SF 3022

as introduced - 82nd Legislature (2001 - 2002) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to public safety; requiring certain utilities 
  1.3             to allow access to 911 service and update automatic 
  1.4             identification records; allowing discretion to 
  1.5             commissioners of administration and finance to set and 
  1.6             change 911 fee within range set by law and upon notice 
  1.7             to telephone companies and carriers; requiring 
  1.8             certification of costs to be timely; appropriating 
  1.9             money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 
  1.10            403.04, by adding a subdivision; 403.11, subdivision 
  1.11            3; Minnesota Statutes 2001 Supplement, section 403.11, 
  1.12            subdivision 1; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2000, 
  1.13            section 403.08, subdivisions 1, 2. 
  1.14  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.15     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 403.04, is 
  1.16  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.17     Subd. 3.  [REQUIREMENT FOR UTILITY PROVIDING TELEPHONE 
  1.18  SERVICE.] By December 15, 2002, if a public utility provides 
  1.19  telephone service within a 911 service area and chooses to 
  1.20  provide service to nonsubscribers, then it must allow access to 
  1.21  911 service and must update automatic location identification 
  1.22  records accordingly. 
  1.23     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2001 Supplement, section 
  1.24  403.11, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.25     Subdivision 1.  [EMERGENCY TELEPHONE SERVICE FEE.] (a) Each 
  1.26  customer of a telephone company or communications carrier that 
  1.27  provides service capable of originating a 911 emergency 
  1.28  telephone call is assessed a fee to cover the costs of ongoing 
  1.29  maintenance and related improvements for trunking and central 
  2.1   office switching equipment for minimum 911 emergency telephone 
  2.2   service, plus administrative and staffing costs of the 
  2.3   department of administration related to managing the 911 
  2.4   emergency telephone service program.  Recurring charges by a 
  2.5   public utility providing telephone service for updating the 
  2.6   information required by section 403.07, subdivision 3, must be 
  2.7   paid by the commissioner of administration if the utility is 
  2.8   included in an approved 911 plan and the charges have been 
  2.9   certified and approved under subdivision 3.  The commissioner of 
  2.10  administration shall transfer an amount equal to two cents a 
  2.11  month from the fee assessed under this section on cellular and 
  2.12  other nonwire access services to the commissioner of public 
  2.13  safety for the purpose of offsetting the costs, including 
  2.14  administrative and staffing costs, incurred by the state patrol 
  2.15  division of the department of public safety in handling 911 
  2.16  emergency calls made from cellular phones.  Money remaining in 
  2.17  the 911 emergency telephone service account after all other 
  2.18  obligations are paid must not cancel and is carried forward to 
  2.19  subsequent years and may be appropriated from time to time to 
  2.20  the commissioner of administration to provide financial 
  2.21  assistance to counties for the improvement of local emergency 
  2.22  telephone services.  The improvements may include providing 
  2.23  access to minimum 911 service for telephone service subscribers 
  2.24  currently without access and upgrading existing 911 service to 
  2.25  include automatic number identification, local location 
  2.26  identification, automatic location identification, and other 
  2.27  improvements specified in revised county 911 plans approved by 
  2.28  the department. 
  2.29     (b) The fee is 27 may not be less than eight cents nor more 
  2.30  than 35 cents a month for each customer access line or other 
  2.31  basic access service, including trunk equivalents as designated 
  2.32  by the public utilities commission for access charge purposes 
  2.33  and including cellular and other nonwire access services.  The 
  2.34  fee must be the same for all customers.  
  2.35     (c) The fee must be collected by each company or carrier 
  2.36  providing service subject to the fee.  Fees are payable to and 
  3.1   must be submitted to the commissioner of administration monthly 
  3.2   before the 25th of each month following the month of collection, 
  3.3   except that fees may be submitted quarterly if less than $250 a 
  3.4   month is due, or annually if less than $25 a month is due.  
  3.5   Receipts must be deposited in the state treasury and credited to 
  3.6   a 911 emergency telephone service account in the special revenue 
  3.7   fund.  The money in the account may only be used for 911 
  3.8   telephone services as provided in paragraph (a). 
  3.9      (d) With the approval of the commissioner of finance, the 
  3.10  commissioner of administration shall establish the amount of the 
  3.11  fee within the limits specified and inform the companies and 
  3.12  carriers of the amount to be collected.  The commissioner shall 
  3.13  provide companies and carriers a minimum of 45 days' notice of 
  3.14  each fee change. 
  3.15     (e) This subdivision does not apply to customers of a 
  3.16  telecommunications carrier as defined in section 237.01, 
  3.17  subdivision 6. 
  3.18     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 403.11, 
  3.19  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  3.20     Subd. 3.  [METHOD OF PAYMENT; CERTIFICATION.] A public 
  3.21  utility incurring reimbursable costs under subdivision 1 or 2 
  3.22  shall certify those costs to the commissioner of 
  3.23  administration.  The certification shall must be in a form as 
  3.24  prescribed by the commissioner after consultation with the 
  3.25  public utilities commission.  If the commissioner and the 
  3.26  commission approve the certified costs as timely, appropriate, 
  3.27  and accurate, the commissioner shall pay the certified costs 
  3.28  from money appropriated for that purpose within 90 days 
  3.29  following receipt by the commissioner of the certified 
  3.30  costs.  For purposes of this subdivision, a certification 
  3.31  submitted to the commissioner of administration within two years 
  3.32  of commencing a new or additional eligible 911 service is 
  3.33  considered a timely certification.  The commissioner of 
  3.34  administration shall estimate the amount required to reimburse 
  3.35  public utilities for the state's obligations under subdivisions 
  3.36  1 and 2 and the governor shall include the estimated amount in 
  4.1   the biennial budget request.  
  4.2      Sec. 4.  [TRANSITIONAL PERIOD FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF OLD 
  4.3   COSTS.] 
  4.4      (a) A public utility incurring reimbursable costs under 
  4.5   Minnesota Statutes, section 403.11, subdivision 1 or 2, at any 
  4.6   time before the effective date of sections 2 and 3, may certify 
  4.7   those costs for payment to the commissioner of administration 
  4.8   according to Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 403.11, 
  4.9   subdivision 3, for a period of 90 days after the effective date 
  4.10  of sections 2 and 3.  During this period, the commissioner of 
  4.11  administration shall reimburse the public utility for approved, 
  4.12  certified costs without regard to any contrary provision of 
  4.13  section 3. 
  4.14     (b) This section supersedes any contrary provision in 
  4.15  section 2 or 3 but expires 91 days after the effective date of 
  4.16  sections 2 and 3. 
  4.17     Sec. 5.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  4.18     In fiscal year 2003 an increase of $2,382,000 is 
  4.19  appropriated to the commissioner of administration from the 
  4.20  special revenue fund for recurring costs of emergency telephone 
  4.21  service. 
  4.22     Sec. 6.  [REPEALER.] 
  4.23     Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 403.08, subdivisions 1 and 
  4.24  2, are repealed effective the day following final enactment. 
  4.25     Sec. 7.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.26     Sections 1 to 4 are effective the day following final 
  4.27  enactment.