CS/CS/HB 163

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to prepaid wireless telecommunications
3service; amending s. 365.172, F.S.; removing provisions
4for a study of the feasibility of collecting an E911 fee
5on the sale of prepaid wireless telecommunications
6service; providing for assessment or collection of the fee
7after a certain date; amending s. 365.173, F.S.; revising
8a limitation on the amount of funds received by a county
9from the E911 fee which may be carried forward to the
10following year; providing an effective date.
11
12Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
13
14     Section 1.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (8) of section
15365.172, 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
19collect the fee described in this subsection. Each provider, as
20part of its monthly billing process, shall bill the fee as
21follows. The fee shall not be assessed on any pay telephone in
22the state.
23     1.  Each local exchange carrier shall bill the fee to the
24local exchange subscribers on a service-identifier basis, up to
25a maximum of 25 access lines per account bill rendered.
26     2.  Except in the case of prepaid wireless service, each
27wireless provider shall bill the fee to a subscriber on a per-
28service-identifier basis for service identifiers whose primary
29place of use is within this state. Before July 1, 2013 2009, the
30fee shall not be assessed on or collected from a provider with
31respect to an end user's service if that end user's service is a
32prepaid calling arrangement that is subject to s. 212.05(1)(e).
33     a.  The board shall conduct a study to determine whether it
34is feasible to collect E911 fees from the sale of prepaid
35wireless service. If, based on the findings of the study, the
36board determines that a fee should not be collected from the
37sale of prepaid wireless service, it shall report its findings
38and recommendation to the Governor, the President of the Senate,
39and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by December 31,
402008. If the board determines that a fee should be collected
41from the sale of prepaid wireless service, the board shall
42collect 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
45telecommunications services that must be paid for in advance and
46is sold in predetermined units or dollars enabling the
47originator to make calls such that the number of units or
48dollars declines with use in a known amount.
49     (II)  "Prepaid wireless service providers" includes those
50persons who sell prepaid wireless service regardless of its
51form, either as a retailer or reseller.
52     c.  The study must include an evaluation of methods by
53which E911 fees may be collected from end users and purchasers
54of prepaid wireless service on an equitable, efficient,
55competitively neutral, and nondiscriminatory basis and must
56consider whether the collection of fees on prepaid wireless
57service would constitute an efficient use of public funds given
58the technological and practical considerations of collecting the
59fee based on the varying methodologies prepaid wireless service
60providers and their agents use in marketing prepaid wireless
61service.
62     d.  The study must include a review and evaluation of the
63collection of E911 fees on prepaid wireless service at the point
64of sale within the state. This evaluation must be consistent
65with the collection principles of end user charges such as those
66in s. 212.05(1)(e).
67     e.  No later than 90 days after this section becomes law,
68the board shall require all prepaid wireless service providers,
69including resellers, to provide the board with information that
70the board determines is necessary to discharge its duties under
71this section, including information necessary for its
72recommendation, such as total retail and reseller prepaid
73wireless service sales.
74     f.  All subscriber information provided by a prepaid
75wireless service provider in response to a request from the
76board while conducting this study is subject to s. 365.174.
77     g.  The study shall be conducted by an entity competent and
78knowledgeable in matters of state taxation policy if the board
79does not possess that expertise. The study must be paid from the
80moneys distributed to the board for administrative purposes
81under s. 365.173(2)(f) but may not exceed $250,000.
82     3.  All voice communications services providers not
83addressed under subparagraphs 1. and 2. shall bill the fee on a
84per-service-identifier basis for service identifiers whose
85primary place of use is within the state up to a maximum of 25
86service identifiers for each account bill rendered.
87
88The provider may list the fee as a separate entry on each bill,
89in which case the fee must be identified as a fee for E911
90services. A provider shall remit the fee to the board only if
91the fee is paid by the subscriber. If a provider receives a
92partial payment for a monthly bill from a subscriber, the amount
93received shall first be applied to the payment due the provider
94for providing voice communications service.
95     Section 2.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section
96365.173, 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.
99365.172(8)(h), and subject to any modifications approved by the
100board pursuant to s. 365.172(6)(a)3. or (8)(i), the moneys in
101the fund shall be distributed and used only as follows:
102     (c)  Any county that receives funds under paragraphs (a)
103and (b) shall establish a fund to be used exclusively for the
104receipt and expenditure of the revenues collected under
105paragraphs (a) and (b). All fees placed in the fund and any
106interest accrued shall be used solely for costs described in
107subparagraphs (a)1. and 2. The money collected and interest
108earned in this fund shall be appropriated for these purposes by
109the county commissioners and incorporated into the annual county
110budget. The fund shall be included within the financial audit
111performed in accordance with s. 218.39. A county may carry
112forward up to 30 20 percent of the total funds disbursed to the
113county by the board during a calendar year for expenditures for
114capital outlay, capital improvements, or equipment replacement,
115if such expenditures are made for the purposes specified in
116subparagraphs (a)1. and 2.; however, the 30-percent 20-percent
117limitation does not apply to funds disbursed to a county under
118s. 365.172(6)(a)3., and a county may carry forward any
119percentage of the funds, except that any grant provided shall
120continue to be subject to any condition imposed by the board. In
121order to prevent an excess recovery of costs incurred in
122providing E911 service, a county that receives funds greater
123than the permissible E911 costs described in s. 365.172(9),
124including the 30-percent 20 percent carryforward allowance, must
125return the excess funds to the E911 board to be allocated under
126s. 365.172(6)(a).
127
128The Legislature recognizes that the fee authorized under s.
129365.172 may not necessarily provide the total funding required
130for establishing or providing the E911 service. It is the intent
131of the Legislature that all revenue from the fee be used as
132specified in this subsection.
133     Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.


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