S. 4691, Disaster Communications Coordination and Preparedness Act

S. 4691 would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to review its procedures for providing notifications when the Disaster Information Reporting System is activated or deactivated. The bill also would direct the FCC to evaluate whether its role as a conduit for public safety information could be improved. Finally, S. 4691 would require the commission to develop materials that explain to state and local governments how it helps coordinate communications during emergencies.

Using information about the cost of similar provisions, CBO estimates that implementing S. 4691 would cost $1 million over the 2026-2031 period. However, the FCC is authorized to collect fees each year sufficient to offset the appropriated costs of its regulatory activities; thus, CBO estimates that the net cost for the FCC to implement the bill would be negligible, assuming appropriation actions consistent with that authority.

The bill would increase the cost of an existing private-sector mandate if the FCC increases annual fee collections to offset the costs of implementing the provisions in S. 4691. CBO estimates that the incremental cost of the mandate would be small and would fall well below the annual threshold established in UMRA for private-sector mandates ($214 million in 2026, adjusted annually for inflation).

S. 4691 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in UMRA.

The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are David Hughes (for federal costs) and Rachel Austin (for mandates). The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.