25 §2927. E-9-1-1 funding - Maine Statutes

Title 25: INTERNAL SECURITY AND PUBLIC SAFETY

Part 8: MAINE CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACADEMY

Chapter 352: EMERGENCY SERVICES COMMUNICATION HEADING: PL 1989, C. 502, PT. A, §103 (NEW)

§2927. E-9-1-1 funding

(CONTAINS TEXT WITH VARYING EFFECTIVE DATES)

1. Statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge.

[ 1993, c. 566, §9 (NEW); MRSA T. 25, §2927, sub-§7 (RP) .]

1-A. Statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge.

[ 1997, c. 409, §1 (AMD); MRSA T. 25, §2927, sub-§7-A (RP) .]

1-B. Statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge.

[ 2009, c. 617, §13 (AFF); 2009, c. 617, §7 (RP) .]

1-C. Statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge; prepaid wireless service.

[ 2009, c. 400, §15 (AFF); 2009, c. 400, §7 (RP) .]

1-D. Funding. The activities authorized under this chapter are funded through:

A. The statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge under subsection 1-E levied on:

(1) Each residential and business telephone exchange line, including private branch exchange lines and Centrex lines;

(2) Semipublic coin and public access lines;

(3) Customers of interconnected voice over Internet protocol service; and

(4) Customers of cellular or wireless telecommunications service that is not prepaid wireless telecommunications service; and [2009, c. 400, §15 (AFF); 2009, c. 400, §8 (NEW).]

B. The statewide prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharge under subsection 1-F levied on prepaid wireless telecommunications service consumers. [2009, c. 400, §15 (AFF); 2009, c. 400, §8 (NEW).]

[ 2009, c. 400, §15 (AFF); 2009, c. 400, §8 (NEW) .]

1-E. Statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge. The statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge is governed by this subsection.

A. The statewide E‐9‐1‐1 surcharge is 37¢ per month per line or number. Beginning July 1, 2010, the statewide E‐9‐1‐1 surcharge is 45¢ per month per line or number. The statewide E‐9‐1‐1 surcharge may not be imposed on more than 25 lines or numbers per customer billing account. [2009, c. 617, §13 (AFF); 2009, c. 617, §8 (AMD).]

B. The statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge must be collected from the customer according to subsection 1-D, paragraph A on a monthly basis by each local exchange telephone utility, cellular or wireless telecommunications service provider and interconnected voice over Internet protocol service provider and be shown separately as a statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge on the customer's bill. [2009, c. 400, §15 (AFF); 2009, c. 400, §9 (NEW).]

C. The place of residence of cellular or wireless telecommunications service customers who are not prepaid wireless telecommunications service consumers must be determined according to the sourcing rules for mobile telecommunications services as set forth in Title 36, section 2556. [2009, c. 400, §15 (AFF); 2009, c. 400, §9 (NEW).]

[ 2009, c. 617, §13 (AFF); 2009, c. 617, §8 (AMD) .]

1-F. Statewide prepaid wireless telecommunications service E-9-1-1 surcharge. The statewide prepaid wireless telecommunications service E-9-1-1 surcharge, referred to in this subsection as "the prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharge," is governed by this subsection.

A. The prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharge is 37¢ per retail transaction. Beginning July 1, 2010, the prepaid wireless E‐9‐1‐1 surcharge is 45¢ per retail transaction. [2009, c. 617, §13 (AFF); 2009, c. 617, §9 (AMD).]

B. The prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharge must be collected by the seller from the prepaid wireless consumer according to subsection 1-D, paragraph B with respect to each retail transaction occurring in this State. The amount of the prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharge must be separately stated on an invoice, receipt or similar document that is provided to the prepaid wireless consumer by the seller when practicable. In circumstances in which disclosure of the E-9-1-1 surcharge on an invoice, receipt or similar document is not practicable, the seller must otherwise make information available to the consumer regarding the amount of the E-9-1-1 prepaid surcharge. [2009, c. 400, §10 (NEW); 2009, c. 400, §15 (AFF).]

C. For purposes of paragraph B, a retail transaction that is effected in person by a prepaid wireless consumer at the business location of the seller is treated as occurring in this State if that business location is in this State. Any other retail transaction must be treated as occurring in this State if the retail transaction is treated as occurring in this State for the purposes of Title 36, section 1752, subsection 8-B. [2009, c. 400, §10 (NEW); 2009, c. 400, §15 (AFF).]

D. The prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharge is the liability of the prepaid wireless consumer and not of the seller or of any prepaid wireless telecommunications service provider, except that the seller is liable to remit all prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharges that the seller collects from prepaid wireless consumers as provided in this subsection, including all such charges that the seller is deemed to collect when the amount of the surcharge has not been separately stated on an invoice, receipt or similar document provided to the prepaid wireless consumer by the seller. [2009, c. 400, §10 (NEW); 2009, c. 400, §15 (AFF).]

E. The amount of the prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharge that is collected by a seller from a prepaid wireless consumer, whether or not such amount is separately stated on an invoice, receipt or similar document provided to the prepaid wireless consumer by the seller, may not be included in the base for measuring any tax, fee, surcharge or other charge that is imposed by this State, any political subdivision of this State or any intergovernmental agency. [2009, c. 400, §10 (NEW); 2009, c. 400, §15 (AFF).]

F. If the prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharge amount established in paragraph A is amended, the new surcharge amount takes effect 60 days after enactment of the change to the surcharge amount in paragraph A. The bureau shall provide not less than 30 days advance notice of any change to the surcharge amount on the bureau’s publicly accessible website. [2009, c. 400, §10 (NEW); 2009, c. 400, §15 (AFF).]

G. Prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharges collected by sellers must be remitted to the Treasurer of State. Prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharges must be remitted at the times and in the manner provided for the remittance of sales taxes under Title 36, section 1951-A and rules adopted pursuant to that section for the remittance of sales taxes on an other than monthly basis. The State Tax Assessor shall establish registration and payment procedures that substantially coincide with registration and payment procedures as provided in Title 36, section 1754-B and related provisions. [2009, c. 400, §10 (NEW); 2009, c. 400, §15 (AFF).]

H. A seller who is not a prepaid wireless telecommunications service provider may deduct and retain 3% of prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharges that are collected by the seller from consumers. [2009, c. 400, §10 (NEW); 2009, c. 400, §15 (AFF).]

I. The State Tax Assessor shall establish procedures by which a seller may document that a sale is not a retail transaction, which procedures must substantially coincide with the procedures for documenting a sale for retail transaction as provided in Title 36, section 1754-B. [2009, c. 400, §10 (NEW); 2009, c. 400, §15 (AFF).]

J. The State Tax Assessor shall ensure that all remitted prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharges are deposited in the E-9-1-1 fund under subsection 2-B within 30 days of receipt. For prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharges remitted during the period beginning January 1, 2010 and ending December 31, 2011, the State Tax Assessor may deduct an amount not to exceed 2% of remitted prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharges to reimburse the direct costs of the assessor for administering the collection and remittance of the prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharges during that period. [2009, c. 400, §10 (NEW); 2009, c. 400, §15 (AFF).]

[ 2009, c. 617, §13 (AFF); 2009, c. 617, §9 (AMD) .]

1-G. E-9-1-1 funding obligation; limitation. The statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge imposed by subsection 1-E and the prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharge imposed by subsection 1-F are the only E-9-1-1 funding obligations imposed with respect to telecommunications services in this State, and another tax, fee, surcharge or other charge may not be imposed by this State, any political subdivision of this State or any intergovernmental agency for funding E-9-1-1 purposes on any telecommunications service with respect to the sale, purchase, use or provision of that telecommunications service.

[ 2009, c. 400, §11 (NEW); 2009, c. 400, §15 (AFF) .]

2. Surcharge remittance.

[ 1993, c. 566, §9 (NEW); MRSA T. 25, §2927, sub-§7 (RP) .]

2-A. Surcharge remittance.

[ 1997, c. 409, §1 (AMD); MRSA T. 25, §2927, sub-§7-A (RP) .]

2-B. Surcharge remittance. Each local exchange telephone utility, cellular or wireless telecommunications service provider and interconnected voice over Internet protocol service provider shall remit the statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge revenues collected from its customers pursuant to subsection 1-D on a monthly basis and within one month of the month collected to the Treasurer of State for deposit in a separate account known as the E-9-1-1 fund. Each telephone utility or service provider required to remit statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge revenues shall provide, on a form approved by the bureau, supporting data, including but not limited to the following:

A. The calculation used to arrive at the surcharge remittance amount; [2001, c. 439, Pt. EEEE, §7 (NEW).]

B. The calculation used to arrive at the uncollectible amount of surcharge; [2001, c. 439, Pt. EEEE, §7 (NEW).]

C. The total surcharge; [2001, c. 439, Pt. EEEE, §7 (NEW).]

D. The month and year for which surcharge is remitted; [2001, c. 439, Pt. EEEE, §7 (NEW).]

E. The legal name of company and telephone number and, if applicable, the parent company name, address and telephone number; and [2001, c. 439, Pt. EEEE, §7 (NEW).]

F. The preparer's name and telephone number. [2001, c. 439, Pt. EEEE, §7 (NEW).]

Prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharges collected by sellers must be remitted to the Treasurer of State in accordance with subsection 1-F, paragraph G.

[ 2009, c. 400, §12 (AMD); 2009, c. 400, §15 (AFF) .]

3. Expenditure of funds. The bureau may use the revenues in the E-9-1-1 fund to fund staff and to defray costs associated with the implementation, operation and management of E-9-1-1 and transfer funds to the Other Special Revenue Funds, Emergency Medical Services account within the Department of Public Safety to defray the costs, including necessary staffing costs, of the Emergency Medical Services' Board in implementing the requirements of Title 32, section 85-A. The bureau, to the extent it determines sufficient funds are available in the E-9-1-1 fund, shall use revenues in the E-9-1-1 fund to reimburse local exchange carriers and cellular and wireless telecommunications service providers for eligible expenses incurred by the carriers and service providers. For purposes of this subsection, the term "eligible expenses" means expenses:

A. Incurred in preparing, correcting, verifying or updating subscriber information for use in databases necessary to implement the E-9-1-1 system; [2003, c. 194, §1 (AMD).]

B. Determined by the Public Utilities Commission to meet the requirements of paragraph A and to be reasonable expenses for the services provided; and [2003, c. 194, §1 (AMD).]

C. When incurred by a cellular or wireless telecommunications service provider:

(1) That are approved by the bureau to be properly incurred for the implementation of E-9-1-1 technologies and procedures;

(2) That are not separately billed to customers; and

(3) For which the provider is not reimbursed from any other source. [2003, c. 194, §1 (NEW).]

The Public Utilities Commission, in consultation with the bureau, shall establish procedures for reviewing and approving expenses pursuant to paragraph B.

[ 2005, c. 303, §1 (AMD) .]

3-A. Payment of emergency medical dispatch training costs. To assist public safety answering points in meeting the requirements of Title 32, section 85-A, the bureau shall provide free training courses for emergency medical dispatchers, as defined in Title 32, section 85-A, subsection 1, paragraph D, or reimburse public safety answering points for reasonable costs, as determined by the bureau, incurred for training courses approved by the bureau and attended by employees of the public safety answering point upon submission by the public safety answering point of adequate documentation of completion of the courses by the employees. The bureau shall provide each public safety answering point a sufficient number of approved Emergency Medical Dispatch Priority Reference System documents in printed or electronic format, as determined by the bureau pursuant to Title 32, section 85-A. All costs incurred by the bureau under this subsection must be paid from the E-9-1-1 fund.

[ 2005, c. 303, §2 (NEW) .]

3-B. (TEXT EFFECTIVE UNTIL 6/30/11) (TEXT REPEALED 6/30/11) Support of supervisory positions. Revenues in the E‐9‐1‐1 fund may be used to fund 2 legislatively authorized supervisory positions relating to emergency dispatch and E‐9‐1‐1 call-taking services provided by the department.

This subsection is repealed on June 30, 2011.

[ 2009, c. 617, §10 (NEW) .]

4. Unexpended funds; interest. Any amount of the E-9-1-1 fund not expended at the end of the fiscal year may not lapse but must be carried forward to be expended for the purposes specified in this chapter in succeeding fiscal years. The Treasurer of State shall credit all interest on fund balances to the fund.

[ 1993, c. 566, §9 (NEW) .]

5. Legislative annual report. The bureau shall include in the Public Utilities Commission's annual report pursuant to Title 35‐A, section 120, subsection 7 to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over utilities and energy matters:

A. The bureau's planned expenditures for the year and use of funds for the previous year; [2009, c. 617, §11 (RPR).]

B. The statewide E‐9‐1‐1 surcharge collected under this section; [2009, c. 617, §11 (RPR).]

C. The bureau's recommended statewide E‐9‐1‐1 surcharge for the coming year; [2009, c. 617, §11 (RPR).]

D. The bureau's recommendations for amending existing and enacting new law to improve the E‐9‐1‐1 system; and [2009, c. 617, §11 (RPR).]

E. The performance of each of the public safety answering points in the State during the previous calendar year, including the results of the bureau's quality assurance program audits under section 2926, subsection 1‐A and any recommendations of the bureau relating to the emergency dispatching standards, practices and procedures of public safety answering points. [2009, c. 617, §11 (RPR).]

[ 2009, c. 617, §11 (RPR) .]

5-A. Committee recommendations; budget. The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over utilities and energy matters shall make recommendations to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over appropriations and financial affairs regarding all expenditures from the E-9-1-1 fund.

[ 1999, c. 790, Pt. A, §31 (AMD) .]

6. Violations. A telephone utility , a cellular or wireless telecommunications service provider, including a prepaid wireless telephone service provider, or an interconnected voice over Internet protocol service provider subject to this section that intentionally and knowingly fails to remit the statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge revenues collected under this section commits a civil violation for which a forfeiture of not more than $500 may be adjudged for each day that payment is not made after the due date.

[ 2007, c. 68, §8 (AMD) .]

7. Repeal.

[ 1997, c. 409, §1 (RP) .]

7-A. Repeal. Subsections 1-A and 2-A are repealed 90 days after the adjournment of the First Regular Session of the 119th Legislature.

[ 1997, c. 409, §1 (AMD) .]

8. Rules. The Public Utilities Commission shall adopt rules necessary to implement the provisions of this section. Rules adopted under this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.

[ 2007, c. 68, §9 (NEW) .]

SECTION HISTORY

1993, c. 566, §9 (NEW). 1995, c. 672, §§1-4 (AMD). 1997, c. 409, §1 (AMD). 1999, c. 651, §§1,2 (AMD). 1999, c. 651, §4 (AFF). 1999, c. 790, §A31 (AMD). 2001, c. 439, §§EEEE6,7 (AMD). 2001, c. 584, §1 (AMD). 2001, c. 584, §10 (AFF). 2003, c. 194, §1 (AMD). 2003, c. 359, §4 (AMD). 2003, c. 673, §V29 (AFF). 2003, c. 673, §V4 (AMD). 2005, c. 303, §§1,2 (AMD). 2007, c. 68, §§5-9 (AMD). 2007, c. 637, §1 (AMD). 2009, c. 122, §6 (AMD). 2009, c. 219, §3 (AMD). 2009, c. 400, §§6-12 (AMD). 2009, c. 400, §15 (AFF). 2009, c. 416, §1 (AMD). 2009, c. 617, §§7-11 (AMD). 2009, c. 617, §13 (AFF). MRSA T. 25 , §2927, sub-§7 (AMD). MRSA T. 25, §2927, sub-§7-A (AMD).