AB 779

This bill does all of the following: 1) eliminates the police and fire protection

fee; 2) requires statewide funding for a 911 emergency telecommunications system;

3) requires the Public Service Commission (PSC) to contract for such a system and

reimburse communications providers for related costs; 4) allows the PSC to make

grants to public safety agencies for improving 911 service; 5) creates a state 911

council; and 6) includes other provisions related to the foregoing.

Police and fire protection fee.

Under current law, a provider of active retail

voice communications service must impose a monthly fee of 75 cents on each

communications service connection with an assigned telephone number. However,

for a prepaid wireless plan, a provider or a retailer must impose a one-time fee of 38

cents, instead of the 75 cents monthly fee. Current law allows a provider or retailer

to separately list the fee on customer bills. If separately listed, the provider or

retailer must identify the fee as "police and fire protection fee." The provider or

retailer must remit the fees to the PSC, except that the PSC may contract with the

Department of Revenue (DOR) to collect the fees for prepaid wireless plans. The PSC

and DOR must deposit the fees in the police and fire protection fund, which is used

to make shared revenue payments to counties, towns, villages, and cities.

The bill eliminates the requirement to impose the above fees. The bill also

eliminates the police and fire protection fund and the shared revenue payments

made from that fund. The foregoing changes, as well as the rest of the bill, take effect

on July 1, 2014, or the day after the bill's publication, whichever is later. The bill also

allows providers and retailers to indicate on bills that the fees will not be collected

after that date.

Statewide 911 funding.

Current law allows a county to levy charges on

telecommunications service users to finance costs related to a 911 emergency

telecommunications system, if certain requirements are satisfied. One of the

requirements is that a county must enter into contracts with telecommunications

utilities to establish such a system. Also, the telecommunications utilities must

include the charges in their regular billing to service users. Current law imposes

limits on the amounts of the charges, which are based, in part, on a county's

population.

This bill eliminates a county's authority to levy the above charges and enter into

the above contracts. Instead, the bill generally requires that each communications

provider in the state impose a monthly fee of 40 cents on each communications

service connection, including those provided via a voice over Internet protocol (VOIP)

connection. The bill defines "communications provider" as any person that provides

a "communications service," which the bill defines as an active voice or nonvoice

communications service that is capable of accessing a "public safety answering point"