Florida Senate - 2010 CS for CS for SB 1202
By the Committees on Judiciary; and Communications, Energy, and
Public Utilities; and Senator Bennett
590-03807-10 20101202c2
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to prepaid wireless
3 telecommunications; amending s. 365.172, F.S.;
4 removing provisions for a study of the feasibility of
5 collecting a fee for prepaid wireless
6 telecommunications service; delaying a provision that
7 requires an assessment on or collection of a fee for a
8 prepaid calling arrangement; amending s. 365.173,
9 F.S.; revising the percentage of total funds that a
10 county may carry forward to pay certain costs
11 associated with the county’s E911 or 911 system, to
12 contract for E911 services, and to reimburse wireless
13 telephone service providers for costs incurred to
14 provide such services; providing an effective date.
15
16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (8) of section
19 365.172, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
20 365.172 Emergency communications number “E911.”—
21 (8) E911 FEE.—
22 (a) Each voice communications services provider shall
23 collect the fee described in this subsection. Each provider, as
24 part of its monthly billing process, shall bill the fee as
25 follows. The fee shall not be assessed on any pay telephone in
26 the state.
27 1. Each local exchange carrier shall bill the fee to the
28 local exchange subscribers on a service-identifier basis, up to
29 a maximum of 25 access lines per account bill rendered.
30 2. Except in the case of prepaid wireless service, each
31 wireless provider shall bill the fee to a subscriber on a per
32 service-identifier basis for service identifiers whose primary
33 place of use is within this state. Before July 1, 2013 2009, the
34 fee shall not be assessed on or collected from a provider with
35 respect to an end user’s service if that end user’s service is a
36 prepaid calling arrangement that is subject to s. 212.05(1)(e).
37 a. The board shall conduct a study to determine whether it
38 is feasible to collect E911 fees from the sale of prepaid
39 wireless service. If, based on the findings of the study, the
40 board determines that a fee should not be collected from the
41 sale of prepaid wireless service, it shall report its findings
42 and recommendation to the Governor, the President of the Senate,
43 and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by December 31,
44 2008. If the board determines that a fee should be collected
45 from the sale of prepaid wireless service, the board shall
46 collect the fee beginning July 1, 2013 2009.
47 b. For purposes of this section, the term:
48 (I) “Prepaid wireless service” means the right to access
49 telecommunications services that must be paid for in advance and
50 is sold in predetermined units or dollars enabling the
51 originator to make calls such that the number of units or
52 dollars declines with use in a known amount.
53 (II) “Prepaid wireless service providers” includes those
54 persons who sell prepaid wireless service regardless of its
55 form, either as a retailer or reseller.
56 c. The study must include an evaluation of methods by which
57 E911 fees may be collected from end users and purchasers of
58 prepaid wireless service on an equitable, efficient,
59 competitively neutral, and nondiscriminatory basis and must
60 consider whether the collection of fees on prepaid wireless
61 service would constitute an efficient use of public funds given
62 the technological and practical considerations of collecting the
63 fee based on the varying methodologies prepaid wireless service
64 providers and their agents use in marketing prepaid wireless
65 service.
66 d. The study must include a review and evaluation of the
67 collection of E911 fees on prepaid wireless service at the point
68 of sale within the state. This evaluation must be consistent
69 with the collection principles of end user charges such as those
70 in s. 212.05(1)(e).
71 e. No later than 90 days after this section becomes law,
72 the board shall require all prepaid wireless service providers,
73 including resellers, to provide the board with information that
74 the board determines is necessary to discharge its duties under
75 this section, including information necessary for its
76 recommendation, such as total retail and reseller prepaid
77 wireless service sales.
78 f. All subscriber information provided by a prepaid
79 wireless service provider in response to a request from the
80 board while conducting this study is subject to s. 365.174.
81 g. The study shall be conducted by an entity competent and
82 knowledgeable in matters of state taxation policy if the board
83 does not possess that expertise. The study must be paid from the
84 moneys distributed to the board for administrative purposes
85 under s. 365.173(2)(f) but may not exceed $250,000.
86 3. All voice communications services providers not
87 addressed under subparagraphs 1. and 2. shall bill the fee on a
88 per-service-identifier basis for service identifiers whose
89 primary place of use is within the state up to a maximum of 25
90 service identifiers for each account bill rendered.
91
92 The provider may list the fee as a separate entry on each bill,
93 in which case the fee must be identified as a fee for E911
94 services. A provider shall remit the fee to the board only if
95 the fee is paid by the subscriber. If a provider receives a
96 partial payment for a monthly bill from a subscriber, the amount
97 received shall first be applied to the payment due the provider
98 for providing voice communications service.
99 Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section
100 365.173, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
101 365.173 Emergency Communications Number E911 System Fund.—
102 (2) As determined by the board pursuant to s.
103 365.172(8)(h), and subject to any modifications approved by the
104 board pursuant to s. 365.172(6)(a)3. or (8)(i), the moneys in
105 the fund shall be distributed and used only as follows:
106 (c) Any county that receives funds under paragraphs (a) and
107 (b) shall establish a fund to be used exclusively for the
108 receipt and expenditure of the revenues collected under
109 paragraphs (a) and (b). All fees placed in the fund and any
110 interest accrued shall be used solely for costs described in
111 subparagraphs (a)1. and 2. The money collected and interest
112 earned in this fund shall be appropriated for these purposes by
113 the county commissioners and incorporated into the annual county
114 budget. The fund shall be included within the financial audit
115 performed in accordance with s. 218.39. A county may carry
116 forward up to 30 20 percent of the total funds disbursed to the
117 county by the board during a calendar year for expenditures for
118 capital outlay, capital improvements, or equipment replacement,
119 if such expenditures are made for the purposes specified in
120 subparagraphs (a)1. and 2.; however, the 30 percent 20-percent
121 limitation does not apply to funds disbursed to a county under
122 s. 365.172(6)(a)3., and a county may carry forward any
123 percentage of the funds, except that any grant provided shall
124 continue to be subject to any condition imposed by the board. In
125 order to prevent an excess recovery of costs incurred in
126 providing E911 service, a county that receives funds greater
127 than the permissible E911 costs described in s. 365.172(9),
128 including the 30 20 percent carryforward allowance, must return
129 the excess funds to the E911 board to be allocated under s.
130 365.172(6)(a).
131
132 The Legislature recognizes that the fee authorized under s.
133 365.172 may not necessarily provide the total funding required
134 for establishing or providing the E911 service. It is the intent
135 of the Legislature that all revenue from the fee be used as
136 specified in this subsection.
137 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.