block from their devices (currently, alerts from the President may not be blocked). The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must adopt regulations that encourage states to establish a State Emergency Communications Commission (SECC) and provide that each SECC meet at least annually to review and update its Emergency Alert System Plan (State EAS Plan). The FCC must approve or disapprove the updated plan. FEMA shall develop and issue guidance for state, tribal, and local governments relating to emergency alerts. The FCC shall complete: (1) a rulemaking proceeding to establish a system to receive from FEMA or state, tribal, or local governments reports of false alerts under the emergency alert system (EAS) or the Wireless EAS to record such false alerts and examine their causes; (2) a rulemaking proceeding to modify the EAS to provide for repeating messages while an alert remains pending; and (3) an inquiry to examine the feasibility of establishing systems and signaling to offer EAS alerts to audio and video streaming services delivered over the Internet.