H.
B.
4058
(By Delegates Love and Higgins)
[Introduced January 20, 1994; referred to the
Committee on Political Subdivisions.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section three-cc, article one, chapter seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to county commissions generally; and the regulation of local emergency telephone systems and the associated county safety communications facilities.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three-cc, article one, chapter seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. COUNTY COMMISSIONS GENERALLY.
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1
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3cc. Authority of county commissions to establish enhanced
emergency telephone systems; fee upon consumers
of
telephone service for such systems; authority to
contract with the telephone companies for billing of
such fee; authority to establish guidelines for the
receipt of automatic and other alarms at enhanced
911 centers and to establish technical and
operational standards for enhanced 911 centers.
(a) In addition to possessing the authority to establish an emergency telephone system pursuant to section four, article six, chapter twenty-four, 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, chapter twenty-four of this code.
(b) A county commission may impose a fee upon consumers of local exchange service within that county for an enhanced emergency telephone system. Such fee shall be utilized solely for the capital, installation and maintenance costs of the enhanced emergency telephone system. The county shall reduce such fee when the capital and installation costs have been fully recovered to the level necessary to offset recurring maintenance and dispatcher costs only. No such fee may be used for the costs associated with establishing, equipping, furnishing, operating or maintaining a county answering point.
(c) A county commission may contract with the telephone company or companies provided local exchange service within the county for such 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 such billing agent services may be included as a recurring maintenance cost of the enhanced emergency telephone system.
(d) A county commission of any county with an enhanced 911 center may establish standards for dealing with alarm systems including security, fire and medical alarms, and may impose service fees upon those agencies and facilities responsible for the alarms which are ultimately received at and handled by the 911 center.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize counties with enhanced 911 centers to establish standards for dealing with alarm systems.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.