Bill Text: WV SB579 | 2020 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
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-Comm_Sub.html
WEST virginia legislature
2020 regular session
Committee Substitute
for
Senate Bill 579
Senators Sypolt and Cline, original sponsors
[Originating in the Committee on Government Organization; reported on February 13, 2020]
A BILL to amend and reenact §24-6-6b of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to changing the wireless enhanced 911 fee; and establishing a separate public safety fee and wireless tower fee.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
CHAPTER 24. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION.
ARTICLE 6. LOCAL EMERGENCY TELEPHONE SYSTEM.
§24-6-6b. Wireless enhanced 911 fee; public safety wireless fee; wireless tower 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,
a public safety fee, and a wireless tower 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. The CMRS providers shall, on a monthly
basis, after retaining a billing fee of three percent of the sum of the
wireless enhanced 911 fee, the public safety fee, and the wireless tower fee,
send monies collected from the wireless enhanced 911 fee, the public safety
fee, and the wireless tower fee to the Public Service Commission.
(b) The wireless enhanced
911 fee is $3 $3.47 per month for each valid retail commercial
mobile radio service subscription in-state two-way service subscriber,
as that term is defined by the Public Service Commission rulesin
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.
(c) Beginning in the year 1997 2021, and
every two years thereafter, the Public Service Commission shall conduct an
audit a survey of the wireless enhanced 911 fees imposed
by counties and shall recalculate the wireless enhanced 911 fee so
that it is the weighted average rounded to the nearest penny so that
increases or decreases by the same percentage as the change in 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)(c) 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 wireless enhanced 911 fee 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. 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.
(e) (d) Beginning July 1, 2020, CMRS providers shall
collect the public safety fee from each in-state two-way service subscriber.
The public safety fee shall be 29 cents per month and will be shown as a
separate fee on the subscriber’s bill. On a monthly basis, the Public Service
Commission will distribute 10 cents of the public safety fee 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 the Public Service Commission will deposit 19 cents of the public safety
fee 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.
(e) Beginning July 1, 2020, CMRS providers shall collect the wireless tower fee from each in-state two-way service subscriber. The wireless tower fee shall be 8 cents per month and will be shown as a separate fee on the subscriber’s bill. On a monthly basis, the commission shall distribute the wireless tower fee to a fund administered by the Public Service Commission, entitled the Wireless Tower Access Assistance Fund, to subsidize the construction of wireless towers. The monies 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 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’ communications equipment, so long as that use does not interfere with the carriers’ wireless signal.
(e) (f) CMRS providers have the same rights and
responsibilities as other telephone service suppliers in dealing with the
failure by an in-state two-way service subscriber of a CMRS provider
to timely pay the wireless enhanced 911 fee, the public safety fee, and the
wireless tower 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, the public safety fee, and the wireless tower 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 change the wireless enhanced 911 fee and to add a public safety fee and a wireless tower fee to be collected by CMRS providers each month and distributed to the State Police, Homeland Security, and the Wireless Tower Access Assistance Fund.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
