The law they mentioned required cellular providers to update to the "E911" system, i.e., it requires that your cell company deliver location information to the E911 center when you call 911. Some Cellular providers, such as Verizon, chose to externalize the costs of providing location service for mobile phones by making their customers buy GPS-equipped products, while others used a tower-based technology which doesn't require any changes to the phones.
The question of what that says about certain providers and their attitudes toward their customers is left as an exercise for the reader.
You may either switch to another provider that doesn't use the GPS-based tech, or donate the phones for use by charitable organizations.
William
A little learning is a dang'rous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring; There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, And drinking largely sobers us again. -- Alexander Pope, Essay on Criticism