Senate Bill sb1450

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 1450

    By Senator Bennett





    21-630A-03

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to emergency communications;

  3         amending s. 365.172, F.S.; defining the terms

  4         "active prepaid wireless telephone," "mobile

  5         telephone number," "prepaid wireless telephone

  6         service," and "sufficient positive balance" for

  7         purposes of wireless emergency communications;

  8         prescribing additional duties of the board of

  9         directors of the Wireless 911 Board with

10         respect to 911 and E911 systems; prescribing a

11         method of collecting the wireless E911 fee in

12         instances in which the wireless telephone

13         service to which the surcharge applies is

14         prepaid; providing for colocation of wireless

15         telecommunications facilities; providing for

16         location of such facilities on government

17         buildings; exempting such facilities from

18         certain local government regulation; amending

19         s. 365.173, F.S.; authorizing disbursements

20         from the Wireless Emergency Telephone System

21         Fund for activities of the board of directors

22         of the Wireless 911 Board; creating s. 365.175,

23         F.S.; requiring new private branch exchange

24         telephone systems to have automatic location

25         identification capabilities; providing an

26         effective date.

27

28  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

29

30         Section 1.  Subsection (3), paragraph (a) of subsection

31  (6), and subsection (9) of section 365.172, Florida Statutes,

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  1  are amended, present subsections (11) and (12) of that section

  2  are renumbered as subsections (12) and (13), respectively, and

  3  a new subsection (11) is added to that section to read:

  4         365.172  Wireless emergency telephone number "E911."--

  5         (3)  DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section and ss.

  6  365.173 and 365.174, the term:

  7         (a)  "Active prepaid wireless telephone" means a

  8  prepaid wireless telephone that has been used by the customer

  9  during the month to complete a telephone call for which the

10  customer's card or balance was decremented.

11         (b)(a)  "Answering point" means the public safety

12  agency that receives incoming 911 calls and dispatches

13  appropriate public safety agencies to respond to such calls.

14         (c)(b)  "Automatic location identification" means the

15  capability of the E911 service which enables the automatic

16  display of information that defines the approximate geographic

17  location of the wireless telephone used to place a 911 call.

18         (d)(c)  "Automatic number identification" means the

19  capability of the E911 service which enables the automatic

20  display of the 10-digit service number used to place a 911

21  call.

22         (e)(d)  "Board" means the board of directors of the

23  Wireless 911 Board.

24         (f)(e)  "Office" means the State Technology Office.

25         (g)(f)  "E911" is the designation for a wireless

26  enhanced 911 system or wireless enhanced 911 service that is

27  an emergency telephone system or service that provides a

28  subscriber with wireless 911 service and, in addition, directs

29  911 calls to appropriate public safety answering points by

30  selective routing based on the geographical location from

31  which the call originated, or as otherwise provided in the

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  1  state plan under s. 365.171, and that provides for automatic

  2  number identification and automatic location-identification

  3  features in accordance with the requirements of the order.

  4         (h)(g)  "Fee" means the E911 fee imposed under

  5  subsection (8).

  6         (i)(h)  "Fund" means the Wireless Emergency Telephone

  7  System Fund established in s. 365.173 and maintained under

  8  this section for the purpose of recovering the costs

  9  associated with providing 911 service or E911 service,

10  including the costs of implementing the order.

11         (j)(i)  "Local exchange carrier" means an "alternative

12  local exchange telecommunications company" or a "local

13  exchange telecommunications company" as defined in s. 364.02.

14         (k)(j)  "Local government" means any municipality,

15  county, or political subdivision or agency of a municipality,

16  county, or political subdivision.

17         (l)  "Mobile telephone number" or "MTN" means the

18  telephone number assigned to a wireless telephone at the time

19  of initial activation.

20         (m)(k)  "Order" means:

21         1.  The following orders and rules of the Federal

22  Communications Commission issued in FCC Docket No. 94-102:

23         a.  Order adopted on June 12, 1996, with an effective

24  date of October 1, 1996, the amendments to s. 20.03 and the

25  creation of s. 20.18 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal

26  Regulations adopted by the Federal Communications Commission

27  pursuant to such order.

28         b.  Memorandum and Order No. FCC 97-402 adopted on

29  December 23, 1997.

30         c.  Order No. FCC DA 98-2323 adopted on November 13,

31  1998.

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  1         d.  Order No. FCC 98-345 adopted December 31, 1998.

  2         2.  Orders and rules subsequently adopted by the

  3  Federal Communications Commission relating to the provision of

  4  wireless 911 services.

  5         (n)(l)  "Provider" means a person or entity who

  6  provides service and either:

  7         1.  Is subject to the requirements of the order; or

  8         2.  Elects to provide wireless 911 service or E911

  9  service in this state.

10         (o)  "Prepaid wireless telephone service" means

11  wireless telephone service that is activated in advance by

12  payment for a finite dollar amount of service or for a finite

13  set of minutes that terminate either upon use by a customer

14  and delivery by the wireless provider of an agreed-upon amount

15  of service corresponding to the total dollar amount paid in

16  advance or within a certain period of time following the

17  initial purchase or activation, unless additional payments are

18  made.

19         (p)(m)  "Public agency" means the state and any

20  municipality, county, municipal corporation, or other

21  governmental entity, public district, or public authority

22  located in whole or in part within this state which provides,

23  or has authority to provide, firefighting, law enforcement,

24  ambulance, medical, or other emergency services.

25         (q)(n)  "Public safety agency" means a functional

26  division of a public agency which provides firefighting, law

27  enforcement, medical, or other emergency services.

28         (r)(o)  "Rural county" means any county that has a

29  population of fewer than 75,000.

30         (s)(p)  "Service" means "commercial mobile radio

31  service" as provided under ss. 3(27) and 332(d) of the Federal

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  1  Telecommunications Act of 1996, 47 U.S.C., ss. 151 et seq.,

  2  and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, Pub. L. No.

  3  103-66, August 10, 1993, 107 Stat. 312. The term "service"

  4  includes the term "wireless" and service provided by any

  5  wireless real-time two-way wire communication device,

  6  including radio-telephone communications used in cellular

  7  telephone service; personal communications service; or the

  8  functional or competitive equivalent of a radio-telephone

  9  communications line used in cellular telephone service, a

10  personal communications service, or a network radio access

11  line. The term does not include wireless providers that offer

12  mainly dispatch service in a more localized, noncellular

13  configuration; providers offering only data, one-way, or

14  stored-voice services on an interconnected basis; providers of

15  air-to-ground services; or public coast stations.

16         (t)(q)  "Service number" means the unique 10-digit

17  wireless telephone number assigned to a service subscriber.

18         (u)  "Sufficient positive balance" means a dollar

19  amount greater than or equal to the monthly wireless surcharge

20  amount.

21         (v)(r)  "Wireless 911 system" or "wireless 911 service"

22  means an emergency telephone system or service that provides a

23  subscriber with the ability to reach an answering point by

24  dialing the digits "911." A wireless 911 system is

25  complementary to a wired 911 system as provided for in s.

26  365.171.

27         (6)  AUTHORITY OF THE BOARD; ANNUAL REPORT.--

28         (a)  The board shall:

29         1.  Administer the E911 fee.

30         2.  Implement, maintain, and oversee the fund.

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  1         3.  Review and oversee the disbursement of the revenues

  2  deposited into the fund as provided in s. 365.173. The board

  3  may establish a schedule for implementing wireless E911

  4  service by service area, and prioritize disbursements of

  5  revenues from the fund to providers and rural counties as

  6  provided in s. 365.173(2)(b) and (c) pursuant to the schedule,

  7  in order to implement E911 services in the most efficient and

  8  cost-effective manner.

  9         4.  Review documentation submitted by providers which

10  reflects current and projected funds derived from the E911

11  fee, and the expenses incurred and expected to be incurred, in

12  order to comply with the E911 service requirements contained

13  in the order for the purposes of:

14         a.  Ensuring that providers receive fair and equitable

15  distributions of funds from the fund.

16         b.  Ensuring that providers are not provided

17  disbursements from the fund which exceed the costs of

18  providing E911 service, including the costs of complying with

19  the order.

20         c.  Ascertaining the projected costs of compliance with

21  the requirements of the order and projected collections of the

22  E911 fee.

23         d.  Implementing changes to the allocation percentages

24  or reducing the E911 fee under paragraph (8)(c).

25         5.  Review and approve or reject, in whole or in part,

26  applications submitted by providers for recovery of moneys

27  deposited into the fund.

28         6.  Hire and retain employees for the purposes of

29  performing administrative functions for the board.

30

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  1         7.  Make and enter into contracts, pursuant to chapter

  2  287, and execute other instruments necessary or convenient for

  3  the exercise of the powers and functions of the board.

  4         8.  Take all necessary and reasonable steps by July 1,

  5  2000, to secure appropriate information and reports from

  6  providers and otherwise perform all of the functions that

  7  would be performed by an independent accounting firm prior to

  8  completing the request-for-proposals process under subsection

  9  (7).

10         9.  Sue and be sued, and appear and defend in all

11  actions and proceedings, in its corporate name to the same

12  extent as a natural person.

13         10.  Adopt, use, and alter a common corporate seal.

14         11.  Elect or appoint the officers and agents that are

15  required by the affairs of the board.

16         12.  The board may adopt rules under ss. 120.536(1) and

17  120.54 to implement this section and ss. 365.173 and 365.174.

18         13.  Provide coordination, support, and technical

19  assistance to counties to promote the deployment of advanced

20  911 and E911 systems in the state.

21         14.  Provide coordination and support for educational

22  opportunities related to 911 issues for the 911 community in

23  this state.

24         15.  Act as an advocate for issues related to 911

25  system functions, features, and operations to improve the

26  delivery of 911 services to the residents of and visitors to

27  this state.

28         16.  Coordinate input from this state at national

29  forums and associations, to ensure that policies related to

30  911 systems and services are consistent with the policies of

31  the 911 community in this state.

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  1         17.  Work cooperatively with the system director

  2  established in s. 365.171(5) to enhance the state of 911

  3  services in this state and to provide unified leadership for

  4  all 911 issues through planning and coordination.

  5         18.13.  Do all acts and things necessary or convenient

  6  to carry out the powers granted in this section, including but

  7  not limited to, consideration of emerging technology and

  8  related cost savings.

  9         (9)  MANAGEMENT OF FUNDS.--

10         (a)  Each provider, as a part of its monthly billing

11  process, shall collect the fee imposed under subsection (8).

12  The provider may list the fee as a separate entry on each

13  bill, in which case the fee must be identified as a fee for

14  E911 services. A provider shall remit the fee only if the fee

15  is paid by the subscriber. If a provider receives a partial

16  payment for a monthly bill from a subscriber, the amount

17  received shall first be applied to the payment due the

18  provider for the provision of telecommunications service.

19         (b)  In the case of prepaid wireless telephone service,

20  the monthly wireless 911 surcharge imposed by subsection (8)

21  shall be remitted based upon each prepaid wireless telephone

22  associated with this state, for each wireless service customer

23  that has a sufficient positive balance as of the last day of

24  each month. The surcharge shall be remitted in any manner

25  consistent with the wireless provider's existing operating or

26  technological abilities, such as customer address, location

27  associated with the MTN, or reasonable allocation method based

28  upon other comparable relevant data. The surcharge amount or

29  an equivalent number of minutes may be reduced from the

30  prepaid subscriber's account since a direct billing may not be

31  possible. However, collection of the wireless 911 surcharge in

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  1  the manner of a reduction of value or minutes from the prepaid

  2  subscriber's account does not constitute a reduction in the

  3  sales price for purposes of taxes that are collected at the

  4  point of sale.

  5         (c)(b)  A provider is not obligated to take any legal

  6  action to enforce collection of the fees for which any

  7  subscriber is billed. The provider shall provide to the board

  8  each quarter a list of the names, addresses, and service

  9  numbers of all subscribers who have indicated to the provider

10  their refusal to pay the fee.

11         (d)(c)  Each provider may retain 1 percent of the

12  amount of the fees collected as reimbursement for the

13  administrative costs incurred by the provider to bill,

14  collect, and remit the fee. The remainder shall be delivered

15  to the board and deposited in the fund. The board shall

16  distribute the remainder pursuant to s. 365.173.

17         (e)(d)  Each provider shall deliver revenues from the

18  fee to the board within 60 days after the end of the month in

19  which the fee was billed, together with a monthly report of

20  the number of wireless customers whose place of primary use is

21  in each county. A provider may apply to the board for a refund

22  of, or may take a credit for, any fees remitted to the board

23  which are not collected by the provider within 6 months

24  following the month in which the fees are charged off for

25  federal income tax purposes as bad debt. The board may waive

26  the requirement that the fees and number of customers whose

27  place of primary use is in each county be submitted to the

28  board each month and authorize a provider to submit the fees

29  and number of customers quarterly if the provider demonstrates

30  that such waiver is necessary and justified.

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  1         (f)(e)  For purposes of this section, the definitions

  2  contained in s. 202.11 and the provisions of s. 202.155 apply

  3  in the same manner and to the same extent as such definitions

  4  and provisions apply to the taxes levied pursuant to chapter

  5  202 on mobile communications services.

  6         (g)(f)  As used in this subsection, the term "provider"

  7  includes any person or entity that resells wireless service

  8  and was not assessed the fee by its resale supplier.

  9         (11)  FACILITATING E911 SERVICE

10  IMPLEMENTATION.--Effective statewide E911 implementation for

11  the purpose of preserving public health, safety, and welfare

12  of the state's residents, tourists, and traveling public

13  requires that service providers have the ability to locate or

14  colocate wireless telecommunications facilities throughout the

15  state. Without this ability, federal law requirements and the

16  purpose of E911 will not be achieved. Notwithstanding any

17  other law or local ordinance to the contrary:

18         (a)  A wireless telecommunications facility located on

19  any state-owned or local-government-owned real property,

20  building, or structure pursuant to a lease with the applicable

21  government, or the actual location or colocation of a wireless

22  telecommunications facility on a state or local government

23  building is not subject to local zoning regulation. However,

24  construction of the facility is subject to local building

25  regulation.

26         (b)  To further facilitate agreements among service

27  providers for colocation of their facilities, any wireless

28  telecommunications facility that is being colocated on an

29  existing facility is not subject to local zoning regulation.

30  However, construction of the facility is subject to local

31  building regulation.

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  1         (c)  Any additional wireless telecommunications

  2  facility required at an existing site needed to comply with

  3  E911 is not subject to any local zoning regulation.

  4         (d)  An existing wireless telecommunications facility's

  5  height may be increased by 10 percent from the original

  6  permitted height without the increase being subject to local

  7  zoning regulation. However, the increase is subject to

  8  applicable federal regulation.

  9         (e)  Local governments shall not require service

10  providers to provide evidence of a wireless telecommunications

11  facility's compliance with federal regulations.

12         (f)  The Department of Management Services shall

13  negotiate, in the name of the state, leases for wireless

14  telecommunications facilities that provide access to

15  state-owned property not acquired for transportation purposes,

16  and the Department of Transportation shall negotiate, in the

17  name of the state, leases for wireless telecommunications

18  facilities that provide access to property acquired for state

19  rights-of-way.

20         Section 2.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section

21  365.173, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

22         365.173  Wireless Emergency Telephone System Fund.--

23         (2)  Subject to any modifications approved by the board

24  pursuant to s. 365.172(8)(c), the moneys in the fund shall be

25  distributed and used only as follows:

26         (b)  Fifty-four percent of the moneys shall be

27  distributed in response to sworn invoices submitted to the

28  board by providers to reimburse such providers for the actual

29  costs incurred to provide 911 or E911 service, including the

30  costs of complying with the order. Such costs include costs

31  and expenses incurred by providers to design, purchase, lease,

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  1  program, install, test, upgrade, operate, and maintain all

  2  necessary data, hardware, and software required to provide

  3  E911 service. Up to 2 percent of the funds allocated to

  4  providers shall be retained by the board to be applied to

  5  costs and expenses incurred for the purposes of managing,

  6  administering, and overseeing the receipts and disbursements

  7  from the fund and other activities as defined in s.

  8  365.172(6). Any funds retained for such purposes in a calendar

  9  year which are not applied to such costs and expenses by March

10  31 of the following year shall be distributed to providers

11  pursuant to this paragraph. Beginning in state fiscal year

12  2000-2001, each provider shall submit to the board, by August

13  1 of each year, a detailed estimate of the capital and

14  operating expenses for which it anticipates that it will seek

15  reimbursement under this paragraph during the ensuing state

16  fiscal year. By September 15 of each year, the board shall

17  submit to the Legislature its legislative budget request for

18  funds to be allocated to providers under this paragraph during

19  the ensuing state fiscal year. The budget request shall be

20  based on the information submitted by the providers and

21  estimated surcharge revenues. Distributions of moneys in the

22  fund by the board to providers must be fair and

23  nondiscriminatory. If the total amount of moneys requested by

24  providers pursuant to invoices submitted to the board and

25  approved for payment exceeds the amount in the fund in any

26  month, providers that have invoices approved for payment shall

27  receive a pro rata share of moneys in the fund and the balance

28  of the payments shall be carried over to the following month

29  or months until all of the approved payments are made. The

30  board may adopt rules necessary to address the manner in which

31  pro rata distributions are made when the total amount of funds

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  1  requested by providers pursuant to invoices submitted to the

  2  board exceeds the total amount of moneys on deposit in the

  3  fund.

  4

  5  The Legislature recognizes that the wireless E911 fee

  6  authorized under s. 365.172 will not necessarily provide the

  7  total funding required for establishing or providing the 911

  8  service. It is the intent of the Legislature that all revenue

  9  from the fee be used as specified in s. 365.171(13)(a)6.

10         Section 3.  Section 365.175, Florida Statutes, is

11  created to read:

12         365.175  Emergency Telephone Number 911 Private Branch

13  Exchange/Private Switch Automatic Location Identification.--

14         (1)  DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section, the term:

15         (a)  "Automatic Location Identification" or "ALI" means

16  the automatic display at the Public Safety Answering Point

17  (PSAP) of the caller's telephone number, the address or

18  location of the telephone, and supplementary emergency

19  services information.

20         (b)  "Automatic Location Identification (ALI)

21  Retrieval" means the process of querying the 9-1-1 database

22  for ALI records.

23         (c)  "Automatic Number Identification (ANI)" means the

24  telephone number associated with the access line from which a

25  call originates.

26         (d)  "Private Branch Exchange" or "PBX" means a private

27  telephone system that is connected to the Public Switched

28  Telephone Network (PSTN).

29         (e)  "Private Switch ALI (PSA)" means a service option

30  which provides enhanced 9-1-1 features for telephone stations

31  behind private switches. E. g. PBXs.

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  1         (2)  REQUIRED ALI CAPABILITY.--Each PBX system

  2  installed after January 1, 2004, must be capable of providing

  3  automatic location identification to the station level.

  4         Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.

  5

  6            *****************************************

  7                          SENATE SUMMARY

  8    Authorizes collection of the wireless E911 fee through
      subtraction from a subscriber's number of prepaid minutes
  9    or through subtraction from the value of a subscriber's
      account. Authorizes colocation of wireless
10    telecommunications facilities on publicly owned buildings
      and structures. Authorizes increases in the height of
11    existing wireless telecommunications facilities. Exempts
      such wireless telecommunications facilities from local
12    zoning regulations. Provides for leases of state and
      locally owned property for wireless telecommunications
13    purposes. Authorizes use of the wireless E911 fee
      surcharge for activities of the board of directors of the
14    Wireless 911 Board. Requires private branch exchange
      telephone systems installed after January 1, 2004, to
15    have automatic location identification capabilities.

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