HB 528-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2007 SESSION
09/01
HOUSE BILL 528-FN
AN ACT expanding the enhanced 911 system surcharge to providers of devices and services capable of accessing enhanced 911 service in New Hampshire.
SPONSORS: Rep. Tholl, Coos 2; Rep. Welch, Rock 8
COMMITTEE: Science, Technology and Energy
This bill expands the enhanced 911 system surcharge which currently applies to landline and cellular telephone service providers to providers of devices and services capable of accessing enhanced 911 service in New Hampshire.
This bill was requested by the department of safety.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
07-0475
09/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven
AN ACT expanding the enhanced 911 system surcharge to providers of devices and services capable of accessing enhanced 911 service in New Hampshire.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Statement of Purpose. Amend RSA 106-H:1 to read as follows:
106-H:1 Statement of Purpose. The general court of the state of New Hampshire declares that the interests of the state’s citizens will be served by a coordinated statewide enhanced 911 system, utilizing 911 as the primary emergency telephone number, which will develop and improve emergency communication procedures and facilities with the objective of reducing the response time to emergency calls for law enforcement, fire, medical, rescue, and other emergency services. Any service that provides a device or service capable of calling 911 shall provide a connection to the state of New Hampshire’s 911 public safety answering point, using protocols as required by the New Hampshire statewide enhanced 911 system as defined in RSA 106-H:8.
2 New Paragraph; Definitions; Provider. Amend RSA 106-H:2 by inserting after paragraph IX the following new paragraph:
IX-a. “Provider” means a person, firm, or corporation that makes or supplies a device or service capable of contacting the 911 public safety answering point.
3 Definitions; Service Provider. Amend RSA 106-H:2, XIII-a to read as follows:
XIII-a. “Service provider” means a supplier of a device or service that meets the public need to access the 911 public safety answering point.
XIII-b. “Street address guide” or “SAG” means a listing of all numbered structures on each public or private way with multiple structures within the municipality.
4 Coordination by Provider of Telephone Service. Amend RSA 106-H:8, I to read as follows:
I. Every telephone utility authorized to do business in the state pursuant to RSA 374:22, I and every entity which provides commercial mobile radio service, as defined in 47 C.F.R. section 20.3, and required by the Federal Communications Commission to provide 911 service, and every entity supplying any other device or service capable of contacting 911, shall make available the universal emergency telephone number 911 for use by the public in seeking assistance from fire, police, and other related safety agencies through a single public safety answering point. Each telephone service provider shall assure that [all requests for] a person requesting police, fire, medical, or other emergency services received by the provider or the provider’s operator services shall be transferred to the public safety answering point. Such transfer shall include the calling party’s telephone number and location in American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) in a format recommended for data exchange by the National Emergency Number Association (NENA).
5 Funding; Surcharge. Amend RSA 106-H:9, I to read as follows:
I. The enhanced 911 system shall be funded through a surcharge to be levied upon each residence and business telephone exchange line, including PBX trunks and Centrex lines, each individual commercial mobile radio service number, each device or service capable of providing access to 911, and each semi-public and public coin and public access line. No such surcharge shall be imposed upon more than 25 business telephone exchange lines, including PBX trunks and Centrex lines, or more than 25 commercial mobile radio service exchange lines per customer billing account. In the case of local exchange telephone companies, the surcharge shall be contained within tariffs or rate schedules filed with the public utilities commission and shall be billed on a monthly basis by each local exchange telephone company. In the case of an entity which provides commercial mobile radio service, or any other access to 911, the surcharge shall be billed to each customer on a monthly basis and shall not be subject to any state or local tax; the surcharge shall be collected by the commercial mobile radio service provider or the provider of any other device or service capable of contacting 911, and may be identified on the customer’s bill. Each local exchange telephone company or entity which provides commercial mobile radio service or provider of any other service capable of contacting 911 shall remit the surcharge amounts on a monthly basis to the enhanced 911 services bureau, which shall be forwarded to the state treasurer for deposit in the enhanced 911 system fund. Providers of prepaid telephone calling cards shall deduct the monthly surcharge from the customer’s account and forward the surcharge to the state treasurer. The state treasurer shall pay expenses incurred in the administration of the enhanced 911 system from such fund. Such fund shall not lapse. If the expenditure of additional funds over budget estimates is necessary for the proper functioning of the enhanced 911 system, the department of safety may request, with prior approval of the fiscal committee of the general court, the transfer of funds from the enhanced 911 system fund to the department of safety for such purposes. The moneys in the account shall not be used for any purpose other than the development and operation of enhanced 911 services, in accordance with the terms of this chapter. Surcharge amounts shall be reviewed after the budget has been approved or modified, and if appropriate, new tariffs or rate schedules shall be filed with the public utilities commission reflecting the surcharge amount.
6 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
LBAO
07-0475
1/17/07
528-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT expanding the enhanced 911 system surcharge to providers of devices and services capable of accessing enhanced 911 service in New Hampshire.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Safety states this bill may increase state restricted revenue by an indeterminable amount in FY 2008 and each fiscal year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local revenue or state, county, and local expenditures
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Safety states this bill will expand the enhanced 911 system surcharge to include technologies, both current and future, that have or will have the capability of contacting 911. The Department states it cannot estimate the increase in state restricted revenue to the enhanced 911 system fund because it does not know how many entities supply devices or services capable of contacting 911 but are not paying the surcharge, or how many entities might be created in the future that would have this capability.