WIRELESSLEGISLATION FOR THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA
(Proposed)
Senate Bill No 279
A Bill to amend and reenactsection two, article six, chapter twenty-four of the code of WestVirginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; andto further amend said article by adding thereto a new section,designated section six-b, relating to definitions for localemergency telephone system and wireless enhanced 911 fee.
Be it enacted by the Legislatureof West Virginia: That section two, article six, chaptertwenty-four of the code of West Virginia, one thousand ninehundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; andthat article be further amended by adding thereto a new section,designated section six-b, to read as follows:
Article 6. LOCAL EMERGENCYTELEPHONE SYSTEM.
S24-6-2. Definitions.
As used in this article, unlessthe context clearly requires a different meaning:
(1) “County answeringpoint” means a facility to which enhanced emergencytelephone system calls for a county are initially routed forresponse, and where county personnel respond to specific requestsfor emergency service by directly dispatching the appropriateemergency service provider, relaying a message to the appropriateprovider or transferring the call to the appropriate provider.
(2) “Emergency serviceorganization” means the organization established underarticle five, chapter fifteen of this code.
(3) “Emergency serviceprovider” means any emergency service organization or publicsafety unit.
(4) “Emergency telephonesystem” means a telephone system which through normaltelephone service facilities automatically connects a persondialing the primary emergency telephone number to an establishedpublic agency answering point, but does not include an enhancedemergency telephone system.
(5) “Enhanced emergencytelephone system” means a telephone system whichautomatically connects the person dialing the primary emergencynumber to the county answering point and in which the telephonenetwork system automatically provides to the personnel receivingthe call, immediately on answering the call, information on thelocation and the telephone number from which the call is beingmade, and upon direction from the personnel receiving the callroutes or dispatches such call by telephone, radio or any otherappropriate means of communications to emergency serviceproviders that serve the location from which the call is made.
(6) “Public agency”means the state, and any municipality, county, public district orpublic authority which provides or has authority to providefire-fighting, police, ambulance, medical, rescue or otheremergency services.
(7) “Public safety unit”means a functional division of a public agency which providesfire-fighting, police, medical, rescue or other emergencyservices.
(8) “Telephone servicesupplier” means a public utility including any publicwireless telecommunications utility, which is engaged in theprovision of telephone service whether primarily by means ofthe wire or wireless facilities.
(9) “Comprehensive plan”means a plan pertaining to the installing modifying or replacingof telephone switching equipment; telephone utilities?response in a timely manner to requests for emergency telephoneservice by a public agency; telephone utilities?responsibility to report to the public service commission;charges and tariffs for the services and facilities provided bytelephone utilities; and access to emergency telephone system byemergency service organizations.
(10) “Technical andoperational standards” means those standards of telephoneequipment and processes necessary for the implementation of thecomprehensive plan as defined in subdivision (9) above.
(11) “Public wirelesstelecommunications utility” is any entity, includingcellular carriers and personal communications service carriers assuch are defined by the federal communications commission, whichprovides, to the public within the state, switched two-waytelecommunications service which subscribers access by means ofradio equipment.
S24-6-6b. Wireless enhanced 911fee.
(a) Beginning on the first day ofJuly, one thousand nine hundred ninety-seven, all public wirelesstelecommunications utilities, as defined in section two of thisarticle, shall, on a monthly basis, collect from each of theirin-state two-way service subscribers a wireless enhanced 911 fee.The public service commission, by no later than the first day ofJune, one thousand nine hundred ninety-seven, shall issue anorder which shall direct the wireless telecommunicationsutilities regarding all relevant details of wireless enhanced 911fee collection, including the determination of who shall beconsidered an in-state two-way service subscriber and which shallspecify how the wireless telecommunications utilities shall dealwith fee collection shortfalls caused by uncollectible accounts.The public service commission shall solicit the views of thewireless telecommunications utilities prior to issuing the order.
(b) The wireless enhanced 911 feeshall initially be $1.00 per month per wireless service to whicha subscriber subscribes.
(c) Every five years from onethousand nine hundred ninety-seven the public service commissionshall respecify the wireless enhanced 911 fee by recalculatingthe fee such that it shall be the weighted average rounded to thenearest penny, as of the first day of March of therespecification year, of all of the enhanced 911 fees imposed bythe counties which have adopted an enhanced 911 ordinance,provided that the wireless enhanced 911 fee shall never beincreased by more than 25% of its value at the beginning of therespecification year.
(d) The wireless enhanced 911 feemoneys collected, after removal of a two percent collection feewhich may be kept by the public wireless telecommunicationsutilities, shall be sent, on a monthly basis, to the publicservice commission. The public service commission shall, on aquarter-yearly and approximately evenly staggered basis, disbursethe fee revenue in the following manner:
(1) Each county shall receive apro rate portion, based on that county?s percentage of thetotal number of local exchange telephone access lines and lineequivalents in service in the state, of the fee revenues receivedby the public service commission. The public service commissionshall recalculate the county disbursement percentages on a yearlybasis, with the changes effective on the first day of July, andusing data as of the preceding first day of March, which datashall be supplied, on a county specific basis, and by no laterthan the first day of June of each year, to the public servicecommission by the public utilities which normally provide localexchange telecommunications service by means of lines, wires,cables, optical fibers, etc. extended to subscriber premises;
(2) Counties which have anenhanced 911 ordinance in effect shall receive their share of thewireless enhanced 911 fee revenue for use in the same manner asthe enhanced 911 fee revenues received by those counties pursuantto their enhanced 911 ordinance;
(3) The public service commissionshall deposit the wireless enhanced 911 fee revenue for eachcounty which does have an enhanced 911 ordinance in effect intoan escrow account which shall be established for that county. Anycounty with such an escrow account may, immediately upon adoptingan enhanced 911 ordinance, receive the moneys which haveaccumulated in the escrow account for use as specified insubdivision (2), subsection (d) of this section, provided,however, that every five years from one thousand nine hundredninety-seven, all fee revenue residing in escrow accounts shallbe disbursed on the pro rata basis specified in subdivision (1)subsection (d) of this section, except omitting data for countieswithout enhanced 911 ordinance in effect and all escrow accountsshall begin again with a zero balance.
(e) Failure by a public wirelesstelecommunications utility two-way service subscriber to timelypay the wireless enhanced 911 fee shall be adequate basis fordiscontinuance of wireless telecommunications utility service.
WEST VIRGINIAPROPOSED LEGISLATION
24-6-6B WIRELESS ENHANCED 911 FEE
a. Beginning on July 1, 1996 allpublic wireless telecommunications utilities, as defined inSection 2(24-6-2) of this article, shall on a monthly basis,collect from each of their in-state two-way service subscribers awireless enhanced 911 fee. The public service commission, by nolater than June 1, 1996, shall issue an order which shall directthe wireless telecommunications utilities regarding thedetermination of who shall be considered an in-state two-wayservice subscriber and which shall specify how the wirelesstelecommunications utilities shall deal with fee collectionshortfalls caused by uncollectible accounts. The public servicecommission shall solicit the views of the wirelesstelecommunications utilities prior to issuing the order.
b. The wireless enhanced 911 feeshall be calculated by the public service commisson according tothe following formula.
(1) The fee shall be the weightedaverage, as of March 1 of the current year, of the enhanced 911fees imposed by the counties which have adopted an enhanced 911ordinance.
(2) The fee shall be recalculated,effective July 1, on a yearly basis.
c. The wireless enhanced 911 feemonies collected, after removal of a two percent collection feewhich may be kept by the public wireless telecommunicationsutilities, shall be sent, on a monthly basis, to the publicservice commission. The public service commission shall, on aquarter-yearly and approximately evenly staggered basis, disbursethe fee revenues in the following manner.
(1) Each county shall receive apro rata portion, based on that county?s percentage of thetotal number of telephone access lines and line equivalents inservice in the state, of the fee revenues received by the publicservice commission. The public service commission shallrecalculate the county disbursement percentages on a yearlybasis, with the changes effective on each July 1 and using dataas of the preceding March 1, which data shall be supplied, on acounty specific basis, and by no later than June 1, of each year,to the public service commission by the public utilities whichnormally provide telecommunications service by means of lines,wires, cables, optical fibers, etc. extended to subscriberpremises.
(2) Counties which have anenhanced 911 ordinance in effect shall receive their share of thewireless enhanced 911 fee revenue for use in the same manner asthe enhanced 911 fee revenues received by those counties pursuantto their enhanced 911 ordinances.
(3) The public service commissionshall deposit the wireless enhanced 911 fee revenue for eachcounty which does not have an enhanced 911 ordinance in effectinto an escrow account which shall be established for thatcounty. Any county with such an escrow account may, immediatelyupon adopting an enhanced 911 ordinance, receive the monies whichhave accumulated in the escrow account for use as specified in24-6-6b (c) (2). Every five years all fee revenue residing inescrow accounts shall be disbursed on the pro rata basisspecified in 24-6-6b (c) (1) except omitting data for countieswithout enhanced 911 ordinances in effect and all escrow accountsshall begin again with a zero balance.
d. Failure by a public wirelesstelecommunications utility two-way service subscriber to timelypay the wireless enhanced 911 fee shall be adequate basis fordiscontinuance of wireless telecommunications utility service.
24-6-2. DEFINITIONS
(8) “Telephone ServiceSupplier” means a public utility, including anypublic wireless telecommunications utility, which is engagedin the provision of telephone service whether primarily bymeans of wire or wireless facilities. (NEW LANGUAGE ISUNDERLINED)
(11) “Public wirelesstelecommunications utility” is any entity, includingcellular carriers and personal communications service carriers assuch are defined by the federal communications commission, whichprovides, to the public within the state, switched two-waytelecommunications service which subscribers access by means ofradio equipment.