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H0363......................................................by STATE AFFAIRS
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS FEE - Amends and adds to existing law to provide
for an emergency communications fee; to provide for establishment of
enhanced consolidated emergency communications systems; to provide for the
appointment of an official or administrator to maintain, enhance and govern
a consolidated emergency communications system; to provide for application
to prepaid calling cards; and to provide for confidential and proprietary
data.
03/11 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
03/12 Rpt prt - to St Aff
03/19 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/20 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/25 3rd rdg - PASSED - 46-22-2
AYES -- Andersen, Bell, Bieter(Bieter), Black, Block, Boe, Campbell,
Cannon, Cuddy, Deal, Douglas, Edmunson, Eskridge, Field(18),
Field(23), Gagner, Garrett, Harwood, Henbest(Bray), Jaquet, Jones,
Kellogg, Lake, Langford, Langhorst, Martinez, Meyer, Miller,
Mitchell, Naccarato, Nielsen, Ring, Ringo, Robison, Rydalch, Sayler,
Shepherd, Shirley, Skippen, Smith(30), Smith(24), Smylie, Snodgrass,
Stevenson, Tilman, Wills, Mr. Speaker
NAYS -- Barraclough, Barrett, Bauer, Bedke, Bolz, Bradford, Clark,
Collins, Crow, Denney, Eberle, Ellsworth, Harwood, Kulczyk,
McGeachin, McKague, Moyle, Raybould, Ridinger, Roberts, Sali,
Schaefer
Absent and excused -- Trail, Wood
Floor Sponsor - Black
Title apvd - to Senate
03/26 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to St Aff
03/31 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
04/01 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
04/02 3rd rdg - PASSED - 29-0-6
AYES -- Andreason, Bailey, Bunderson, Burkett, Burtenshaw,
Calabretta, Cameron, Compton, Darrington, Gannon, Goedde, Hill,
Ingram, Kennedy, Keough, Little, Lodge, Malepeai, Marley, McKenzie,
McWilliams, Noh, Pearce, Richardson, Schroeder, Sorensen, Stennett,
Sweet, Werk
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- Brandt, Davis, Geddes, Noble, Stegner, Williams
Floor Sponsor - Sorensen
Title apvd - to House
04/03 To enrol
04/04 Rpt enrol - Sp signed
04/07 Pres signed
04/08 To Governor
04/14 Governor signed
Session Law Chapter 290
Effective: 07/01/03
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ||||
Fifty-seventh Legislature First Regular Session - 2003
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 363
BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO THE EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS ACT; AMENDING SECTION 31-4801, IDAHO
3 CODE, TO PROVIDE FURTHER LEGISLATIVE PURPOSE; AMENDING SECTION 31-4802,
4 IDAHO CODE, TO FURTHER DEFINE TERMS AND TO MAKE A TECHNICAL CORRECTION;
5 AMENDING SECTION 31-4803, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR A VOTER APPROVED
6 EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS FEE, TO PROVIDE WHEN NO FURTHER VOTE IS NECES-
7 SARY, TO PROVIDE FOR REVIEW OF THE FEE AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS;
8 AMENDING SECTION 31-4804, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE THE AMOUNT OF THE EMER-
9 GENCY COMMUNICATIONS FEE, TO PROVIDE PROCEDURES AND TO PROVIDE FOR USE OF
10 FEES; AMENDING CHAPTER 48, TITLE 31, IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW
11 SECTION 31-4804A, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF ENHANCED
12 CONSOLIDATED EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS; AMENDING SECTION 31-4805,
13 IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR A GOVERNING BOARD OR ADMINISTRATOR AFTER THE
14 VOTER APPROVAL OF AN EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS FEE; AMENDING SECTION
15 31-4806, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR APPOINTMENT OF AN OFFICIAL OR ADMINIS-
16 TRATOR TO MAINTAIN, OPERATE, ENHANCE AND GOVERN A CONSOLIDATED EMERGENCY
17 COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM; AMENDING SECTION 31-4812, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE
18 IMMUNITY AND CONDITIONS OF LIABILITY STANDARDS IN PROVIDING EMERGENCY COM-
19 MUNICATIONS SERVICES; AMENDING CHAPTER 48, TITLE 31, IDAHO CODE, BY THE
20 ADDITION OF NEW SECTIONS 31-4813 AND 31-4814, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE
21 APPLICATION TO PREPAID CALLING CARDS, AND TO PROVIDE FOR CONFIDENTIAL AND
22 PROPRIETARY DATA.
23 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
24 SECTION 1. That Section 31-4801, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
25 amended to read as follows:
26 31-4801. PURPOSE. The legislature recognizes that providing consolidated
27 emergency communications systems is vital in enhancing the public health,
28 safety, and welfare of the residents of the state of Idaho. The legislature
29 further finds that there is an obvious need for providing a means to finance
30 the initiation, maintenance, and operation, enhancement and governance of con-
31 solidated emergency communications systems.
32 (1) The legislature of the state of Idaho finds that:
33 (a) Since the original enactment of the emergency communications act in
34 1988, many of Idaho's communities have found that they are lacking in the
35 resources to fully fund emergency communications systems at the local
36 level;
37 (b) Changes in technology and the rapid growth of communications media
38 have demonstrated that financing such systems solely by a line charge on
39 subscribers to wire-line services does not reflect utilization of emer-
40 gency communications systems by subscribers to wireless and other forms of
41 communications systems;
42 (c) There is a need to enhance funding for the initiation and enhancement
43 of consolidated emergency communications systems throughout the state;
2
1 (d) Utilization of cellular telephones to access emergency communications
2 systems has substantially increased citizen access to emergency services
3 while at the same time increasing demands upon the emergency response sys-
4 tem.
5 (e) In order to protect and promote the public health and safety, and to
6 keep pace with advances in telecommunications technology and the various
7 choices of telecommunications technology available to the public, there is
8 a need to plan and develop a statewide coordinated policy and program to
9 ensure that enhanced 911 services are available to all citizens of the
10 state and in all areas of the state. Accordingly, it is the intent of the
11 legislature that the association of Idaho cities and the Idaho association
12 of counties establish a task force composed of county commissioners, sher-
13 iffs, city councilmen, police chiefs, fire chiefs, emergency medical ser-
14 vice providers and telecommunications providers. The purpose of the task
15 force is to review and, if appropriate, recommend legislation to the sec-
16 ond regular session of the fifty-seventh Idaho legislature concerning the:
17 (i) governance of 911 emergency communications systems and (ii) the estab-
18 lishment of emergency communications systems for those counties of the
19 state that do not have such systems.
20 (2) Therefore, it is hereby declared that the intent and purpose of the
21 provisions of this act are to:
22 (a) Provide authority to counties and 911 service areas to impose an
23 emergency communications fee on the use of both telephone lines and wire-
24 less communications systems;
25 (b) Provide that the emergency communications fee shall be exclusively
26 utilized by the counties electing to impose it to finance the initiation,
27 maintenance, operation, enhancement and governance of consolidated emer-
28 gency systems as well as enhanced consolidated emergency systems;
29 (c) Provide for the agreed-to reimbursement to wireless carriers for
30 their implementation of enhanced consolidated emergency communications
31 systems by counties or 911 service areas that have implemented enhanced
32 consolidated emergency communications systems.
33 SECTION 2. That Section 31-4802, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
34 amended to read as follows:
35 31-4802. DEFINITIONS. As used in this chapter:
36 (1) "Access line" means any telephone line, trunk line, network access
37 register, dedicated radio signal, or equivalent that provides switched tele-
38 communications access to a consolidated emergency communications system from
39 either a service address or a place of primary use within this state. In the
40 case of wireless technology, each active dedicated telephone number shall be
41 considered a single access line.
42 (2) "Administrator" means the person, officer or agency designated to
43 operate a consolidated emergency communications system, and to receive funds
44 for such an operation.
45 (3) "Basic consolidated emergency system" means consolidated emergency
46 systems that are not enhanced.
47 (24) "Consolidated emergency communications system" means facilities,
48 equipment and dispatching services directly related to establishing, maintain-
49 ing, or enhancing a 911 emergency communications service.
50 (5) "Emergency communications fee" means the fee provided for in section
51 31-4803, Idaho Code.
52 (6) "Enhanced consolidated emergency system" means consolidated emergency
53 systems that provide enhanced wireless 911 service and include, but are not
3
1 limited to, the technological capability to provide call back numbers, cell
2 site locations, and the location of calls by latitude and longitude and made
3 through the systems of wireless carriers.
4 (37) "Governing board" means the joint powers board, if the 911 service
5 area is a multicounty area, or the board of county commissioners of the county
6 or the city council if the 911 service area is a city, or both the board of
7 county commissioners and the city council if the 911 service area includes
8 both city and county residents but not the entire county.
9 (48) "911 service area" means a regional, multicounty, county or area
10 other than a whole county in which area the residents have voted to establish
11 a consolidated emergency communications system.
12 (9) "Place of primary use" means the residential street address or the
13 primary business street address in Idaho where the customer's use of the wire-
14 less service primarily occurs.
15 (10) "Telecommunications provider" means any person providing exchange
16 telephone service to a service address within this state or any wireless car-
17 rier providing telecommunications service to any customer having a place of
18 primary use within this state.
19 (11) "Wireless carrier" means a cellular licensee, a personal communica-
20 tions service licensee, and certain specialized mobile radio providers desig-
21 nated as covered carriers by the federal communications commission in 47 CFR
22 20.18 and any successor to such rule.
23 SECTION 3. That Section 31-4803, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
24 amended to read as follows:
25 31-4803. AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH AND FOR VOTERS TO APPROVE FUNDING FOR A
26 CONSOLIDATED EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM. (1) The board of commissioners
27 of any county may establish a consolidated emergency communications system by
28 virtue of authority granted by this chapter or by chapter 23, title 67, Idaho
29 Code. The service area may be regional, multicounty, county-wide countywide,
30 or any part or parts of the county, and may include or exclude a city or cit-
31 ies. If the board of county commissioners has adopted a resolution stating
32 that the county is unable to establish a county-wide countywide consolidated
33 emergency communications system, or if the voters reject a county-wide
34 countywide consolidated 911 system, then a 911 service area may be established
35 by action of any city or cities within the county. The 911 service area shall
36 be described in the ordinance of creation. The ordinance shall further provide
37 for an election on the question as provided in subsection (2) of this section.
38 The ordinance of creation shall define the governing board, designate the
39 administrator, and the agency to service the 911 calls. The costs of the elec-
40 tion ordered by the county shall be a proper charge against the county current
41 expense fund. The costs of the election for a 911 service area shall be a
42 proper charge against the city or cities initiating the election.
43 (2) The voters of any county or 911 service area may authorize funding to
44 support implementation of a consolidated emergency communications system pur-
45 suant to the provisions of this chapter. The authorization to provide such
46 funding must be made by the registered voters of the county or of the 911 ser-
47 vice area at either a primary or general election. A notice for any election
48 shall be published for twenty (20) days as required by section 60-109, Idaho
49 Code. A sixty percent (60%) majority of the votes cast in favor of the ques-
50 tion shall be necessary to authorize the telephone line user emergency commu-
51 nications fee.
52 (3) If a 911 system is to be financed in whole or in part by a telephone
53 line user an emergency communications fee, the governing board shall submit
4
1 the question to the electors of the county or 911 service area in substan-
2 tially the following form:
3 "Shall the governing board of ............ be authorized to institute
4 a telephone line user an emergency communications fee in an amount no
5 greater than one dollar ($l.00) per month to be used to fund an emer-
6 gency telephone system, commonly known as 911 service?".
7 (4) No telephone line user emergency communications fee for a consoli-
8 dated emergency communications system shall be charged without voter approval
9 as provided in subsection (2) of this section.
10 (5) Any net savings in operating expenditures realized by any taxing dis-
11 trict utilizing a consolidated emergency communications system shall be used
12 by that taxing district for a reduction in the ad valorem property tax charges
13 of that taxing district.
14 (6) If the voters of any county or 911 service area have previously
15 approved funding of a consolidated emergency communications system in the man-
16 ner provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, no further vote is
17 necessary to authorize the emergency communications fee set forth in this act.
18 (7) Effective October 1, 2004, and every year thereafter, the emergency
19 communications fee provided for in this act shall be reviewed and modified as
20 required by this subsection by the board of commissioners of a countywide sys-
21 tem or by the governing board of a 911 service area as follows:
22 (a) The level of the emergency communications fee shall be reviewed and,
23 as appropriate and necessary, readjusted by action of the board of commis-
24 sioners or the governing board on an annual basis. The board of commis-
25 sioners or governing board shall set the level of the fee based upon the
26 revenue requirements necessary to implement an annual budget prepared
27 under the direction of the board of commissioners or governing board for
28 the initiation, maintenance, operation, enhancement and governance of a
29 consolidated emergency communications system, including both basic and, if
30 applicable, enhanced consolidated emergency systems.
31 (b) The revenues from emergency communications fees shall be exclusively
32 expended pursuant to the budget established in paragraph (a) of this sub-
33 section. Use of such revenues for any other purpose is expressly prohib-
34 ited.
35 (c) The process of reviewing and setting the level of emergency communi-
36 cations fees shall be governed by the meeting and public notice provisions
37 of section 31-710(4), Idaho Code. For the purposes of this section, the
38 setting of a fee shall be deemed to be the promulgation of a rule such
39 that public participation provisions of section 67-5222, Idaho Code, shall
40 apply to the meetings of the board of commissioners or of a governing
41 board pursuant to this section.
42 SECTION 4. That Section 31-4804, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
43 amended to read as follows:
44 31-4804. TELEPHONE LINE USER EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS FEE. (1) The tele-
45 phone line user emergency communications fee provided pursuant to the provi-
46 sions of this chapter shall be a uniform amount not to exceed one dollar
47 ($1.00) per month per exchange access line, trunk line, network access regis-
48 ter, or equivalent, and such fee shall be used exclusively to finance the ini-
49 tiation, maintenance, or operation, enhancement and governance of a consoli-
50 dated emergency communications system within the boundaries of one (1) county
51 or 911 service area and provide for the reimbursement of wireless carriers for
52 implementing enhanced consolidated emergency systems as provided for in sec-
53 tion 31-4804A, Idaho Code. All emergency communications fees collected and
5
1 expended pursuant to this section shall be audited by an independent, third
2 party auditor ordinarily retained by the governing board for auditing pur-
3 poses. The purpose of the audit as related to emergency communications systems
4 is to verify the accuracy and completeness of fees collected and costs
5 expended.
6 (2) The fee shall be collected from customers on a monthly basis by all
7 telecommunications entities which provide local telephone line service
8 providers that make available access lines to persons within the county, or
9 911 service area, and may be listed as a separate item on customers' monthly
10 bills.
11 (3) The telephone companies telecommunications providers shall remit such
12 fee to the county treasurer's office or the administrator for the 911 service
13 area based upon the 911 service area from which the fees were collected. In
14 the event the telecommunications provider remits such fees based upon the
15 emergency communications fee billed to the customer, a deduction shall be
16 allowed for uncollected amounts when such amounts are treated as bad debt for
17 financial reporting purposes.
18 (4) From every remittance to the governing body made on or before the
19 date when the same becomes due, the telephone company telecommunications pro-
20 vider required to remit the same shall be entitled to deduct and retain three-
21 fourths of one percent (.751%) of the collected amount as the cost of adminis-
22 tration for collecting the charge. Local exchange companies Telecommunications
23 providers will be allowed to list the surcharge as a separate item on the
24 telephone subscriber's bill, and shall have no obligation to take any legal
25 action to enforce the collection of any charge, nor be held liable for such
26 uncollected amounts.
27 (5) Use of fees. The emergency communications fee provided hereunder
28 shall be used only to pay for the lease, purchase or maintenance of emergency
29 communications equipment for basic and enhanced consolidated emergency sys-
30 tems, including necessary computer hardware, software, database provisioning,
31 training, salaries directly related to such systems, costs of establishing
32 such systems, and agreed-to reimbursement costs of telecommunications
33 providers related to the operation of such systems. All other expenditures
34 necessary to operate such systems and other normal and necessary safety or law
35 enforcement functions including, but not limited to, those expenditures
36 related to overhead, staffing, administrative and other day to day operational
37 expenditures, shall continue to be paid through the general funding of the
38 respective governing boards.
39 SECTION 5. That Chapter 48, Title 31, Idaho Code, be, and the same is
40 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des-
41 ignated as Section 31-4804A, Idaho Code, and to read as follows:
42 31-4804A. ESTABLISHMENT OF ENHANCED CONSOLIDATED EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
43 SYSTEMS. (1) Any county or 911 service area that has established a basic con-
44 solidated emergency system may establish an enhanced consolidated emergency
45 system by action of the governing board of the basic consolidated emergency
46 system.
47 (2) The governing boards establishing enhanced consolidated emergency
48 systems shall request that wireless carriers serving such counties or 911 ser-
49 vice areas collectively implement an enhanced consolidated emergency communi-
50 cations system within a reasonable time. When so requested, all wireless car-
51 riers serving such counties or 911 service areas shall implement enhanced
52 consolidated emergency communications systems within a reasonable time. The
53 governing boards and wireless carriers shall enter into agreements that:
6
1 (a) Establish the scope and purpose of the proposed enhanced consolidated
2 emergency communications system.
3 (b) Provide for an agreed-to level of reimbursement for telecommunica-
4 tions providers for the costs of wireless carriers resulting from their
5 implementation and operation of enhanced emergency communications systems
6 that may include the acquisition, construction, financing, installation
7 and operation of all equipment and facilities necessary to implement such
8 enhanced systems.
9 (c) Provide that the agreed-to level of reimbursement for telecommunica-
10 tions providers for enhanced 911 service may include the costs and
11 expenses incurred for designing, upgrading, purchasing, leasing, program-
12 ming, installing, testing, or maintaining all necessary data, hardware and
13 software required in order to provide such service as well as the recur-
14 ring and nonrecurring costs of operating such service. All costs and
15 expenses must be commercially reasonable.
16 (d) Provide that reimbursement to a telecommunications provider shall be
17 nondiscriminatory and be made available to all other telecommunications
18 providers.
19 Agreements shall provide for prompt reimbursement on invoices submitted by
20 wireless carriers to the governing board.
21 SECTION 6. That Section 31-4805, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
22 amended to read as follows:
23 31-4805. ESTABLISHMENT OF JOINT POWERS BOARD FOR OPERATION OF EMERGENCY
24 COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE. Within one hundred eighty (180) days following voter
25 approval of a telephone line user an emergency communications fee as provided
26 in section 31-4803, Idaho Code, a governing board or administrator may be
27 established under a joint powers agreement pursuant to sections 67-2326
28 through 67-2332, Idaho Code. Such joint powers board or administrator shall
29 be responsible for establishing, maintaining, operating, enhancing and govern-
30 ing a consolidated emergency communications system. Providing an emergency
31 communications service shall be considered a governmental function.
32 SECTION 7. That Section 31-4806, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
33 amended to read as follows:
34 31-4806. AUTHORIZATION FOR GOVERNING BOARD TO APPOINT OFFICIAL TO SUPER-
35 VISE EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE IN THE ABSENCE OF JOINT POWERS AGREE-
36 MENT. Whenever the electors approve imposing the telephone line user emergency
37 communications fee as provided in this chapter, but in the absence of an
38 agreement to form a joint powers board or administrator as provided in this
39 chapter, the governing board is hereby authorized to appoint an official or
40 administrator to maintain, operate, enhance and govern a consolidated emer-
41 gency communications system.
42 SECTION 8. That Section 31-4812, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
43 amended to read as follows:
44 31-4812. IMMUNITY AND CONDITIONS OF LIABILITY IN PROVIDING EMERGENCY COM-
45 MUNICATIONS SERVICE. In order to further the purposes of this chapter, and to
46 encourage the development of consolidated emergency communications systems,
47 the legislature finds that telephone companies providing telecommunications
48 providers making available consolidated emergency communications systems and
49 related services shall not be subject to liability in conjunction with provid-
7
1 ing such services except on the terms stated below.
2 (1) No telephone company or telecommunications provider shall be liable
3 to any person for the good faith release to emergency communications system
4 personnel of information not in the public record including, but not limited
5 to, nonpublished or nonlisted telephone numbers.
6 (2) A local exchange telephone company or other telecommunications entity
7 providing provider making available emergency communications systems or ser-
8 vices, and its employees and agents, shall not be liable in tort to any person
9 for damages alleged to have been caused by the design, development, installa-
10 tion, maintenance or provision of consolidated emergency communications sys-
11 tems or services, unless such entities or persons act with malice or criminal
12 intent, or commit reckless, willful and wanton conduct.
13 (3) For the purposes of this section, "reckless, willful and wanton con-
14 duct" is defined as an intentional and knowing action, or failure to act, cre-
15 ating an unreasonable risk of harm to another, and which involves a high
16 degree of probability that such harm will result.
17 SECTION 9. That Chapter 48, Title 31, Idaho Code, be, and the same is
18 hereby amended by the addition thereto of NEW SECTIONS, to be known and desig-
19 nated as Sections 31-4813 and 31-4814, Idaho Code, and to read as follows:
20 31-4813. PREPAID CALLING CARDS. The imposition of the emergency communi-
21 cations fee shall not apply to the prepaid calling cards for all forms of
22 access fees.
23 31-4814. CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY DATA. All data submitted to govern-
24 ing boards by wireless carriers deemed by such carriers as confidential and
25 proprietary shall be deemed to be trade secrets pursuant to chapter 3, title
26 9, Idaho Code.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 13151C1
The purpose of this bill is to impose the same requirements
currently imposed by state law on land line telephone companies
to wireless carriers pertaining to a local option fee of no more
than $1.00 a month which is used by the county for 911 emergency
communication services. The bill also requires auditing and
reporting by 911 governing boards beyond that in current law.
The bill further requires that a joint task force made up of
public safety providers, governments and telecommunications
carriers study the Emergency Communications Act regarding
governance and statewide application and report to the
legislature in 2004. The bill also eliminates and replaces
obsolete language in the current law, exempts prepaid calling
cards from the fee and ensures confidentiality to proprietary
data.
FISCAL IMPACT
Because the state of Idaho is not subject to the imposition of
fees such as the one currently in state law under the sections
pertaining to 911 emergency communications, there is no fiscal
impact to the general fund as a result of this bill. It is
expected that revenues to the various counties and consolidated
emergency 911 systems that have imposed the fee upon a vote of
the people within the county or system will be between $5 million
and $6 million.
Contact
Name: Michael J. Kane
Idaho Sheriffs Association
Phone: 208/342-4545
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 363