HB643 (2009) Detail

Extending the enhanced 911 system surcharge to voice over internet protocol providers and prepaid wireless telecommunications services.


HB 643-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2009 SESSION

09-0542

09/04

HOUSE BILL 643-FN

AN ACT extending the enhanced 911 system surcharge to voice over internet protocol providers and prepaid wireless telecommunications services.

SPONSORS: Rep. J. Flanders, Rock 8

COMMITTEE: Science, Technology and Energy

ANALYSIS

This bill extends the enhanced 911 system surcharge to voice over internet protocol providers and prepaid wireless telecommunications services.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

09-0542

09/04

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine

AN ACT extending the enhanced 911 system surcharge to voice over internet protocol providers and prepaid wireless telecommunications services.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Definitions. Amend RSA 106-H:2 to read as follows:

106-H:2 Definitions. In this chapter:

I. “Active prepaid wireless telecommunication service user account” means a prepaid wireless service account which has a sufficient positive balance as of the last day of any month and is issued to a person who resides in a zip code within the state, or purchases the service within the state.

[I.] II. “Automatic location identification” or “ALI” means the system capability to identify automatically the geographical location of the telephone being used by the caller and to provide a display of that location at the public safety answering point.

[II.] III. “Automatic number identification” or “ANI” means the system capability to identify automatically the calling telephone number and to provide a display of that number at the public safety answering point.

[III.] IV. “Bureau” means the bureau of emergency communications within the division of emergency services and communications, in the department of safety, established pursuant to RSA 21-P:36.

[IV.] V. “Commission” means the enhanced 911 commission established in RSA 106-H:3.

[V.] VI. “Commissioner” means the commissioner of the department of safety.

[VI.] VII. “Emergency services” means fire, police, ambulance, rescue and other service of an emergency nature identified by the bureau.

[VII.] VIII. “Enhanced 911 system” and “enhanced 911 services” means a system consisting of selective routing with the capability of automatic number and location identification at a public safety answering point, which enables users of the public telecommunications system to request emergency services by dialing the digits 911.

[VIII.] IX. “Enhanced ANI/ALI” means the capability of a municipality or other political subdivision to receive ANI and ALI displays from 911 calls routed from the public safety answering point.

[VIII-a.] X. “Master street address guide” or “MSAG” means an alphabetical listing of all streets and house number ranges within a municipality. House number ranges shall consist of the beginning number and highest possible number on each public or private way with multiple structures.

XI. “Prepaid wireless telecommunications service” means any wireless telecommunications service that is activated in advance by payment for a finite dollar amount of service or for a finite number of minutes that terminate either upon use by any person or within a certain period of time following the initial purchase or activation, unless an additional payment is made.

[IX.] XII. “Private safety agency” means a private entity which provides emergency police, fire, ambulance, or medical services.

[X.] XIII. “Public agency” means the state government and any unit of municipal or county government located within the state which provides or has authority to provide firefighting, law enforcement, ambulance, medical or other emergency services.

[XI.] XIV. “Public safety agency” means a functional division of a public agency which provides firefighting, law enforcement, ambulance, medical, rescue or other emergency services.

[XII.] XV. “Public safety answering point” means a facility with enhanced 911 capability, operated on a 24-hour basis, assigned the responsibility of receiving 911 calls and transferring or relaying emergency 911 calls to other public safety agencies or private safety agencies.

[XIII.] XVI. “Relay routing” means the method of responding to a telephone request for emergency service whereby a public safety answering point notes pertinent information and relays it by telephone to the appropriate public safety agency or private safety agency for dispatch of an emergency service unit.

XVII. “Service user” means any person who purchases telecommunications service, wireless telecommunications service, prepaid wireless telecommunications service, or interconnected voice over internet protocol service in this state.

[XIII-a.] XVIII. “Street address guide” or “SAG” means a listing of all numbered structures on each public or private way with multiple structures within the municipality.

XIX. “Sufficient positive balance” means an account for which the balance is equal to or greater than the amount of the surcharge.

[XIV.] XX. “Transfer routing” means the method of responding to a telephone request for emergency service whereby a public safety answering point transfers the call directly to the appropriate public safety agency or private safety agency for dispatch of an emergency service unit.

2 Funding; Fund Established. Amend RSA 106-H:9 to read as follows:

106-H:9 Funding; Fund Established.

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, 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 interconnected voice over internet protocol service, 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, and may be identified on the customer’s bill. Each local exchange telephone company or entity which provides commercial mobile radio service 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. 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.

II.(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all prepaid wireless telecommunications service providers shall remit the applicable surcharge for each active prepaid wireless telecommunications service user account in the state. Collection of the wireless surcharge under this section shall not reduce the sales price for any tax collected at the point of sale.

(b) The prepaid wireless telecommunication service provider may seek reimbursement from its service users through whatever means are available to the provider.

(c) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, no retailer purchasing prepaid wireless telecommunication services or devices for resale shall be required to collect or remit any surcharge.

[II.] III. Imposition of the enhanced 911 services surcharge shall begin not later than 4 months from the approval of the budget, in order to provide adequate funding for the development of the enhanced 911 data base and other operations necessary to the development of the enhanced 911 system.

[III.] IV.(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and except as otherwise provided in RSA 82-A, the records and files of the department, related to this section, are confidential and privileged. Neither the department, nor any employee of the department, nor any other person charged with the custody of such records or files, nor any vendor or any of its employees to whom such information becomes available in the performance of any contractual services for the department shall disclose any information obtained from the department’s records, files, or returns or from any examination, investigation, or hearing, nor may any such employee or person be required to produce any such information for the inspection of any person or for the use in any action or proceeding except as provided in this paragraph.

(b) The following exceptions shall apply to this paragraph:

(1) Delivery to the surcharge collector or its representative of a copy of any return or other papers filed by the surcharge collector.

(2) Disclosure of department records, files, returns, or information in a New Hampshire state judicial or administrative proceeding pertaining to administration of the surcharge where the information is directly related to an issue in the proceeding regarding the surcharge under this section, or the surcharge collector whom the information concerns is a party to such proceeding, or the information concerns a transactional relationship between a person who is a party to the proceeding and the taxpayer.

(3) Disclosure to the department of revenue administration of records, files, and information required by the department of revenue administration to administer the communications services tax pursuant to RSA 82-A.

(4) Disclosure of department records, files, and information to the legislative budget assistant, when requested by the legislative budget assistant pursuant to RSA 14:31, IV.

3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2010.

LBAO

09-0542

Revised 01/29/09

HB 643 FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT extending the enhanced 911 system surcharge to voice over internet protocol providers and prepaid wireless telecommunications services.

FISCAL IMPACT:

    The Department of Safety states this bill will increase state restricted revenues by an indeterminable amount in FY 2010 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local revenues or state, county, and local expenditures.

METHODOLOGY:

      The Department of Safety states this bill extends the enhanced 911 system surcharge to voice over internet protocol providers and prepaid wireless telecommunication services. The Department assumes to the extent these services will be required to pay the surcharge starting January 1, 2010, revenues to the e-911 revolving fund will increase. However, as the Department cannot estimate the number of service providers subject to the surcharge, the fiscal impact cannot be determined at this time.