| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to prepaid wireless telecommunications |
| 3 | service; amending s. 365.172, F.S.; removing provisions |
| 4 | for a study of the feasibility of collecting an E911 fee |
| 5 | on the sale of prepaid wireless telecommunications |
| 6 | service; providing for assessment or collection of the fee |
| 7 | after a certain date; amending s. 365.173, F.S.; revising |
| 8 | a limitation on the amount of funds received by a county |
| 9 | from the E911 fee which may be carried forward to the |
| 10 | following year; providing an effective date. |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (8) of section |
| 15 | 365.172, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 16 | 365.172 Emergency communications number "E911."- |
| 17 | (8) E911 FEE.- |
| 18 | (a) Each voice communications services provider shall |
| 19 | collect the fee described in this subsection. Each provider, as |
| 20 | part of its monthly billing process, shall bill the fee as |
| 21 | follows. The fee shall not be assessed on any pay telephone in |
| 22 | the state. |
| 23 | 1. Each local exchange carrier shall bill the fee to the |
| 24 | local exchange subscribers on a service-identifier basis, up to |
| 25 | a maximum of 25 access lines per account bill rendered. |
| 26 | 2. Except in the case of prepaid wireless service, each |
| 27 | wireless provider shall bill the fee to a subscriber on a per- |
| 28 | service-identifier basis for service identifiers whose primary |
| 29 | place of use is within this state. Before July 1, 2013 2009, the |
| 30 | fee shall not be assessed on or collected from a provider with |
| 31 | respect to an end user's service if that end user's service is a |
| 32 | prepaid calling arrangement that is subject to s. 212.05(1)(e). |
| 33 | a. The board shall conduct a study to determine whether it |
| 34 | is feasible to collect E911 fees from the sale of prepaid |
| 35 | wireless service. If, based on the findings of the study, the |
| 36 | board determines that a fee should not be collected from the |
| 37 | sale of prepaid wireless service, it shall report its findings |
| 38 | and recommendation to the Governor, the President of the Senate, |
| 39 | and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by December 31, |
| 40 | 2008. If the board determines that a fee should be collected |
| 41 | from the sale of prepaid wireless service, the board shall |
| 42 | collect the fee beginning July 1, 2013 2009. |
| 43 | b. For purposes of this section, the term: |
| 44 | (I) "Prepaid wireless service" means the right to access |
| 45 | telecommunications services that must be paid for in advance and |
| 46 | is sold in predetermined units or dollars enabling the |
| 47 | originator to make calls such that the number of units or |
| 48 | dollars declines with use in a known amount. |
| 49 | (II) "Prepaid wireless service providers" includes those |
| 50 | persons who sell prepaid wireless service regardless of its |
| 51 | form, either as a retailer or reseller. |
| 52 | c. The study must include an evaluation of methods by |
| 53 | which E911 fees may be collected from end users and purchasers |
| 54 | of prepaid wireless service on an equitable, efficient, |
| 55 | competitively neutral, and nondiscriminatory basis and must |
| 56 | consider whether the collection of fees on prepaid wireless |
| 57 | service would constitute an efficient use of public funds given |
| 58 | the technological and practical considerations of collecting the |
| 59 | fee based on the varying methodologies prepaid wireless service |
| 60 | providers and their agents use in marketing prepaid wireless |
| 61 | service. |
| 62 | d. The study must include a review and evaluation of the |
| 63 | collection of E911 fees on prepaid wireless service at the point |
| 64 | of sale within the state. This evaluation must be consistent |
| 65 | with the collection principles of end user charges such as those |
| 66 | in s. 212.05(1)(e). |
| 67 | e. No later than 90 days after this section becomes law, |
| 68 | the board shall require all prepaid wireless service providers, |
| 69 | including resellers, to provide the board with information that |
| 70 | the board determines is necessary to discharge its duties under |
| 71 | this section, including information necessary for its |
| 72 | recommendation, such as total retail and reseller prepaid |
| 73 | wireless service sales. |
| 74 | f. All subscriber information provided by a prepaid |
| 75 | wireless service provider in response to a request from the |
| 76 | board while conducting this study is subject to s. 365.174. |
| 77 | g. The study shall be conducted by an entity competent and |
| 78 | knowledgeable in matters of state taxation policy if the board |
| 79 | does not possess that expertise. The study must be paid from the |
| 80 | moneys distributed to the board for administrative purposes |
| 81 | under s. 365.173(2)(f) but may not exceed $250,000. |
| 82 | 3. All voice communications services providers not |
| 83 | addressed under subparagraphs 1. and 2. shall bill the fee on a |
| 84 | per-service-identifier basis for service identifiers whose |
| 85 | primary place of use is within the state up to a maximum of 25 |
| 86 | service identifiers for each account bill rendered. |
| 87 |
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| 88 | The provider may list the fee as a separate entry on each bill, |
| 89 | in which case the fee must be identified as a fee for E911 |
| 90 | services. A provider shall remit the fee to the board only if |
| 91 | the fee is paid by the subscriber. If a provider receives a |
| 92 | partial payment for a monthly bill from a subscriber, the amount |
| 93 | received shall first be applied to the payment due the provider |
| 94 | for providing voice communications service. |
| 95 | Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section |
| 96 | 365.173, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 97 | 365.173 Emergency Communications Number E911 System Fund.- |
| 98 | (2) As determined by the board pursuant to s. |
| 99 | 365.172(8)(h), and subject to any modifications approved by the |
| 100 | board pursuant to s. 365.172(6)(a)3. or (8)(i), the moneys in |
| 101 | the fund shall be distributed and used only as follows: |
| 102 | (c) Any county that receives funds under paragraphs (a) |
| 103 | and (b) shall establish a fund to be used exclusively for the |
| 104 | receipt and expenditure of the revenues collected under |
| 105 | paragraphs (a) and (b). All fees placed in the fund and any |
| 106 | interest accrued shall be used solely for costs described in |
| 107 | subparagraphs (a)1. and 2. The money collected and interest |
| 108 | earned in this fund shall be appropriated for these purposes by |
| 109 | the county commissioners and incorporated into the annual county |
| 110 | budget. The fund shall be included within the financial audit |
| 111 | performed in accordance with s. 218.39. A county may carry |
| 112 | forward up to 30 20 percent of the total funds disbursed to the |
| 113 | county by the board during a calendar year for expenditures for |
| 114 | capital outlay, capital improvements, or equipment replacement, |
| 115 | if such expenditures are made for the purposes specified in |
| 116 | subparagraphs (a)1. and 2.; however, the 30-percent 20-percent |
| 117 | limitation does not apply to funds disbursed to a county under |
| 118 | s. 365.172(6)(a)3., and a county may carry forward any |
| 119 | percentage of the funds, except that any grant provided shall |
| 120 | continue to be subject to any condition imposed by the board. In |
| 121 | order to prevent an excess recovery of costs incurred in |
| 122 | providing E911 service, a county that receives funds greater |
| 123 | than the permissible E911 costs described in s. 365.172(9), |
| 124 | including the 30-percent 20 percent carryforward allowance, must |
| 125 | return the excess funds to the E911 board to be allocated under |
| 126 | s. 365.172(6)(a). |
| 127 |
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| 128 | The Legislature recognizes that the fee authorized under s. |
| 129 | 365.172 may not necessarily provide the total funding required |
| 130 | for establishing or providing the E911 service. It is the intent |
| 131 | of the Legislature that all revenue from the fee be used as |
| 132 | specified in this subsection. |
| 133 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010. |
