An Act To Reduce the Amount Collected for the Purpose of the E-9-1-1 System
Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
Whereas, the State's E-9-1-1 service provides significant public safety benefits by enabling the public to dial 9-1-1 in the event of an emergency and speeding up the dispatch of emergency services through automatic caller location information; and
Whereas, the E-9-1-1 system is funded by a special statewide surcharge on telephone lines; and
Whereas, in recent years, the E-9-1-1 surcharge, which is established in statute and has been fixed at 50¢ per line per month since 2001, has generated revenues in excess of necessary expenditures to fund the E-9-1-1 system; and
Whereas, it is necessary to reduce the E-9-1-1 surcharge as soon as possible to ensure that the money contributed by telephone ratepayers to fund the E-9-1-1 system is used for that purpose and the surcharge amount going forward is consistent with expenditure needs; and
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,
Sec. 1. 25 MRSA §2927, sub-§1-B, as amended by PL 2007, c. 68, §5, is further amended to read:
Sec. 2. Review of E-9-1-1 fund and surcharge; report. The Public Utilities Commission, Emergency Services Communication Bureau, referred to in this section as "the bureau," shall conduct a thorough review of the E-9-1-1 fund under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 25, section 2927, including but not limited to surcharge revenue history and projections, expenditure history and projections and unexpended amounts in the fund. Based on the results of the review, the bureau shall make a recommendation regarding the E-9-1-1 surcharge amount under Title 25, section 2927, subsection 1-B. No later than February 1, 2009, the bureau shall submit the results of its review and its recommendation regarding the E-9-1-1 surcharge to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over utilities matters. The report required under this section may be combined with the February 1, 2009 annual report required under Title 25, section 2927, subsection 5. After receipt and review of the report, the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over utilities matters may submit legislation regarding the E-9-1-1 surcharge to the First Regular Session of the 124th Legislature.
Sec. 3. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
Emergency Services Communication Bureau 0994
Initiative: Deallocates funds within the Emergency Services Communication Bureau as a result of a reduction in the E-9-1-1 surcharge from 50¢ to 30¢ per line per month.
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS | 2007-08 | 2008-09 |
All Other
|
$0 | ($3,520,000) |
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OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL | $0 | ($3,520,000) |
Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.