| 1 | The Committee on Business Regulation recommends the following: |
| 2 |
|
| 3 | Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to telecommunications services; amending |
| 7 | s. 365.172, F.S.; requiring the board of directors of the |
| 8 | Wireless 911 Board to establish a subcommittee to analyze |
| 9 | the cost and effectiveness of a nonemergency 311 telephone |
| 10 | system; requiring the subcommittee make a report to the |
| 11 | board; providing an effective date. |
| 12 |
|
| 13 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 14 |
|
| 15 | Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (6) of section |
| 16 | 365.172, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 17 | 365.172 Wireless emergency telephone number "E911."-- |
| 18 | (6) AUTHORITY OF THE BOARD; ANNUAL REPORT.-- |
| 19 | (a) The board shall: |
| 20 | 1. Administer the E911 fee. |
| 21 | 2. Implement, maintain, and oversee the fund. |
| 22 | 3. Review and oversee the disbursement of the revenues |
| 23 | deposited into the fund as provided in s. 365.173. The board may |
| 24 | establish a schedule for implementing wireless E911 service by |
| 25 | service area, and prioritize disbursements of revenues from the |
| 26 | fund to providers and rural counties as provided in s. |
| 27 | 365.173(2)(b) and (c) pursuant to the schedule, in order to |
| 28 | implement E911 services in the most efficient and cost-effective |
| 29 | manner. |
| 30 | 4. Review documentation submitted by providers which |
| 31 | reflects current and projected funds derived from the E911 fee, |
| 32 | and the expenses incurred and expected to be incurred, in order |
| 33 | to comply with the E911 service requirements contained in the |
| 34 | order for the purposes of: |
| 35 | a. Ensuring that providers receive fair and equitable |
| 36 | distributions of funds from the fund. |
| 37 | b. Ensuring that providers are not provided disbursements |
| 38 | from the fund which exceed the costs of providing E911 service, |
| 39 | including the costs of complying with the order. |
| 40 | c. Ascertaining the projected costs of compliance with the |
| 41 | requirements of the order and projected collections of the E911 |
| 42 | fee. |
| 43 | d. Implementing changes to the allocation percentages or |
| 44 | reducing the E911 fee under paragraph (8)(c). |
| 45 | 5. Review and approve or reject, in whole or in part, |
| 46 | applications submitted by providers for recovery of moneys |
| 47 | deposited into the fund. |
| 48 | 6. Hire and retain employees for the purposes of |
| 49 | performing the technical and administrative functions for the |
| 50 | board. |
| 51 | 7. Make and enter into contracts, pursuant to chapter 287, |
| 52 | and execute other instruments necessary or convenient for the |
| 53 | exercise of the powers and functions of the board. |
| 54 | 8. Take all necessary and reasonable steps by July 1, |
| 55 | 2000, to secure appropriate information and reports from |
| 56 | providers and otherwise perform all of the functions that would |
| 57 | be performed by an independent accounting firm prior to |
| 58 | completing the request-for-proposals process under subsection |
| 59 | (7). |
| 60 | 9. Sue and be sued, and appear and defend in all actions |
| 61 | and proceedings, in its corporate name to the same extent as a |
| 62 | natural person. |
| 63 | 10. Adopt, use, and alter a common corporate seal. |
| 64 | 11. Elect or appoint the officers and agents that are |
| 65 | required by the affairs of the board. |
| 66 | 12. The board may adopt rules under ss. 120.536(1) and |
| 67 | 120.54 to implement this section and ss. 365.173 and 365.174. |
| 68 | 13. Provide coordination, support, and technical |
| 69 | assistance to counties to promote the deployment of advanced 911 |
| 70 | and E911 systems in the state. |
| 71 | 14. Provide coordination and support for educational |
| 72 | opportunities related to 911 issues for the 911 community in |
| 73 | this state. |
| 74 | 15. Act as an advocate for issues related to 911 system |
| 75 | functions, features, and operations to improve the delivery of |
| 76 | 911 services to the residents of and visitors to this state. |
| 77 | 16. Coordinate input from this state at national forums |
| 78 | and associations, to ensure that policies related to 911 systems |
| 79 | and services are consistent with the policies of the 911 |
| 80 | community in this state. |
| 81 | 17. Work cooperatively with the system director |
| 82 | established in s. 365.171(5) to enhance the state of 911 |
| 83 | services in this state and to provide unified leadership for all |
| 84 | 911 issues through planning and coordination. |
| 85 | 18. Do all acts and things necessary or convenient to |
| 86 | carry out the powers granted in this section, including but not |
| 87 | limited to, consideration of emerging technology and related |
| 88 | cost savings. |
| 89 | 19. No later than August 1, 2004, establish a subcommittee |
| 90 | responsible for analyzing the cost and effectiveness of a |
| 91 | nonemergency 311 system, including the potential to improve the |
| 92 | overall efficiency of an existing 911 system or reduce 911 call |
| 93 | processing times. The subcommittee shall report its findings and |
| 94 | recommendations to the board by December 31, 2004. |
| 95 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |