Bipartisan-backed federal legislation will be introduced Friday to improve the efficacy of dialing 988, or the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline that launched in 2022, and connecting callers with assistance and services close to them.

U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro, the Republican representing New York's 19th Congressional District, sponsors the 988 Lifeline Location Improvement Act of 2023, which would require the Federal Communications Commission to implement the necessary technology upgrades to reroute all calls made to the National 988 Crisis Lifeline to local call centers. Most areas in the state have a local center, but not in many others, especially in rural communities common in upstate New York, forcing calls to be transferred to someone hundreds of miles away.

"911 calls are rerouted to local call centers — there’s no reason we can’t do the same for 988," Molinaro said in a statement Friday. "My bipartisan bill convenes a group of logistical and subject matter experts to come up with a plan to roll this technology out."

If signed into law, the measure would mandate the FCC establish an advisory committee with a diverse grouop of stakeholders to develop and establish geolocation services. The committee would have experts in telecommunications, handset manufacturing, 911 services and multiple representatives involved in suicide and crisis prevention intervention, including state and local governments, veterans' services and substance-use and mental health treatment.

U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, the Democrat in New York's 20th Congressional District, co-sponsors the measure. A companion bill was also introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sens. John Barrasso, R-Wyo.; and Ben Ray Jujan, D-N.M.

It's part of the advocacy efforts Molinaro started earlier this year to improve the crisis lifeline, which was created to make it easier for people thinking of taking their own life to ask for help and decrease the stigma. The hotline is most effective when a person familiar with a caller's location responds and provides accurate, local resources they can access.

"We know the 988 Lifeline is a proven life-saving tool and should maximize its full potential," Molinaro said.