§940e Expansion of 911 Access

Summary

Allows the Secretary to give loans to groups that can borrow from the Rural Utilities Service, state or local governments, Indian tribes, or other public bodies. The loans pay for rural facilities and equipment to expand 911 access, emergency systems that work together (including networks that also send important transportation info), homeland security and transportation safety communications, and location technologies outside urban areas. Loans follow the Secretary’s rules and subsection (c). Government fees for emergency communications, like state or local 911 fees, can be used as collateral. The Secretary may also lend to equipment providers when the local government in charge cannot assume the loan debt. These loans must use funds that were available for telephone loans for fiscal years 2008 through 2023.