1997 Minnesota Statutes

     403.11 System costs; fee; account. 

    Subdivision 1.    Emergency telephone service fee.  (a) 
 Each customer of a telephone company or communications carrier 
 that provides service capable of originating a 911 emergency 
 telephone call is assessed a fee to cover the costs of ongoing 
 maintenance and related improvements for trunking and central 
 office switching equipment for minimum 911 emergency telephone 
 service, plus administrative and staffing costs of the 
 department of administration related to managing the 911 
 emergency telephone service program.  Recurring charges by a 
 public utility providing telephone service for updating the 
 information required by section 403.07, subdivision 3, must be 
 paid by the commissioner of administration if the utility is 
 included in an approved 911 plan and the charges have been 
 certified and approved under subdivision 3.  The commissioner of 
 administration shall transfer an amount equal to two cents a 
 month from the fee assessed under this section on cellular and 
 other nonwire access services to the commissioner of public 
 safety for the purpose of offsetting the costs, including 
 administrative and staffing costs, incurred by the state patrol 
 division of the department of public safety in handling 911 
 emergency calls made from cellular phones.  Money remaining in 
 the 911 emergency telephone service account after all other 
 obligations are paid must not cancel and is carried forward to 
 subsequent years and may be appropriated from time to time to 
 the commissioner of administration to provide financial 
 assistance to counties for the improvement of local emergency 
 telephone services.  The improvements may include providing 
 access to minimum 911 service for telephone service subscribers 
 currently without access and upgrading existing 911 service to 
 include automatic number identification, local location 
 identification, automatic location identification, and other 
 improvements specified in revised county 911 plans approved by 
 the department. 

    (b) The fee may not be less than eight cents nor more than 
 30 cents a month for each customer access line or other basic 
 access service, including trunk equivalents as designated by the 
 public utilities commission for access charge purposes and 
 including cellular and other nonwire access services.  The fee 
 must be the same for all customers.  

    (c) The fee must be collected by each company or carrier 
 providing service subject to the fee.  Fees are payable to and 
 must be submitted to the commissioner of administration monthly 
 before the 25th of each month following the month of collection, 
 except that fees may be submitted quarterly if less than $250 a 
 month is due, or annually if less than $25 a month is due.  
 Receipts must be deposited in the state treasury and credited to 
 a 911 emergency telephone service account in the special revenue 
 fund.  The money in the account may only be used for 911 
 telephone services as provided in paragraph (a).  

    (d) The commissioner of administration, with the approval 
 of the commissioner of finance, shall establish the amount of 
 the fee within the limits specified and inform the companies and 
 carriers of the amount to be collected.  Companies and carriers 
 must be given a minimum of 45 days notice of fee changes. 

    (e) This subdivision does not apply to customers of a 
 telecommunications carrier as defined in section 237.01, 
 subdivision 6. 

    Subd. 2.    Modification costs.  (a) The costs of a 
 public utility incurred in the modification of central office 
 switching equipment for minimum 911 service shall be paid from 
 the general fund of the state treasury by appropriations for 
 that purpose. 

    (b) The installation and recurring charges for integrating 
 cellular and other wireless access services 911 calls into 
 enhanced 911 systems must be paid by the commissioner if the 911 
 service provider is included in the statewide design plan and 
 the charges have been certified and approved under subdivision 
 3, or the wireless access service provider has completed a 
 contract for service with the commissioner, and charges are 
 considered reasonable and accurate by the commissioner.  Charges 
 payable to wireless access service providers are not subject to 
 the provisions of subdivision 3. 

    Subd. 3.    Method of payment; certification.  A public 
 utility incurring reimbursable costs under subdivision 1 or 2 
 shall certify those costs to the commissioner of 
 administration.  The certification shall be in a form as 
 prescribed by the commissioner after consultation with the 
 public utilities commission.  If the commissioner and the 
 commission approve the certified costs as appropriate and 
 accurate, the commissioner shall pay the certified costs from 
 money appropriated for that purpose within 90 days following 
 receipt by the commissioner of the certified costs.  The 
 commissioner of administration shall estimate the amount 
 required to reimburse public utilities for the state's 
 obligations under subdivisions 1 and 2 and the governor shall 
 include the estimated amount in the biennial budget request.  

    Subd. 4.    Local recurring costs.  Recurring costs of 
 telephone communications equipment and services at public safety 
 answering points shall be borne by the local governmental unit 
 operating the public safety answering point or allocated 
 pursuant to section 403.10, subdivision 3.  Costs attributable 
 to local government electives for services beyond minimum 911 
 service not otherwise addressed under section 403.113 shall be 
 borne by the governmental unit requesting the elective service. 

    HIST: 1977 c 311 s 11; 1978 c 680 s 1; 1980 c 614 s 123,147; 
 1Sp1985 c 13 s 330; 1987 c 404 s 174; 1989 c 335 art 4 s 85; 
 1990 c 543 s 4; 1994 c 616 s 7,8; 1994 c 634 art 1 s 22; 1995 c 
 265 art 2 s 29; 1997 c 202 art 3 s 21