Trump signs law paving way for emergency alerts by satellite

The White House said President Donald Trump signed the Mystic Alerts Act on Thursday, 22 October, creating a route for mobile providers to send emergency warnings by satellite. The law does not make those alerts immediately available: federal rules must first be written, and eligible providers will be able to choose whether to offer the service.

The measure follows the July 2025 floods in the Texas Hill Country, which killed more than 100 people, including 27 campers and counsellors at Camp Mystic. The Texas Tribune reported that weather officials issued multiple flash-flood alerts, but warnings did not reach everyone in a region where mobile coverage is patchy.

Under the law, the Federal Communications Commission must propose regulations within six months of enactment and issue a final rule within 18 months. That rule takes effect no sooner than three years after its publication, and potentially later if the necessary federal alerting standards are not yet in place. Providers covered by the measure must then say whether they will send satellite alerts to compatible devices. Those that decline must notify affected subscribers; those that take part cannot levy an additional charge for the alerts.

Trump also signed the Reversionary Interest Conveyance Act, the White House said. It provides for the sale, at no less than fair market value, of specified US interests in roughly 8.43 acres of land in Sacramento to owners of the relevant parcels who request them. The law does not itself establish that a sale has taken place or transfer ownership of the land as a whole.