H. B. 3122
(By Delegate Walters)
[Introduced March 13, 2009; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §7-1-3cc of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to requiring the Public Service
Commission, upon receipt of 911 fees from VoIP service
providers within the State of West Virginia who collected said
fees, to distribute said moneys directly to the counties in
proportion to the amount of 911 fees collected from VoIP
service subscribers located in each county.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §7-1-3cc of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. COUNTY COMMISSIONS GENERALLY.
§7-1-3cc. Authority of county commissions to establish enhanced
emergency telephone systems, technical and
operational standards for emergency communications
centers and standards for education and training of emergency communications systems personnel; standards
for alarm systems; fee upon consumers of telephone
service for the systems and for roadway conversion
systems; authority to contract with the telephone
companies for billing of fee.
(a) In addition to possessing the authority to establish an
emergency telephone system pursuant to section four, article six,
chapter twenty-four of this code, a county commission or the county
commissions of two or more counties may, instead, establish an
enhanced emergency telephone system or convert an existing system
to an enhanced emergency system. The establishment of such a
system shall be subject to the provisions of article six of said
chapter. The county commission may adopt rules after receiving
recommendations from the West Virginia Enhanced 911 Council
concerning the operation of all county emergency communications
centers or emergency telephone systems centers in the state,
including, but not limited to, recommendations for:
(1) Minimum standards for emergency telephone systems and
emergency communications centers;
(2) Minimum standards for equipment used in any center
receiving telephone calls of an emergency nature and dispatching
emergency service providers in response to that call and which
receives 911 moneys or has basic 911 service funded through its
county commission; and
(3) Minimum standards for education and training of all
personnel in emergency communications centers.
(b) A county commission may impose a fee upon consumers of
local exchange service within that county for an enhanced emergency
telephone system and associated electronic equipment and for the
conversion of all rural routes to city-type addressing as provided
in section three of this article. The fee revenues may only be
used solely and directly for the capital, installation,
administration, operation and maintenance costs of the enhanced
emergency telephone system and of the conversion to city-type
addressing and including the reasonable costs associated with
establishing, equipping, furnishing, operating or maintaining a
county answering point. Effective on July 1, 2006, all county
enhanced emergency telephone system fees that are in effect as of
July 1, 2006, and as such may later be modified by action of a
county commission, shall be imposed upon in-state subscribers to
voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) service, as VoIP service is
defined by the Federal Communications Commission of the United
States. A nonbusiness VoIP service subscriber shall be considered
in-state if the primary residence of the subscriber is located
within West Virginia. A business subscriber shall be considered
in-state if the site at which the service is primarily used is
located within West Virginia. The Public Service Commission may,
as it deems appropriate and in accordance with the requirements of due process, issue and enforce orders, as well as adopt and enforce
rules, dealing with matters concerning the imposition of county
enhanced emergency telephone system fees upon VoIP service
subscribers.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, the
Public Service Commission shall issue and enforce orders, as well
as adopt and enforce rules, that shall require the commission, upon
receipt of 911 fees from VoIP service providers within the State of
West Virginia who collected said fees, to distribute said moneys
directly to the counties in proportion to the amount of 911 fees
collected from VoIP service subscribers located in each county.
(c) A county commission may contract with the telephone
company or companies providing local exchange service within the
county for the telephone company or companies to act as the billing
agent or agents of the county commission for the billing of the fee
imposed pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. The cost for
the billing agent services may be included as a recurring
maintenance cost of the enhanced emergency telephone system.
Where a county commission has contracted with a telephone
company to act as its billing agent for enhanced emergency
telephone system fees, all competing local exchange telephone
companies with customers in that county shall bill the enhanced
emergency telephone system fees to its respective customers located
in that county and shall remit the fee. It may deduct its
respective costs for billing in the same manner as the acting billing agent for the enhanced emergency telephone system fee.
(d) A county commission of any county with an emergency
communications center or emergency telephone system may establish
standards for alarm systems, including security, fire and medical
alarms.
(e) The books and records of all county answering points that
benefit from the imposition of the local exchange service fees
shall be subject to annual examination by the State Auditor's
Office.
NOTE: This bill shall require the Public Service Commission,
upon receipt of 911 fees from VoIP service providers within the
State of West Virginia who collected said fees, to distribute said
moneys directly to the counties in proportion to the amount of 911
fees collected from VoIP service subscribers located in each
county.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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