EMERGENCY 9-1-1 FUND DISBURSEMENT S.B. 452:
SUMMARY OF INTRODUCED BILL
IN COMMITTEE
Senate Bill 452 (as introduced 8-20-19)
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Emergency 9-1-1 Service Enabling Act to require that funds generated from a 5.0% surcharge on prepaid wireless communication services be added with the State 9-1-1 fee collected from postpaid communication devices to make up a total that together, when in excess of $37.0 million annually within the Emergency 9-1-1 Fund, must be reserved for reimbursing local exchange providers for costs related to wireless emergency service and to reimburse internet protocol (IP) based 9-1-1 providers for the costs related to the transport, routing, or delivery to primary public safety answering points (PSAPs) of IP-based 9-1-1 emergency service.
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have no fiscal impact on State or local government. The bill would address 9-1-1 fee collections that exceeded $37.0 million. Under the Act, the first $37.0 million in 9-1-1 surcharges are distributed strictly by formula, as noted below.
|
Emergency 9-1-1 Fund Formula Allocations (Dollar amounts in millions) |
|
|
Program/Item |
Percent Distribution |
|
County 9-1-1 Providers |
65.0% |
|
Local Exchange Providers (Wireless Emergency Service) and Approved Costs for Internet Protocol Based 9-1-1 Projects |
25.56 |
|
PSAP Training |
5.5 |
|
State Police Regional Dispatch |
1.5 |
|
State Police Administration |
2.44 |
|
TOTAL |
100.0% |
|
1Statute limits the amount disbursed through the formula to $37.0 million. |
|
The bill would amend recent legislation to ensure that both sources of revenue (prepaid service and standard billing) designated for deposit in the Emergency 9-1-1 fund are used to calculate when the $37.0 million fund cap is achieved. Recent quarterly revenue figures indicate that approximately $4.2 million is generated from prepaid surcharges and between $6.5 million and $8.0 million is generated from monthly telephone service surcharges, suggesting that annually those revenue totals would exceed the $37.0 million cap by an amount over $5.0 million, thus providing those funds over the cap exclusively to providers.
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.