97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB5541

 

Introduced 2/15/2012, by Rep. Donald L. Moffitt

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
50 ILCS 751/10
50 ILCS 751/17
50 ILCS 751/70

    Amends the Wireless Emergency Telephone Safety Act. Defines "Trust Fund". Provides that beginning January 1, 2013, (now, January 1, 2008) the monthly surcharge imposed on wireless carriers shall be $1.00, rather than $0.73. Removes provisions concerning amounts per surcharge to be deposited into specified funds. Requires the State Treasurer to deposit $0.80 per surcharge into the Wireless Service Emergency Fund for distribution to the 9-1-1 authorities and $0.18 per surcharge into the NG9-1-1 Service Equalization Trust Fund. Provides that 1% of the amounts collected may be distributed to the Illinois Commerce Commission to cover administrative costs. Further provides that in the case of a delinquent report, the Illinois Commerce Commission may impose a penalty on a carrier equal to the product of $0.1 (now, 1/2¢) and the number of subscribers served by the carrier, and that any penalty imposed shall be deposited into the NG9-1-1 Service Equalization Trust Fund. Provides that the Act is repealed on January 1, 2018 (now, April 1, 2013). Effective January 1, 2013.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Wireless Emergency Telephone Safety Act is
5amended by changing Sections 10, 17, and 70 as follows:
 
6    (50 ILCS 751/10)
7    (Section scheduled to be repealed on April 1, 2013)
8    Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act:
9    "Emergency telephone system board" means a board appointed
10by the corporate authorities of any county or municipality that
11provides for the management and operation of a 9-1-1 system
12within the scope of the duties and powers prescribed by the
13Emergency Telephone System Act.
14    "Master street address guide" means the computerized
15geographical database that consists of all street and address
16data within a 9-1-1 system.
17    "Mobile telephone number" or "MTN" shall mean the telephone
18number assigned to a wireless telephone at the time of initial
19activation.
20    "Prepaid wireless telecommunications service" means
21wireless telecommunications service that allows a caller to
22dial 9-1-1 to access the 9-1-1 system, which service must be
23paid for in advance and is sold in predetermined units or

 

 

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1dollars which the amount declines with use in a known amount.
2    "Public safety agency" means a functional division of a
3public agency that provides fire fighting, police, medical, or
4other emergency services. For the purpose of providing wireless
5service to users of 9-1-1 emergency services, as expressly
6provided for in this Act, the Department of State Police may be
7considered a public safety agency.
8    "Qualified governmental entity" means a unit of local
9government authorized to provide 9-1-1 services pursuant to the
10Emergency Telephone System Act where no emergency telephone
11system board exists.
12    "Remit period" means the billing period, one month in
13duration, for which a wireless carrier remits a surcharge and
14provides subscriber information by zip code to the Illinois
15Commerce Commission, in accordance with Section 17 of this Act.
16    "Statewide wireless emergency 9-1-1 system" means all
17areas of the State where an emergency telephone system board
18or, in the absence of an emergency telephone system board, a
19qualified governmental entity has not declared its intention
20for one or more of its public safety answering points to serve
21as a primary wireless 9-1-1 public safety answering point for
22its jurisdiction. The operator of the statewide wireless
23emergency 9-1-1 system shall be the Department of State Police.
24    "Trust Fund" means the NG9-1-1 Service Equalization Trust
25Fund.
26    "Wireless carrier" means a provider of two-way cellular,

 

 

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1broadband PCS, geographic area 800 MHZ and 900 MHZ Commercial
2Mobile Radio Service (CMRS), Wireless Communications Service
3(WCS), or other Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS), as
4defined by the Federal Communications Commission, offering
5radio communications that may provide fixed, mobile, radio
6location, or satellite communication services to individuals
7or businesses within its assigned spectrum block and
8geographical area or that offers real-time, two-way voice
9service that is interconnected with the public switched
10network, including a reseller of such service.
11    "Wireless enhanced 9-1-1" means the ability to relay the
12telephone number of the originator of a 9-1-1 call and location
13information from any mobile handset or text telephone device
14accessing the wireless system to the designated wireless public
15safety answering point as set forth in the order of the Federal
16Communications Commission, FCC Docket No. 94-102, adopted June
1712, 1996, with an effective date of October 1, 1996, and any
18subsequent amendment thereto.
19    "Wireless public safety answering point" means the
20functional division of an emergency telephone system board,
21qualified governmental entity, or the Department of State
22Police accepting wireless 9-1-1 calls.
23    "Wireless subscriber" means an individual or entity to whom
24a wireless service account or number has been assigned by a
25wireless carrier, other than an account or number associated
26with prepaid wireless telecommunication service.

 

 

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1(Source: P.A. 97-463, eff. 1-1-12.)
 
2    (50 ILCS 751/17)
3    (Section scheduled to be repealed on April 1, 2013)
4    Sec. 17. Wireless carrier surcharge.
5    (a) Except as provided in Sections 45 and 80, each wireless
6carrier shall impose a monthly wireless carrier surcharge per
7CMRS connection that either has a telephone number within an
8area code assigned to Illinois by the North American Numbering
9Plan Administrator or has a billing address in this State. No
10wireless carrier shall impose the surcharge authorized by this
11Section upon any subscriber who is subject to the surcharge
12imposed by a unit of local government pursuant to Section 45.
13Prior to January 1, 2008 (the effective date of Public Act
1495-698), the surcharge amount shall be the amount set by the
15Wireless Enhanced 9-1-1 Board. Beginning on January 1, 2013
16January 1, 2008 (the effective date of Public Act 95-698), the
17monthly surcharge imposed under this Section shall be $1.00
18$0.73 per CMRS connection. The wireless carrier that provides
19wireless service to the subscriber shall collect the surcharge
20from the subscriber. For mobile telecommunications services
21provided on and after August 1, 2002, any surcharge imposed
22under this Act shall be imposed based upon the municipality or
23county that encompasses the customer's place of primary use as
24defined in the Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Conformity
25Act. The surcharge shall be stated as a separate item on the

 

 

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1subscriber's monthly bill. The wireless carrier shall begin
2collecting the surcharge on bills issued within 90 days after
3the Wireless Enhanced 9-1-1 Board sets the monthly wireless
4surcharge. State and local taxes shall not apply to the
5wireless carrier surcharge.
6    (b) Except as provided in Sections 45 and 80, a wireless
7carrier shall, within 45 days of collection, remit, either by
8check or by electronic funds transfer, to the State Treasurer
9the amount of the wireless carrier surcharge collected from
10each subscriber. Of the amounts remitted under this subsection
11prior to January 1, 2008 (the effective date of Public Act
1295-698), and for surcharges imposed before January 1, 2008 (the
13effective date of Public Act 95-698) but remitted after January
141, 2008, the State Treasurer shall deposit $0.80 per surcharge
15one-third into the Wireless Carrier Reimbursement Fund and
16two-thirds into the Wireless Service Emergency Fund for
17distribution to the 9-1-1 authorities, . For surcharges
18collected and remitted on or after January 1, 2008 (the
19effective date of Public Act 95-698), $0.1475 per surcharge
20collected shall be deposited into the Wireless Carrier
21Reimbursement Fund, and $0.18 $0.5825 per surcharge collected
22shall be deposited into the Trust Fund Wireless Service
23Emergency Fund. 1% of that Of the amounts deposited into the
24Wireless Carrier Reimbursement Fund under this subsection,
25$0.01 per surcharge collected may be distributed to the
26carriers to cover their administrative costs. Of the amounts

 

 

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1deposited into the Wireless Service Emergency Fund under this
2subsection, $0.01 per surcharge collected may be disbursed to
3the Illinois Commerce Commission to cover its administrative
4costs.
5    (c) The first such remittance by wireless carriers shall
6include the number of wireless subscribers by zip code, and the
79-digit zip code if currently being used or later implemented
8by the carrier, that shall be the means by which the Illinois
9Commerce Commission shall determine distributions to the 9-1-1
10authorities from the Wireless Service Emergency Fund. This
11information shall be updated no less often than every year, and
12the resulting data shall be shared with the Illinois Next
13Generation 9-1-1 Network (INGN). Wireless carriers are not
14required to remit surcharge moneys that are billed to
15subscribers but not yet collected. Any carrier that fails to
16provide the zip code information required under this subsection
17(c) shall be subject to the penalty set forth in subsection (f)
18of this Section.
19    (d) Any funds collected under the Prepaid Wireless 9-1-1
20Surcharge Act shall be distributed using a prorated method
21based upon zip code information collected from post-paid
22wireless carriers under subsection (c) of this Section.
23    (e) If before midnight on the last day of the third
24calendar month after the closing date of the remit period a
25wireless carrier does not remit the surcharge or any portion
26thereof required under this Section, then the surcharge or

 

 

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1portion thereof shall be deemed delinquent until paid in full,
2and the Illinois Commerce Commission may impose a penalty
3against the carrier in an amount equal to the greater of:
4        (1) $25 for each month or portion of a month from the
5    time an amount becomes delinquent until the amount is paid
6    in full; or
7        (2) an amount equal to the product of 1% and the sum of
8    all delinquent amounts for each month or portion of a month
9    that the delinquent amounts remain unpaid.
10    A penalty imposed in accordance with this subsection (e)
11for a portion of a month during which the carrier provides the
12number of subscribers by zip code as required under subsection
13(c) of this Section shall be prorated for each day of that
14month during which the carrier had not provided the number of
15subscribers by zip code as required under subsection (c) of
16this Section. Any penalty imposed under this subsection (e) is
17in addition to the amount of the delinquency and is in addition
18to any other penalty imposed under this Section.
19    (f) If, before midnight on the last day of the third
20calendar month after the closing date of the remit period, a
21wireless carrier does not provide the number of subscribers by
22zip code as required under subsection (c) of this Section, then
23the report is deemed delinquent and the Illinois Commerce
24Commission may impose a penalty against the carrier in an
25amount equal to the greater of:
26        (1) $25 for each month or portion of a month that the

 

 

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1    report is delinquent; or
2        (2) an amount equal to the product of $0.1 1/2¢ and the
3    number of subscribers served by the wireless carrier.
4    A penalty imposed in accordance with this subsection (f)
5for a portion of a month during which the carrier pays the
6delinquent amount in full shall be prorated for each day of
7that month that the delinquent amount was paid in full. Any
8penalty imposed under this subsection (f) is in addition to any
9other penalty imposed under this Section. A penalty imposed
10under this subsection shall be deposited into the Trust Fund.
11    (g) The Illinois Commerce Commission may enforce the
12collection of any delinquent amount and any penalty due and
13unpaid under this Section by legal action or in any other
14manner by which the collection of debts due the State of
15Illinois may be enforced under the laws of this State. The
16Executive Director of the Illinois Commerce Commission, or his
17or her designee, may excuse the payment of any penalty imposed
18under this Section if the Executive Director, or his or her
19designee, determines that the enforcement of this penalty is
20unjust.
21    (h) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,
22nothing shall impair the right of wireless carriers to recover
23compliance costs for all emergency communications services
24that are not reimbursed out of the Wireless Carrier
25Reimbursement Fund directly from their wireless subscribers
26via line-item charges on the wireless subscriber's bill. Those

 

 

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1compliance costs include all costs incurred by wireless
2carriers in complying with local, State, and federal regulatory
3or legislative mandates that require the transmission and
4receipt of emergency communications to and from the general
5public, including, but not limited to, E-911.
6    (i) The Auditor General shall conduct, on an annual basis,
7an audit of the Wireless Service Emergency Fund and the
8Wireless Carrier Reimbursement Fund for compliance with the
9requirements of this Act. The audit shall include, but not be
10limited to, the following determinations:
11        (1) Whether the Commission is maintaining detailed
12    records of all receipts and disbursements from the Wireless
13    Carrier Emergency Fund and the Wireless Carrier
14    Reimbursement Fund.
15        (2) Whether the Commission's administrative costs
16    charged to the funds are adequately documented and are
17    reasonable.
18        (3) Whether the Commission's procedures for making
19    grants and providing reimbursements in accordance with the
20    Act are adequate.
21        (4) The status of the implementation of wireless 9-1-1
22    and E9-1-1 services in Illinois.
23    The Commission, the Department of State Police, and any
24other entity or person that may have information relevant to
25the audit shall cooperate fully and promptly with the Office of
26the Auditor General in conducting the audit. The Auditor

 

 

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1General shall commence the audit as soon as possible and
2distribute the report upon completion in accordance with
3Section 3-14 of the Illinois State Auditing Act.
4(Source: P.A. 97-463, eff. 1-1-12.)
 
5    (50 ILCS 751/70)
6    (Section scheduled to be repealed on April 1, 2013)
7    Sec. 70. Repealer. This Act is repealed on January 1, 2018
8April 1, 2013.
9(Source: P.A. 95-63, eff. 8-13-07; 95-698, eff. 1-1-08.)
 
10    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
111, 2013.