Shark attacks now trigger emergency phone alerts nationwide
S. 1003 — Lulu’s Law · Filed by Katie Britt (R-AL) · 9 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 12, 2025 · Signed
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill requires the FCC to allow wireless emergency alerts (the system that sends urgent messages to phones during emergencies) to be used to warn the public about shark attacks. The bill gives the FCC 180 days to issue an order adding shark attacks to the list of events that trigger these alerts.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is a straightforward directive to the FCC to expand an existing emergency notification system to cover shark attacks—a public safety measure with no hidden provisions or private beneficiaries.
What the text implies
- Establishes precedent for adding other animal-attack categories (alligator, bear, etc.) to wireless alerts, potentially expanding the system's scope beyond traditional weather/disaster events.
- May increase alert fatigue in coastal regions if shark sightings (not just attacks) are reported, potentially reducing public responsiveness to other emergency alerts.
- FCC implementation discretion on what constitutes a 'shark attack' event (confirmed attack vs. sighting) could create inconsistent warning protocols across states.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Expanding the wireless emergency alert system to include shark attacks provides coastal residents with faster, more comprehensive public safety warnings at no cost to them. The mechanism is straightforward and adds a protective tool without restricting rights or imposing burdens.
Named in the bill
Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Wireless Emergency Alert System, 47 CFR 10.10(a)
Where it stands
9 cosponsors: 5 Republicans, 4 Democrats.
- Mar 12, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Mar 12, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation”
- Apr 30, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably”
- Jul 8, 2025 — Passed the Senate · Congress.gov: “Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S4261; text: CR S4261)”
- May 20, 2026 — Passed both chambers · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 401 - 6…”
- May 20, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Palmer moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill”
- Jun 15, 2026 — Sent to president · Congress.gov: “Presented to President”
- Jun 26, 2026 — Signed into law · Congress.gov: “Became Public Law No: 119-100”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (527 characters) on Apr 4, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Shark attacks now trigger emergency phone alerts nationwide” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s1003 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.