Kari's Law
For MLTS sold, upgraded, or leased after February 2020.
There cannot be a 911 prefix.
911 calls must give effective call
back numbers to dispatchers
Property must be notified of any
911 calls made on premise.
History
Kari’s Law was created to honor the memory of Kari Hunt and to address a critical problem in multi-line telephone systems (MLTS) that hindered reaching 911 services.
Kari Hunt’s tragic story involved her leaving an abusive marriage and seeking refuge with her three children at her sister’s place in Texas. Her husband convinced Kari to bring the kids to a local motel where he was staying for a visit. He convinced her to go into the bathroom with him, where he locked the door and ultimately took her life.
During this horrific incident, Kari’s 9-year-old daughter, Brianna, tried desperately to call 911 in the other room. However, due to the motel’s MLTS system, she wasn’t aware of the extension required to reach emergency services. Unable to get through, she had to leave the room and approach the hotel lobby staff for help, but they didn’t speak English. It was only when a passerby overheard the commotion and intervened that 911 was finally contacted.
This event exposed a significant accessibility issue in the 911 infrastructure, particularly for children in distress. In response, the Kari Hunt Foundation advocated for improved legislation to address the flaws in the 911 Emergency System.
In 2018, the Senate passed Kari’s Law, seeking to ensure that such tragedies would not happen again and to make it easier for anyone to access emergency services from MLTS systems.