Act No. 379

Public Acts of 2008

Approved by the Governor

December 23, 2008

Filed with the Secretary of State

December 23, 2008

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 23, 2008

STATE OF MICHIGAN

94TH LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2008

Introduced by Rep. Mayes

ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 6070

AN ACT to amend 1986 PA 32, entitled "An act to provide for the establishment of emergency 9-1-1 districts; to provide for the installation, operation, modification, and maintenance of universal emergency 9-1-1 service systems; to provide for the imposition and collection of certain charges; to provide the powers and duties of certain state agencies, local units of government, public officers, service suppliers, and others; to create an emergency 9-1-1 service committee; to provide remedies and penalties; and to repeal acts and parts of acts," by amending sections 401a, 401b, 413, and 717 (MCL 484.1401a, 484.1401b, 484.1413, and 484.1717), sections 401a and 401b as added by 2007 PA 164 and sections 413 and 717 as amended by 2007 PA 165, and by adding section 412a.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 401a. (1) Except as otherwise provided under section 401c, each service supplier within a 9-1-1 service district shall bill and collect a state 9-1-1 charge from all service users of the service supplier within the geographical boundaries of the 9-1-1 service district or as otherwise provided by this section. The billing and collection of the state 9-1-1 charge shall begin July 1, 2008. The state 9-1-1 charge shall be uniform per each service user within the 9-1-1 service district.

(2) The amount of the state 9-1-1 charge payable monthly by a service user shall be established as provided under subsection (4). The amount of the state 9-1-1 charge shall not be more than 25 cents or less than 15 cents. The charge may be adjusted annually as provided under subsection (4).

(3) The state 9-1-1 charge shall be collected in accordance with the regular billings of the service supplier. Except as otherwise provided under this act, the amount collected for the state 9-1-1 charge shall be remitted quarterly by the service supplier to the state treasurer and deposited in the emergency 9-1-1 fund created under section 407. The charge allowed under this section shall be listed separately on the customer's bill or payment receipt.

(4) The initial state 9-1-1 charge shall be 19 cents and shall be effective July 1, 2008. The state 9-1-1 charge shall reflect the actual costs of operating, maintaining, upgrading, and other reasonable and necessary expenditures for the 9-1-1 system in this state. The state 9-1-1 charge may be reviewed and adjusted as provided under subsection (5).

(5) The commission in consultation with the committee shall review and may adjust the state 9-1-1 charge under this section and the distribution percentages under section 408 to be effective on July 1, 2009 and July 1, 2010. Any adjustment to the charge by the commission shall be made no later than May 1 of the preceding year and shall be based on the committee's recommendations under section 412. Any adjustments to the state 9-1-1 charge or distribution percentages after December 31, 2010 shall be made by the legislature.

(6) If a service user has multiple access points or access lines, the state 9-1-1 charge will be imposed separately on each of the first 10 access points or access lines and then 1 charge for each 10 access points or access lines per billed account.

(7) This section takes effect July 1, 2008.

Sec. 401b. (1) In addition to the charge allowed under section 401a, after June 30, 2008 a county board of commissioners may assess a county 9-1-1 charge to service users located within that county by 1 of the following methods:

(a) Up to $0.42 per month by resolution.

(b) Up to $3.00 per month with the approval of the voters in the county.

(c) Any combination of subdivisions (a) and (b) with a maximum county 9-1-1 charge of $3.00 per month.

(2) A county assessing a county 9-1-1 charge amount approved in the commission's order in case number U-15489 that exceeds the amounts established in subsection (1) may continue to assess the amount approved by the commission. Any proposed increase to the amount approved in the commission order is subject to subsection (1).

(3) The charge assessed under this section and section 401e shall not exceed the amount necessary and reasonable to implement, maintain, and operate the 9-1-1 system in the county.

(4) If the voters approve the charge to be assessed on the service user's monthly bill on a ballot question under this section, the service provider's bill shall state the following:

"This amount is for your 9-1-1 service which has been approved by the voters on (DATE OF VOTER APPROVAL). This is not a charge assessed by your service supplier. If you have questions concerning your 9-1-1 service, you may call (INCLUDE APPROPRIATE TELEPHONE NUMBER).".

(5) Within 90 days after the first day of each fiscal or calendar year of a county, an annual accounting shall be made of the charge approved under this section.

(6) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (10), the county 9-1-1 charge collected under this section shall be paid quarterly directly to the county and distributed by the county to the primary PSAPs by 1 of the following methods:

(a) As provided in the final 9-1-1 service plan.

(b) If distribution is not provided for in the plan, then according to any agreement for distribution between the county and public agencies.

(c) If distribution is not provided in the plan or by agreement, then according to population within the emergency 9-1-1 district.

(7) Subject to subsection (1), the county may adjust the county 9-1-1 charge annually to be effective July 1. The county shall notify the committee no later than May 15 of each year of any change in the county 9-1-1 charge under this section.

(8) If a county has multiple emergency response districts, the county 9-1-1 charge collected under this section shall be distributed under subsection (6) in proportion to the population within the emergency 9-1-1 district.

(9) This section shall not preclude the distribution of funding to secondary PSAPs if the distribution is determined by the primary PSAPs within the emergency 9-1-1 district to be the most effective method for dispatching of fire or emergency medical services and the distribution is approved within the final 9-1-1 service plan.

(10) The service supplier may retain 2% of the approved county 9-1-1 charge to cover the supplier's costs for billings and collections under this section.

(11) The charge allowed under this section shall be listed separately on the customer's bill and shall state by which means the charge was approved under subsection (1).

(12) Information submitted by a service supplier to a county under this section is exempt from the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246, and shall not be released by the county without the consent of the service supplier. Unless required or permitted by statute, court rule, subpoena, or court order, or except as necessary for a county, the commission, committee, or public agency to pursue or defend the public's interest in any public contract or litigation, a county treasurer, the commission, committee, agency, or any employee or representative of a PSAP, database administrator, or public agency shall not divulge any information acquired with respect to customers, revenues or expenses, trade secrets, access line counts, commercial information, or any other proprietary information with respect to a service supplier while acting or claiming to act as an employee, agent, or representative. An aggregation of information that does not identify or effectively identify the number of customers, revenues or expenses, trade secrets, access lines, commercial information, and other proprietary information attributable to a specific service supplier may be made public.

(13) If a service user has multiple access points or access lines, the county 9-1-1 charge will be imposed separately on each of the first 10 access points or access lines and then 1 charge for each 10 access points or access lines per billed account.

(14) A county 9-1-1 charge assessed under subsection (1) shall be used only to fund costs approved as allowable in a published report by the committee prior to December 1, 2008. The committee shall notify the standing committees of the senate and house of representatives having jurisdiction over issues pertaining to communication technology at least 90 days prior to modifying what constitutes an allowable cost under this subsection.

(15) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, the county 9-1-1 charge levied under this section shall not be levied after the repeal date provided in section 717. If all or a portion of the county 9-1-1 charge levied under this section has been pledged as security for the payment of qualified obligations, the county 9-1-1 charge shall be levied and collected only to the extent required to pay the qualified obligations or satisfy the pledge.

Sec. 412a. (1) Within 90 days after the first day of the calendar year following the year in which a service supplier commenced collection of the emergency telephone technical charge under section 401d, and within 90 days after the first day of each calendar year thereafter, a service supplier collecting the emergency telephone technical charge for the purpose of providing 9-1-1 service pursuant to this act shall make an annual accounting to the 9-1-1 service district of the total emergency telephone charges collected during the immediately preceding calendar year.

(2) If an annual accounting made pursuant to subsection (1) discloses that the total emergency telephone technical charges collected during the immediately preceding calendar year exceeded the total cost of installing and providing 9-1-1 service within the 9-1-1 service district for the immediately preceding calendar year according to the rates and charges of the service supplier, the service supplier shall adjust the emergency telephone technical charge collected from service users in the 9-1-1 service district in an amount computed pursuant to this section. The amount of the adjustment shall be computed by dividing the excess by the number of exchange access facilities within the 9-1-1 service district as the district existed for the billing period immediately following the annual accounting. Costs of the service supplier associated with making the adjustment under this subsection as part of the billing and collection service shall be deducted from the amount to be adjusted.

(3) If the annual accounting discloses that the total emergency telephone technical charges collected during the calendar year are less than the total cost of installing and providing 9-1-1 service within the 9-1-1 service district for the immediately preceding calendar year according to the costs and rates of the service supplier, the service supplier shall collect an additional charge from service users in the 9-1-1 service district in an amount computed pursuant to this section. Subject to the limitations provided by section 401d, the amount of the additional charge shall be computed by dividing the amount by which the total cost exceeded the total emergency telephone technical charges collected during the immediately preceding calendar year by the number of exchange access facilities within the 9-1-1 service district as the district existed for the billing period immediately following the annual accounting.

Sec. 413. (1) The commission may promulgate rules to establish 1 or more of the following:

(a) Uniform procedures, policies, and protocols governing 9-1-1 services in counties and PSAPs in this state.

(b) Standards for the training of PSAP personnel.

(c) Uniform procedures, policies, and standards for the receipt and expenditure of 9-1-1 funds under sections 401a, 401b, 401c, 401d, 401e, 406, and 408.

(d) The requirements for multiline telephone systems under section 405.

(e) The penalties and remedies for violations of this act and the rules promulgated under this act.

(2) The commission shall consult with and consider the recommendations of the committee in the promulgation of rules under this section.

(3) The commission's rule-making authority is limited to that expressly granted under this section.

(4) The rules promulgated under this section do not apply to service suppliers.

Sec. 717. This act is repealed effective December 31, 2014.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Clerk of the House of Representatives

Secretary of the Senate

Approved

Governor