Bill Text: TX HB2911 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Engrossed

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

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Bill Title: Relating to next generation 9-1-1 service and the establishment of a next generation 9-1-1 service fund.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2021-06-16 - Effective on 9/1/21 [HB2911 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-HB2911-Engrossed.html

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87R21533 JG-D
By: White, Stephenson H.B. No. 2911

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to next generation 9-1-1 service; increasing a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 771.001, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subdivision (5-a) and amending Subdivision (6) to
read as follows:
(5-a) "Next generation 9-1-1 service" has the meaning
assigned by 47 U.S.C. Section 942.
(6) "9-1-1 service" means a communications service
that connects users to a public safety answering point through a
9-1-1 system. The term includes next generation 9-1-1 service.
SECTION 2. Section 771.059, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 771.059. TARGET DATE [DEADLINE] FOR STATEWIDE NEXT
GENERATION 9-1-1 SERVICE. Before September 1, 2025 [1995], all
parts of the state must be covered by next generation 9-1-1 service.
SECTION 3. The heading to Section 771.0711, Health and
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 771.0711. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR EMERGENCY SERVICE
FEES [FEE] FOR WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONNECTIONS.
SECTION 4. Sections 771.0711(a), (b), and (c), Health and
Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Section 772.114, to [To] provide
for automatic number identification and automatic location
identification of wireless 9-1-1 calls and for the deployment and
reliable operation of next generation 9-1-1 service, the commission
shall impose on each wireless telecommunications connection a 9-1-1
emergency service fee. A political subdivision may not impose
another fee on a wireless service provider or subscriber for 9-1-1
emergency service.
(b) A wireless service provider shall collect the fee in an
amount equal to 75 [50] cents a month for each wireless
telecommunications connection from its subscribers and shall pay
the money collected to the comptroller not later than the 30th day
after the last day of the month during which the fees were
collected. The comptroller may establish alternative dates for
payment of fees under this section. The wireless service provider
may retain an administrative fee of one percent of the amount
collected. The comptroller shall deposit the money from the fees to
the credit of the 9-1-1 services fee account. Until deposited to
the credit of the 9-1-1 services fee account as required by
Subsection (c), money the comptroller collects under this
subsection remains in a trust fund with the state treasury.
(c) Money collected under Subsection (b) may be used only
for services related to 9-1-1 services, including automatic number
identification and automatic location information services and the
deployment and reliable operation of next generation 9-1-1 service,
or as authorized by Section 771.079(c). Not later than the 15th day
after the end of the month in which the money is collected, the
commission shall distribute to each emergency communication
district that does not participate in the state system a portion of
the money that bears the same proportion to the total amount
collected that the population of the area served by the district
bears to the population of the state, excluding the population of
the emergency communication district created under Subchapter B,
Chapter 772. The remaining money collected under Subsection (b)
shall be deposited to the 9-1-1 services fee account.
Notwithstanding this subsection, the emergency communication
district created under Subchapter B, Chapter 772, must be included
in the collection and distribution of prepaid wireless 9-1-1
emergency service fees under Section 771.0712.
SECTION 5. Section 772.103, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subdivisions (2-a), (4), and (5) to read as
follows:
(2-a) "Next generation 9-1-1 service" has the meaning
assigned by 47 U.S.C. Section 942.
(4) "Wireless service provider" and "wireless
telecommunications connection" have the meanings assigned by
Section 771.001.
(5) "Wireless service subscriber" means a customer who
is provided wireless telecommunications connections in the
district.
SECTION 6. Sections 772.114 and 772.115, Health and Safety
Code, are amended to read as follows:
Sec. 772.114. 9-1-1 EMERGENCY SERVICE FEES [FEE]. (a) The
board may:
(1) [impose a 9-1-1 emergency service fee on service
users in the district] if authorized [to do so] by a majority of the
votes cast in the election to confirm the creation of the district
and by a majority vote of the governing body of each participating
jurisdiction, impose a 9-1-1 emergency service fee for a local
exchange access line on service users in the district; and
(2) impose a 9-1-1 emergency service fee on each
wireless telecommunications connection in the district to provide
for:
(A) automatic number identification and
automatic location identification of wireless 9-1-1 calls; and
(B) the deployment and reliable operation of next
generation 9-1-1 service.
(b) For purposes of Subsection (a)(1) [this subsection],
the jurisdiction of the county is the unincorporated area of the
county.
(c) [(b)] The fee authorized under Subsection (a)(1) may be
imposed only on the base rate charge or its equivalent, excluding
charges for coin-operated telephone equipment. The fee may not be
imposed on more than 100 local exchange access lines or their
equivalent for a single business entity at a single location,
unless the lines are used by residents of the location. The fee may
[also] not be imposed on any line that the [Advisory] Commission on
State Emergency Communications excluded from the definition of a
local exchange access line or an equivalent local exchange access
line pursuant to Section 771.063. If a business service user
provides residential facilities, each line that terminates at a
residential unit and that is a communication link equivalent to a
residential local exchange access line must [, shall] be charged
the [9-1-1 emergency service] fee. The fee must have uniform
application and must be imposed in each participating jurisdiction.
(d) [(c)] The rate of the fee imposed under Subsection
(a)(1) may not exceed six percent of the monthly base rate charged a
service user by the principal service supplier in the participating
jurisdiction.
(e) The Commission on State Emergency Communications may
not impose on a wireless telecommunications connection in the
district a fee authorized by Section 771.0711 that is imposed for
the same purposes as the purposes described by Subsection (a)(2).
(f) The amount of the fee imposed under Subsection (a)(2)
may not:
(1) exceed 75 cents a month for each wireless
telecommunications connection; and
(2) increase by more than 10 percent of the monthly fee
amount imposed under that subdivision in the preceding year each
time the fee amount is set.
(g) [(d)] The board shall set the amount of the 9-1-1
emergency service fees [fee] each year as part of the annual budget.
The board shall notify each service supplier and wireless service
provider of a change in the amount of the applicable fee imposed on
the service supplier or wireless service provider not later than
the 91st day before the date the change takes effect.
(h) [(e)] In imposing the 9-1-1 emergency service fees
[fee], the board shall attempt to match the district's revenues to
its operating expenditures and to provide reasonable reserves for
contingencies and for the purchase and installation of 9-1-1
emergency service equipment. If the revenue received from the fees
[fee] exceeds the amount of money needed to fund the district, the
board by resolution shall reduce the rate of either [the] fee to an
amount adequate to fund the district as required by this subsection
or suspend the imposition of either [the] fee. If the board
suspends the imposition of either [the] fee, the board by
resolution may reinstitute the fee if money received by the
district is not adequate to fund the district.
(i) [(f)] In a public agency whose governing body at a later
date votes to receive 9-1-1 service from the district[, at a later
date], the 9-1-1 emergency service fees are [fee is] imposed
beginning on the date specified by the board. The board may charge
the [incoming] agency an additional amount of money to cover the
initial cost of providing 9-1-1 service to the [that] agency. The
fees [fee] authorized to be charged in a district apply [applies] to
new territory added to the district under Section 772.105(b) when
the territory becomes part of the district.
Sec. 772.115. COLLECTION OF FEES [FEE]. (a) Each [billed]
service user or wireless service subscriber billed a 9-1-1
emergency service fee is liable for the fee [imposed under Section
772.114] until the fee is paid to the service supplier or wireless
service provider, as applicable. The applicable fee must be added
to and stated separately in the service user's or wireless service
subscriber's bill from the service supplier or wireless service
provider. The service supplier and wireless service provider shall
collect the applicable fee at the same time as the service charge to
the service user or wireless service subscriber in accordance with
the regular billing practice of the service supplier or wireless
service provider.
(b) A business service user that provides residential
facilities and owns or leases a publicly or privately owned
telephone switch used to provide telephone service to facility
residents shall collect the [9-1-1 emergency service] fee under
Section 772.114(a)(1) and transmit the fees monthly to the
district.
(c) [(b)] The amount collected by a service supplier from
the fee under Section 772.114(a)(1) is due quarterly. The service
supplier shall remit the amount collected in a calendar quarter to
the district not later than the 60th day after the last day of the
calendar quarter. With each payment the service supplier shall
file a return in a form prescribed by the board.
(d) The amount collected by a wireless service provider from
the fee imposed under Section 772.114(a)(2) is due monthly. The
wireless service provider shall remit the amount collected in a
calendar month to the comptroller not later than the 30th day after
the last day of the calendar month. With each payment the wireless
service provider shall file a return in the form prescribed by the
comptroller or in a comparable form generated by the billing system
of the wireless service provider.
(e) The comptroller shall deposit the money collected under
Subsection (d) in a trust fund in the state treasury for the benefit
of the district until distributed to the district. Not later than
the 15th day following the last day of the month in which the money
is collected, the Commission on State Emergency Communications
shall provide to the district a copy of the confidential returns
filed by each wireless service provider under Subsection (d) and
distribute to the district the total amount of money remitted to the
comptroller under that subsection from 9-1-1 emergency service fees
imposed under Section 772.114(a)(2) on wireless telecommunications
connections in the district.
(f) A [(c) Both a] service supplier, wireless service
provider, and [a] business service user under Subsection (b) [(a)]
shall maintain records of the amount of the applicable 9-1-1
emergency service fees the service supplier, wireless service
provider, or business service user [it] collects for at least two
years after the date of collection. The board may require at the
board's expense an annual audit of a service supplier's, wireless
service provider's, or business service user's books and records
[or the books and records of a business service user described by
Subsection (a)] with respect to the collection and remittance of
the applicable fees.
(g) [(d)] A business service user that does not collect and
remit the [9-1-1 emergency service] fee under Section 772.114(a)(1)
as required by this section is subject to a civil cause of action
under Subsection (j) [(g)]. A sworn affidavit by the district
specifying the unremitted fees is prima facie evidence that the
fees were not remitted and of the amount of the unremitted fees.
(h) [(e)] A service supplier or wireless service provider
is entitled to retain an administrative fee from the amount of the
applicable 9-1-1 emergency service fees the service supplier or
wireless service provider [it] collects under this section. The
amount of the administrative fee is two percent of the amount of
fees the service supplier or wireless service provider [it]
collects [under this section].
(i) [(f)] A service supplier or wireless service provider
is not required to take any legal action to enforce the collection
of a [the] 9-1-1 emergency service fee due to either the service
supplier or wireless service provider. Each [However, the] service
supplier and wireless service provider shall provide the district
with an annual certificate of delinquency that includes the amount
of all delinquent fees due to the service supplier or wireless
service provider and the name and address of each nonpaying service
user or wireless service subscriber. The certificate of
delinquency is prima facie evidence that a fee included in the
certificate is delinquent. A service user or wireless service
subscriber account is considered delinquent if a [the] fee is not
paid to the service supplier or wireless service provider, as
applicable, before the 31st day after the payment due date stated on
the service user's or wireless service subscriber's bill [from the
service supplier].
(j) [(g)] The district may institute legal proceedings to
collect 9-1-1 emergency service fees not paid and may establish
internal collection procedures and recover the cost of collection
from the nonpaying service user or wireless service subscriber. If
legal proceedings are established, the court may award the district
court costs, attorney's fees, and interest to be paid by the
nonpaying service user or wireless service subscriber. A
delinquent fee accrues interest at an annual rate of 12 percent
beginning on the date the payment becomes due.
SECTION 7. Sections 772.119(a) and (d), Health and Safety
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Periodically, the board shall solicit public comments
and hold a public review hearing on the continuation of the district
and the 9-1-1 emergency service fees [fee]. The first hearing shall
be held three years after the date the order certifying the creation
of the district is filed with the county clerk. Subsequent hearings
shall be held three years after the date each order required by
Subsection (d) is adopted.
(d) After the hearing, the board shall adopt an order on the
continuation or dissolution of the district and the 9-1-1 emergency
service fees [fee].
SECTION 8. Section 772.120(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) If a district is dissolved, 9-1-1 service must be
discontinued on the date of the dissolution. The commissioners
court of the county in which the principal part of the district was
located shall assume the assets of the district and pay the
district's debts. If the district's assets are insufficient to
retire all existing debts of the district on the date of
dissolution, the commissioners court shall continue to impose the
9-1-1 emergency service fees [fee], and each service supplier and
wireless service provider shall continue to collect the applicable
fees [fee] for the commissioners court. Proceeds from the
imposition of the fees [fee] by the county after dissolution of the
district may be used only to retire the outstanding debts of the
district.
SECTION 9. Section 772.122, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 772.122. REPAYMENT OF BONDS. The board may provide for
the payment of principal of and interest on the bonds by pledging
all or any part of the district's revenues from the 9-1-1 emergency
service fees [fee] or from other sources.
SECTION 10. Sections 771.0711(g) and (j), Health and Safety
Code, are repealed.
SECTION 11. The changes in law made by this Act apply only
to a fee imposed or expense that is due during a billing cycle that
occurs on or after January 1, 2022. A fee imposed or expense due
during a billing cycle that occurs before January 1, 2022, is
governed by the law in effect immediately before the effective date
of this Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.