Bill Text: WV SB579 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Changing and adding fees to wireless enhanced 911 fee
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2020-04-14 - Chapter 303, Acts, Regular Session, 2020 [SB579 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2020-SB579-Introduced.html
WEST virginia legislature
2020 regular session
Introduced
Senate Bill 579
By Senator Sypolt
[Introduced January 22,
2020; referred
to the Committee on Government Organization; and then to the Committee on
Finance]
A BILL to amend and reenact §7-1-3cc of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §24-6-6b of said code, all relating to the authority of county commissions to establish enhanced emergency telephone systems and change the fee charged to consumers from the telephone service to the electric service, and to the wireless enhanced 911 fee; eliminating portions of the wireless enhanced 911 fee that are disbursed to state agencies; establishing the public safety wireless fee; and providing for the collection and disbursement of the public safety wireless fee.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
CHAPTER 7. COUNTY COMMISSIONS AND OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 1. COUNTY COMMISSIONS GENERALLY.
§7-1-3cc. Authority of
county commissions to establish enhanced emergency telephone systems, technical
and operational standards for emergency communications centers and standards
for education and training of emergency communications systems personnel;
standards for alarm systems; fee upon consumers of telephone electric
service for the systems and for roadway conversion systems; authority to
contract with the telephone electric companies for billing of
fee.
(a) In addition to possessing the authority to establish an emergency telephone system pursuant to §24-6-4 of this code, a county commission or the county commissions of two or more counties may, instead, establish an enhanced emergency telephone system or convert an existing system to an enhanced emergency system. The establishment of such a system shall be subject to the provisions of article six of said chapter. The county commission may adopt rules after receiving recommendations from the West Virginia Enhanced 911 Council concerning the operation of all county emergency communications centers or emergency telephone systems centers in the state, including, but not limited to, recommendations for:
(1) Minimum standards for emergency telephone systems and emergency communications centers;
(2) Minimum standards for equipment used in any center receiving telephone calls of an emergency nature and dispatching emergency service providers in response to that call and which receives 911 moneys or has basic 911 service funded through its county commission; and
(3) Minimum standards for education and training of all personnel in emergency communications centers.
(b) A county commission may
impose a fee upon consumers of local exchange electric service
within that county for an enhanced emergency telephone system and associated
electronic equipment and for the conversion of all rural routes to city-type
addressing as provided in section three of this article. The fee revenues may
only be used solely and directly for the capital, installation, administration,
operation and maintenance costs of the enhanced emergency telephone system and
of the conversion to city-type addressing and including the reasonable costs
associated with establishing, equipping, furnishing, operating or maintaining a
county answering point. Effective on July 1, 2006, all county enhanced
emergency telephone system fees that are in effect as of July 1, 2006, and as
such may later be modified by action of a county commission, shall be imposed
upon in-state subscribers to voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) service, as
VoIP service is defined by the Federal Communications Commission of the United
States. A nonbusiness VoIP service subscriber shall be considered in-state if
the primary residence of the subscriber is located within West Virginia. A
business subscriber shall be considered in-state if the site at which the
service is primarily used is located within West Virginia. The Public Service
Commission may, as it deems appropriate and in accordance with the requirements
of due process, issue and enforce orders, as well as adopt and enforce rules,
dealing with matters concerning the imposition of county enhanced emergency
telephone system fees upon VoIP service subscribers
(c) A county commission may
contract with the telephone electric company or companies
providing local exchange electric service within the county for
the telephone electric company or companies to act as the billing
agent or agents of the county commission for the billing of the fee imposed
pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. The cost for the billing agent
services may be included as a recurring maintenance cost of the enhanced
emergency telephone system.
Where a county commission
has contracted with a telephone an electric company to act as its
billing agent for enhanced emergency telephone system fees, all competing local
exchange telephone electric companies with customers in that county
shall bill the enhanced emergency telephone system fees to its respective
customers located in that county and shall remit the fee. It may deduct its
respective costs for billing in the same manner as the acting billing agent for
the enhanced emergency telephone system fee.
(d) A county commission of any county with an emergency communications center or emergency telephone system may establish standards and penalties for alarm systems, including security, fire and medical alarms.
(e) The books and records of all county answering points that benefit from the imposition of the local exchange service fees shall be subject to annual examination by the State Auditor's office.
CHAPTER 24. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION.
ARTICLE 6. LOCAL EMERGENCY TELEPHONE SYSTEM.
§24-6-6b. Wireless enhanced 911 fee; public safety wireless fee.
(a) All CMRS providers as
defined in §24-6-2 of this code shall, on a monthly basis or otherwise for good
cause and as directed by order of the Public Service Commission, collect from
each of their in-state two-way service subscribers a wireless enhanced 911 fee and
a public safety fee. As used in this section “in-state two-way service
subscriber” shall have has the same meaning as that set forth in
the rules of the Public Service Commission. No later than June 1, 2006, the
Public Service Commission shall, after the receipt of comments and the
consideration of evidence presented at a hearing, issue an updated order which
directs the CMRS providers regarding all relevant details of wireless enhanced
911 and public safety wireless fee collection, including the
determination of who is considered an in-state two-way service subscriber and
which shall specify how the CMRS providers shall deal with fee collection
shortfalls caused by uncollectible accounts. The Public Service Commission
shall solicit the views of the wireless telecommunications utilities prior to
issuing the order.
(b) The wireless enhanced
911 fee is $3 $3.47 per month for each valid retail commercial
mobile radio service subscription, as that term is defined by the Public
Service Commission in its order issued under subsection (a) of this section. Provided,
That beginning on July 1, 2005, the wireless enhanced 911 fee shall include 10¢
to be distributed to the West Virginia State Police to be used for equipment
upgrades for improving and integrating their communication efforts with those
of the enhanced 911 systems: Provided, however, That for the fiscal year
beginning on July 1, 2005, and for every fiscal year thereafter, $1,000,000 of
the wireless enhanced 911 fee shall be distributed by the Public Service
Commission to subsidize the construction of towers. The moneys shall be
deposited in a fund administered by the West Virginia Public Service
Commission, entitled Enhanced 911 Wireless Tower Access Assistance Fund, and
shall be expended in accordance with an enhanced 911 wireless tower access
matching grant order adopted by the Public Service Commission. The commission
order shall contain terms and conditions designed to provide financial
assistance loans or grants to state agencies, political subdivisions of the
state and wireless telephone carriers for the acquisition, equipping and
construction of new wireless towers, which would provide enhanced 911 service
coverage and which would not be available otherwise due to marginal financial
viability of the applicable tower coverage area: Provided further, That
the grants shall be allocated among potential sites based on application from
county commissions demonstrating the need for enhanced 911 wireless coverage in
specific areas of this state. Any tower constructed with assistance from the
fund created by this subdivision shall be available for use by emergency
services, fire departments and law-enforcement agencies communication
equipment, so long as that use does not interfere with the carrier's wireless
signal: And provided further, That the Public Service Commission shall
promulgate rules in accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of
this code to effectuate the provisions of this subsection. The Public Service
Commission is specifically authorized to promulgate emergency rules: And
provided further, That for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2006, and
for every fiscal year thereafter, five percent of the wireless enhanced 911 fee
money received by the Public Service Commission shall be deposited in a special
fund established by the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
to be used solely for the construction, maintenance and upgrades of the West
Virginia Interoperable Radio Project and any other costs associated with
establishing and maintaining the infrastructure of the system. Any funds
remaining in this fund at the end of the fiscal year shall automatically be
reappropriated for the following year The public safety wireless fee is
39 cents per month for each valid retail commercial mobile radio service
subscription, as that term is defined by the Public Service Commission in its
order issued under 24-6-6b(a) of this code.
(c) Beginning in the year 1997
2022, and every two years thereafter, the Public Service Commission
shall conduct an audit of the wireless enhanced 911 fee and shall recalculate
the fee so that it is the weighted average rounded to the nearest penny, as of
March 1 of the respecification year, of all of the enhanced 911 fees imposed by
the counties which have adopted an enhanced 911 ordinance: Provided,
That the wireless enhanced 911 fee may never be increased by more than 25
percent of its value at the beginning of the respecification year: Provided,
however, That the fee may never be less than the amount set in subsection
(b) of this section. Provided further, That beginning on July
1, 2005, the wireless enhanced 911 fee shall include 10¢ to be distributed to
the West Virginia State Police to be used for equipment upgrades for improving
and integrating their communication efforts with those of the enhanced 911
systems: And provided further, That beginning on July 1, 2005,
$1,000,000 of the wireless enhanced 911 fee shall be distributed by the Public
Service Commission to subsidize the construction of wireless towers as
specified in said subsection
(d) The CMRS providers shall, after retaining a three-percent billing fee, send the wireless enhanced 911 fee and public safety wireless moneys collected, on a monthly basis, to the Public Service Commission. The Public Service Commission shall, on a quarterly and approximately evenly staggered basis, disburse the fee and wireless enhanced 911 revenue in the following manner:
(1) Each county that does not have a 911 ordinance in effect as of the original effective date of this section in the year 1997 or has enacted a 911 ordinance within the five years prior to the original effective date of this section in the year 1997 shall receive eight and one-half tenths of one percent of the fee revenues received by the Public Service Commission: Provided, That after the effective date of this section, in the year 2005, when two or more counties consolidate into one county to provide government services, the consolidated county shall receive one percent of the fee revenues received by the Public Service Commission for itself and for each county merged into the consolidated county. Each county shall receive eight and one-half tenths of one percent of the remainder of the fee revenues received by the Public Service Commission: Provided, however, That after the effective date of this section, in the year 2005, when two or more counties consolidate into one county to provide government services, the consolidated county shall receive one percent of the fee revenues received by the Public Service Commission for itself and for each county merged into the consolidated county. Then, from any moneys remaining, each county shall receive a pro rata portion of that remainder based on that county's population as determined in the most recent decennial census as a percentage of the state total population. The Public Service Commission shall recalculate the county disbursement percentages on a yearly basis, with the changes effective on July 1, and using data as of the preceding first day of March. The public utilities which normally provide local exchange telecommunications service by means of lines, wires, cables, optical fibers or by other means extended to subscriber premises shall supply the data to the Public Service Commission on a county specific basis no later than June 1 of each year;
(2) Counties which have an enhanced 911 ordinance in effect shall receive their share of the wireless enhanced 911 fee revenue for use in the same manner as the enhanced 911 fee revenues received by those counties pursuant to their enhanced 911 ordinances;
(3) The Public Service Commission shall deposit the wireless enhanced 911 fee revenue for each county which does not have an enhanced 911 ordinance in effect into an escrow account which it has established for that county. Any county with an escrow account may, immediately upon adopting an enhanced 911 ordinance, receive the moneys which have accumulated in the escrow account for use as specified in subdivision (2) of this subsection: Provided, That a county that adopts a 911 ordinance after the original effective date of this section in the year 1997 or has adopted a 911 ordinance within five years of the original effective date of this section in the year 1997 shall continue to receive one percent of the total 911 fee revenue for a period of five years following the adoption of the ordinance. Thereafter, each county shall receive that county's eight and one-half tenths of one percent of the remaining fee revenue, plus that county's additional pro rata portion of the fee revenues then remaining, based on that county's population as determined in the most recent decennial census as a percentage of the state total population: Provided, however, That every five years from the year 1997, all fee revenue residing in escrow accounts shall be disbursed on the pro rata basis specified in subdivision (1) of this subsection, except that data for counties without enhanced 911 ordinances in effect shall be omitted from the calculation and all escrow accounts shall begin again with a zero balance.
(e) The Public Service Commission shall, on a quarterly and approximately evenly staggered basis. disburse the public safety wireless fee revenue in the following manner:
(1) Ten cents of each
month’s fee collected shall be distributed to the West Virginia State Police to
be used for equipment upgrades for improving and integrating their
communication efforts with those of the enhanced 911 systems;
(2) Nineteen cents of each month’s fee collected shall be deposited in a special fund established by the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to be used solely for the construction, maintenance and upgrades of the West Virginia Interoperable Radio Project and any other costs associated with establishing and maintaining the infrastructure of the system. Any funds remaining in this fund at the end of the fiscal year shall automatically be reappropriated for the following year; and
(3) Ten cents of each monthly fee collected shall be deposited in a fund administered by the Public Service Commission, entitled the Enhanced 911 Wireless Tower Access Assistance Fund, and distributed to subsidize the construction of wireless towers. The moneys shall be expended in accordance with an enhanced 911 wireless tower access matching grant order adopted by the Public Service Commission. The commission order shall contain terms and conditions designed to provide financial assistance loans or grants to state agencies. political subdivisions of the state and wireless telephone carriers for the acquisition, equipping and construction of new wireless towers, which would provide enhanced 911 service coverage and which would not be available otherwise due to marginal financial viability of the applicable tower coverage area: Provided, That the grants shall be allocated among potential sites based on application from county commissions demonstrating the need for enhanced 911 wireless coverage in specific areas of this state. Any tower constructed with assistance from the fund created by this subdivision shall be available for use by emergency services, fire departments and law-enforcement agencies communication equipment, so long as that use does not interfere with the carrier's wireless signal.
(e)(f) CMRS
providers have the same rights and responsibilities as other telephone service
suppliers in dealing with the failure by a subscriber of a CMRS provider to
timely pay the wireless enhanced 911 fee.
(f)(g) Notwithstanding
the provisions of section one-a of this article, for the purposes of this
section, the term “county” means one of the counties provided in §1-1-1 of this
code.
(g) From any funds
distributed to a county pursuant to this section, a total of three percent
shall be set aside in a special fund to be used exclusively for the purchase of
equipment that will provide information regarding the x and y coordinates of persons
who call an emergency telephone system through a commercial mobile radio
service: Provided, That upon purchase of the necessary equipment, the
special fund shall be dissolved and any surplus shall be used for general
operation of the emergency telephone system as may otherwise be provided by law
(h) Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary in this code, beginning July 1, 2008 prepaid
wireless calling service is no longer subject to the wireless enhanced
911 fee or the public safety wireless fee.
(i) The Public Service Commission shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code to effectuate the provisions of this section. The Public Service Commission may promulgate emergency rules pursuant to the provisions of §29A-3-15 of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize enhanced emergency telephone systems, and to make changes relating to the collection, allocation, establishment or elimination of certain fees.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
