Bill Text: IA HF2439 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the distribution and permissible expenditures of the emergency communications service surcharge and the duties of the E911 communications council. Effective 7-1-16.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Passed) 2016-04-29 - Signed by Governor. H.J. 804. [HF2439 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-HF2439-Introduced.html

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House File 2439 - Introduced




                                 HOUSE FILE       
                                 BY  COMMITTEE ON
                                     APPROPRIATIONS

                                 (SUCCESSOR TO HF 2408)
                                 (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 627)

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the distribution and permissible
  2    expenditures of the emergency communications service
  3    surcharge and the duties of the E911 communications council.
  4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 34A.7A, subsection 2, Code 2016, is
  1  2 amended to read as follows:
  1  3    2.  Moneys collected pursuant to subsection 1 and section
  1  4 34A.7B, subsection 2, shall be deposited in a separate E911
  1  5 emergency communications fund within the state treasury
  1  6 under the control of the program manager. Section 8.33 shall
  1  7 not apply to moneys in the fund. Moneys earned as income,
  1  8 including as interest, from the fund shall remain in the fund
  1  9 until expended as provided in this section. Moneys in the fund
  1 10 shall be expended and distributed in the following priority
  1 11 order:
  1 12    a.  An amount as appropriated by the general assembly to the
  1 13 director shall be allocated to the director and program manager
  1 14 for implementation, support, and maintenance of the functions
  1 15 of the director and program manager and to employ the auditor
  1 16 of state to perform an annual audit of the E911 emergency
  1 17 communications fund.
  1 18    b.  (1)  The program manager shall allocate to each joint
  1 19 E911 service board and to the department of public safety a
  1 20 minimum of one thousand dollars per calendar quarter for each
  1 21 public safety answering point within the service area of the
  1 22 department of public safety or joint E911 service board that
  1 23 has submitted an annual written request to the program manager
  1 24 in a form approved by the program manager by May 15 of each
  1 25 year.
  1 26    (2)  The amount allocated under this paragraph "b" shall be
  1 27 sixty percent of the total amount of surcharge generated per
  1 28 calendar quarter allocated as follows:
  1 29    (a)  Sixty=five percent of the total dollars available for
  1 30 allocation shall be allocated in proportion to the square miles
  1 31 of the service area to the total square miles in this state.
  1 32    (b)  Thirty=five percent of the total dollars available for
  1 33 allocation shall be allocated in proportion to the wireless
  1 34 E911 calls taken at the public safety answering point in
  1 35 the service area to the total number of wireless E911 calls
  2  1 originating in this state.
  2  2    (c)  Notwithstanding subparagraph divisions (a) and (b), the
  2  3 minimum amount allocated to each joint E911 service board and
  2  4 to the department of public safety shall be no less than one
  2  5 thousand dollars for each public safety answering point within
  2  6 the service area of the department of public safety or joint
  2  7 E911 service board.
  2  8    (3)  The funds allocated in this paragraph "b" shall be used
  2  9 for emergency communication equipment utilized by the public
  2 10 safety answering points for the implementation and maintenance
  2 11 of E911 services.
  2 12    b.  c.  From July 1, 2013, until June 30, 2026, the program
  2 13 manager shall allocate ten percent of the total amount of
  2 14 surcharge generated to wireless carriers to recover their costs
  2 15 to deliver E911 phase 1 services. If the allocation in this
  2 16 paragraph is insufficient to reimburse all wireless carriers
  2 17 for such carrier's eligible expenses, the program manager
  2 18 shall allocate a prorated amount to each wireless carrier
  2 19 equal to the percentage of such carrier's eligible expenses as
  2 20 compared to the total of all eligible expenses for all wireless
  2 21 carriers for the calendar quarter during which such expenses
  2 22 were submitted. When prorated expenses are paid, the remaining
  2 23 unpaid expenses shall no longer be eligible for payment under
  2 24 this paragraph.
  2 25    c.  d.  The program manager shall reimburse communications
  2 26 service providers on a calendar quarter basis for carriers'
  2 27 eligible expenses for transport costs between the selective
  2 28 router and the public safety answering points related to the
  2 29 delivery of wireless E911 phase 1 services and the integration
  2 30 of an internet protocol=enabled next generation 911 network.
  2 31    d.  e.  The program manager shall reimburse wire=line
  2 32 carriers and third=party E911 automatic location information
  2 33 database providers on a calendar quarterly basis for the
  2 34 costs of maintaining and upgrading the E911 components and
  2 35 functionalities beyond the input to the E911 selective router,
  3  1 including the E911 selective router and the automatic location
  3  2 information database.
  3  3    e.  (1)  The program manager shall allocate to each joint
  3  4 E911 service board and to the department of public safety a
  3  5 minimum of one thousand dollars per calendar quarter for each
  3  6 public safety answering point within the service area of the
  3  7 department of public safety or joint E911 service board that
  3  8 has submitted an annual written request to the program manager
  3  9 in a form approved by the program manager by May 15 of each
  3 10 year.
  3 11    (2)  The amount allocated under this paragraph "e" shall be
  3 12 forty=six percent of the total amount of surcharge generated
  3 13 per calendar quarter allocated as follows:
  3 14    (a)  Sixty=five percent of the total dollars available for
  3 15 allocation shall be allocated in proportion to the square miles
  3 16 of the service area to the total square miles in this state.
  3 17    (b)  Thirty=five percent of the total dollars available for
  3 18 allocation shall be allocated in proportion to the wireless
  3 19 E911 calls taken at the public safety answering point in
  3 20 the service area to the total number of wireless E911 calls
  3 21 originating in this state.
  3 22    (c)  Notwithstanding subparagraph divisions (a) and (b), the
  3 23 minimum amount allocated to each joint E911 service board and
  3 24 to the department of public safety shall be no less than one
  3 25 thousand dollars for each public safety answering point within
  3 26 the service area of the department of public safety or joint
  3 27 E911 service board.
  3 28    (3)  The funds allocated in this paragraph "e" shall be
  3 29 used for communication equipment utilized by the public safety
  3 30 answering points for the implementation and maintenance of E911
  3 31 services. 
  3 32    f.  The department of homeland security and emergency
  3 33 management may, in a reserve account established within the
  3 34 E911 emergency communications fund, credit each fiscal year
  3 35 an amount of up to twelve and one=half percent of the annual
  4  1 emergency communications service surcharge collected pursuant
  4  2 to subsection 1 and the prepaid wireless E911 surcharge
  4  3 collected pursuant to section 34A.7B, subsection 2. However,
  4  4 the moneys contained in such reserve account shall not exceed
  4  5 twelve and one=half percent of the total surcharges collected
  4  6 for each fiscal year. Moneys credited to the reserve account
  4  7 shall only be used by the department for the purpose of
  4  8 repairing or replacing equipment in the event of a catastrophic
  4  9 equipment failure, as determined by the director.
  4 10    f.g.  (1)  If moneys remain in the fund after fully paying
  4 11 all obligations under paragraphs "a", "b", "c", "d", and "e",
  4 12 and "f", the remainder may be accumulated in the fund as a
  4 13 carryover operating surplus. shall be expended and distributed
  4 14 in the following priority order:
  4 15    (a)  (i)  The E911 communications council may provide a grant
  4 16 to any public safety answering point agreeing to consolidate.
  4 17 For purposes of this subparagraph division, "consolidate" means
  4 18 the consolidation of all public safety answering point systems,
  4 19 functions, enhanced 911 service areas, and physical facilities
  4 20 of two or more public safety answering points, resulting in the
  4 21 consolidated public safety answering point being responsible
  4 22 for all call answering and dispatch functions for the combined
  4 23 enhanced 911 service area, or the consolidation of two or
  4 24 more public safety answering points utilizing shared services
  4 25 technology to combine public safety answering point systems,
  4 26 including but not limited to 911 call processing equipment,
  4 27 computer=aided dispatch, mapping, radio, and logging recorders.
  4 28 Such a grant to a public safety answering point shall not
  4 29 exceed one=half of the projected cost of consolidation, or two
  4 30 hundred thousand dollars, whichever is less.
  4 31    (ii)  The grant program established in this subparagraph
  4 32 division shall expire on June 30, 2022.
  4 33    (iii)  The director, in consultation with the program
  4 34 manager and the E911 communications council, shall adopt rules
  4 35 governing the eligibility for and the E911 communications
  5  1 council's distribution of grants to public safety answering
  5  2 points pursuant to this subparagraph division.
  5  3    (b)  The program manager, in consultation with the E911
  5  4 communications council, shall allocate an amount, not to exceed
  5  5 one hundred thousand dollars per fiscal year, for development
  5  6 of public awareness and educational programs related to the
  5  7 use of 911 by the public, educational programs for personnel
  5  8 responsible for the maintenance, operation, and upgrading of
  5  9 local E911 systems, and the expenses of members of the E911
  5 10 communications council for travel, monthly meetings, and
  5 11 training.
  5 12    (c)  The program manager shall allocate remaining
  5 13 surplus shall be used to fund future network and public
  5 14 safety answering point improvements for moneys equally to
  5 15 public safety answering points. Funds allocated under this
  5 16 subparagraph division shall be used for the following costs:
  5 17    (i)  Costs related to the receipt and disposition of
  5 18 911 calls, including hardware and software for an internet
  5 19 protocol=enabled next generation 911 network, and wireless
  5 20 carriers' transport costs related to wireless E911 services, if
  5 21 those costs are not otherwise recovered by wireless carriers
  5 22 through customer billing or other sources and approved by the
  5 23 program manager in consultation with the E911 communications
  5 24 council.
  5 25    (ii)  Costs related to access the state's interoperable
  5 26 communications system.
  5 27    (2)  Notwithstanding section 8.33, any moneys remaining in
  5 28 the fund at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the
  5 29 general fund of the state but shall remain available for the
  5 30 purposes of the fund.
  5 31    g.  h.  The director, in consultation with the program
  5 32 manager and the E911 communications council, shall adopt
  5 33 rules pursuant to chapter 17A governing the distribution of
  5 34 the surcharge collected and distributed pursuant to this
  5 35 subsection. The rules shall include provisions that all joint
  6  1 E911 service boards and the department of public safety which
  6  2 answer or service wireless E911 calls are eligible to receive
  6  3 an equitable portion of the receipts.
  6  4    Sec. 2.  Section 34A.15, Code 2016, is amended by adding the
  6  5 following new subsection:
  6  6    NEW SUBSECTION.  3A.  The council may provide grants, subject
  6  7 to available moneys in the E911 emergency communications fund,
  6  8 to public safety answering points agreeing to consolidate
  6  9 pursuant to section 34A.7A, subsection 2, paragraph "g".
  6 10    Sec. 3.  STUDY OF CONSOLIDATION OF PUBLIC SAFETY ANSWERING
  6 11 POINTS.  The department of homeland security and emergency
  6 12 management shall conduct a study to determine how public safety
  6 13 answering points can be consolidated to achieve operational
  6 14 and cost efficiencies. The study shall also review sections
  6 15 34A.7 and 34A.7A to determine the most efficient method
  6 16 of distributing surcharge revenues to support a network of
  6 17 consolidated public safety answering points. The department
  6 18 shall submit a report containing the results of the study no
  6 19 later than January 15, 2017.
  6 20                           EXPLANATION
  6 21 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  6 22 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  6 23    This bill relates to the distribution and permissible
  6 24 expenditures of the E911 emergency communications service
  6 25 surcharge.
  6 26    Under current Code section 34A.7A, a monthly surcharge
  6 27 is imposed on all communications service providers in Iowa.
  6 28 Moneys collected pursuant to the surcharge are deposited in
  6 29 a fund and are distributed by the E911 program manager in a
  6 30 priority order as listed in Code section 34A.7A(2), paragraphs
  6 31 "a" through "f".
  6 32    The bill establishes a higher priority of funding for
  6 33 the contents of Code section 34A.7A(2), paragraph "e", which
  6 34 relates to funding to be provided to joint E911 service boards
  6 35 and to the department of public safety (DPS), and increases the
  7  1 amount of moneys allocated for funding under this paragraph
  7  2 from 46 percent to 60 percent of the total amount of surcharge
  7  3 generated. The bill also specifies that the funds allocated to
  7  4 such joint E911 boards and to DPS shall be used for "emergency"
  7  5 communication equipment to receive and dispose of 911 calls.
  7  6    The bill requires the program manager to reimburse
  7  7 communications service providers for transport costs related to
  7  8 the delivery of E911 phase 1 services and the integration of an
  7  9 internet protocol=enabled next generation 911 network.
  7 10    The bill provides that the department of homeland security
  7 11 and emergency management may credit each fiscal year an amount
  7 12 of up to 12.5 percent of the annual surcharges in a reserve
  7 13 account established within the E911 emergency communications
  7 14 fund. However, such reserve account cannot exceed 12.5
  7 15 percent of the total surcharges collected for each fiscal year.
  7 16 Moneys credited to the reserve account may only be used by the
  7 17 department to repair or replace equipment in the event of a
  7 18 catastrophic equipment failure, as determined by the director
  7 19 of the department.
  7 20    The bill establishes a new priority order relating to the
  7 21 distribution of any moneys remaining after fully paying all
  7 22 prioritized obligations under the previous paragraphs. First
  7 23 in this priority order is an amount allocated to the E911
  7 24 communications council to provide grants to public safety
  7 25 answering points agreeing to consolidate, as defined in
  7 26 the bill, which are not to exceed one=half of the cost of
  7 27 consolidation, or $200,000, whichever is less. Such grants may
  7 28 be provided until June 30, 2022. Second in this priority order
  7 29 is an amount, not to exceed $100,000 per year, to be allocated
  7 30 only for the development of public awareness and educational
  7 31 programs relating to the use and maintenance of E911 systems
  7 32 and not for the expenses of members of the E911 communications
  7 33 travel for meetings and training. Third in this priority order
  7 34 is for any remaining moneys to be allocated equally to public
  7 35 safety answering points for costs related to access the Iowa
  8  1 interoperable communications system and costs related to the
  8  2 receipt and disposition of 911 calls, including hardware and
  8  3 software for an internet protocol=enabled next generation 911
  8  4 network.
  8  5    The bill provides the E911 communications council with the
  8  6 authority to provide grants to consolidating public safety
  8  7 answering points under Code section 34A.15.
  8  8    The bill requires the department of homeland security and
  8  9 emergency management to conduct a study to determine the most
  8 10 efficient method to consolidate public safety answering points.
  8 11 The department must submit a report containing the results of
  8 12 the study no later than January 15, 2017.
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