HB 0311

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to telecommunications services; amending
3s. 365.171, F.S.; providing for the Public Service
4Commission to adopt rules to encourage provision of 311
5service; revising provisions for expenditure of the 911
6fee; revising application of certain provisions; revising
7a timeframe for a pilot project; providing for a task
8force to be appointed by the Governor to review technology
9and system enhancements; providing an effective date.
10
11Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
12
13     Section 1.  Subsection (8) and paragraph (a) of subsection
14(13) of section 365.171, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
15     365.171  Emergency telephone number "911."--
16     (8)  COIN TELEPHONES.--The Florida Public Service
17Commission shall establish rules to be followed by the telephone
18utilities in this state designed toward encouraging the
19provision of coin-free dialing of "911" calls and paid calls of
20"311" wherever economically practicable and in the public
21interest.
22     (13)  "911" FEE.--
23     (a)  Following approval by referendum as set forth in
24paragraph (b), or following approval by a majority vote of its
25board of county commissioners, a county may impose a "911" fee
26to be paid by the local exchange subscribers within its
27boundaries served by the "911" service. Proceeds from the "911"
28fee shall be used only for "911" expenditures as set forth in
29subparagraph 6. The manner of imposing and collecting said
30payment shall be as follows:
31     1.  At the request of the county subscribing to "911"
32service, the telephone company shall, insofar as is practicable,
33bill the "911" fee to the local exchange subscribers served by
34the "911" service, on an individual access line basis, at a rate
35not to exceed 50 cents per month per line (up to a maximum of 25
36access lines per account bill rendered). However, the fee may
37not be assessed on any pay telephone in this state. A county
38collecting the fee for the first time may collect the fee for no
39longer than 36 months without initiating the acquisition of its
40"911" equipment.
41     2.  Fees collected by the telephone company pursuant to
42subparagraph 1. shall be returned to the county, less the costs
43of administration retained pursuant to paragraph (c). The county
44shall provide a minimum of 90 days' written notice to the
45telephone company prior to the collection of any "911" fees.
46     3.  Any county that currently has an operational "911"
47system or that is actively pursuing the implementation of a
48"911" system shall establish a fund to be used exclusively for
49receipt and expenditure of "911" fee revenues collected pursuant
50to this section. All fees placed in said fund, and any interest
51accrued thereupon, shall be used solely for "911" costs
52described in subparagraph 6. The money collected and interest
53earned in this fund shall be appropriated for "911" purposes by
54the county commissioners and incorporated into the annual county
55budget. Such fund shall be included within the financial audit
56performed in accordance with s. 218.39. A report of the audit
57shall be forwarded to the office within 60 days of its
58completion. A county may carry forward on an annual basis
59unspent moneys in the fund for expenditures allowed by this
60section, or it may reduce its fee. However, in no event shall a
61county carry forward more than 10 percent of the "911" fee
62billed for the prior year. The amount of moneys carried forward
63each year may be accumulated in order to allow for capital
64improvements described in this subsection. The carryover shall
65be documented by resolution of the board of county commissioners
66expressing the purpose of the carryover or by an adopted capital
67improvement program identifying projected expansion or
68replacement expenditures for "911" equipment and service
69features, or both. In no event shall the "911" fee carryover
70surplus moneys be used for any purpose other than for the "911"
71equipment, service features, and installation charges authorized
72in subparagraph 6. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a
73county from using other sources of revenue for improvements,
74replacements, or expansions of its "911" system. A county may
75increase its fee for purposes authorized in this section.
76However, in no case shall the fee exceed 50 cents per month per
77line. All current "911" fees shall be reported to the office
78within 30 days of the start of each county's fiscal period. Any
79fee adjustment made by a county shall be reported to the office.
80A county shall give the telephone company a 90-day written
81notice of such fee adjustment.
82     4.  The telephone company shall have no obligation to take
83any legal action to enforce collection of the "911" fee. The
84telephone company shall provide quarterly to the county a list
85of the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of any and all
86subscribers who have identified to the telephone company their
87refusal to pay the "911" fee.
88     5.  The county subscribing to "911" service shall remain
89liable to the telephone company for any "911" service,
90equipment, operation, or maintenance charge owed by the county
91to the telephone company.
92
93As used in this paragraph, "telephone company" means an exchange
94telephone service provider of "911" service or equipment to any
95county within its certificated area.
96     6.  It is the intent of the Legislature that the "911" fee
97authorized by this section to be imposed by counties will not
98necessarily provide the total funding required for establishing
99or providing the "911" service. For purposes of this section,
100"911" service includes the functions of database management,
101call taking, location verification, and call transfer. The
102following costs directly attributable to the establishment
103and/or provision of "911" service are eligible for expenditure
104of moneys derived from imposition of the "911" fee authorized by
105this section: the acquisition, implementation, and maintenance
106of Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) equipment and "911"
107service features, as defined in the Florida Public Service
108Commission's lawfully approved "911" and related tariffs and/or
109the acquisition, installation, and maintenance of other "911"
110equipment, including call answering equipment, call transfer
111equipment, ANI controllers, ALI controllers, ANI displays, ALI
112displays, station instruments, "911" telecommunications systems,
113teleprinters, logging recorders, instant playback recorders,
114telephone devices for the deaf (TDD) used in the "911" system,
115PSAP backup power systems, consoles, automatic call
116distributors, and interfaces (hardware and software) for
117computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems; salary and associated
118expenses for "911" call takers for that portion of their time
119spent taking and transferring "911" calls; salary and associated
120expenses for a county to employ a full-time equivalent "911"
121coordinator position and a full-time equivalent staff assistant
122position per county for the portion of their time spent
123administrating the "911" system; training costs for PSAP call
124takers in the proper methods and techniques used in taking and
125transferring "911" calls; expenses required to develop and
126maintain all information (ALI and ANI databases and other
127information source repositories) necessary to properly inform
128call takers as to location address, type of emergency, and other
129information directly relevant to the "911" call-taking and
130transferring function; other expenses that improve the overall
131call-taking efficiency of an existing "911" system or reduce
132"911" emergency call processing time; and, in a county with a
133population exceeding 750,000 defined in s. 125.011(1), such
134expenses related to a nonemergency "311" system, or similar
135nonemergency system, which improves the overall call-taking
136efficiency of an existing "911" system or reduces "911" call
137processing emergency response time for a 2-year pilot project
138that ends June 30, 2006 2003. However, no wireless telephone
139service provider shall be required to participate in this pilot
140project or to otherwise implement a nonemergency "311" system or
141similar nonemergency system. The "911" fee revenues shall not be
142used to pay for any item not listed, including, but not limited
143to, any capital or operational costs for emergency responses
144which occur after the call transfer to the responding public
145safety entity and the costs for constructing buildings, leasing
146buildings, maintaining buildings, or renovating buildings,
147except for those building modifications necessary to maintain
148the security and environmental integrity of the PSAP and "911"
149equipment rooms. The Governor shall appoint a task force,
150consisting of members from existing "911" operations centers and
151"911" coordinators, local government, and industry
152representatives as nonvoting members, to review the latest
153enhancements in technology or systems with the potential to
154improve the overall efficiency of an existing "911" system or
155reduce "911" call processing times.
156     7.  It is the goal of the Legislature that enhanced "911"
157service be available throughout the state. Expenditure by
158counties of the "911" fees authorized by this section should
159support this goal to the greatest extent feasible within the
160context of local service needs and fiscal capability. Nothing in
161this section shall be construed to prohibit two or more counties
162from establishing a combined emergency "911" telephone service
163by interlocal agreement and utilizing the "911" fees authorized
164by this section for such combined "911" service.
165     Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.