HLS 16RS-746 ORIGINAL
2016 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 678
BY REPRESENTATIVE CARMODY
TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Provides for the assessment of a surcharge fee on prepaid 911
services and products
1 AN ACT
2To amend and reenact R.S. 33:9109.1(A) through (D), (F), and (G); relative to charges
3 imposed on prepaid 911 services and products; to provide for and modify definitions;
4 to increase the amount of the prepaid 911 charge; to provide for administration of
5 prepaid 911 charges; to provide for effectiveness; and to provide for related matters.
6Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. R.S. 33:9109.1(A) through (D), (F), and (G) are hereby amended and
8reenacted to read as follows:
9 ยง9109.1. Prepaid wireless telecommunications 911 service charge; intent;
10 definitions; collection and remittance; administration; distribution of funds;
11 liability; exclusivity
12 A. Intent. (1) The legislature finds that maintaining effective and efficient
13 911 systems across the state benefits all citizens.
14 (2) Service charges Charges imposed upon the consumers of
15 telecommunication services services or products that have the ability to dial access
16 911 are an important funding mechanism to assist state and local governments with
17 the deployment of enhanced 911 services to the citizens of this state.
18 (3) Prepaid wireless telecommunication services and products that provide
19 access to 911 are an important segment of the telecommunications industry and have
20 proven particularly attractive to low-volume consumers.
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1 (4) Unlike traditional telecommunication services, prepaid wireless
2 telecommunications services and products that provide access to 911 are not sold or
3 used pursuant to term contracts or subscriptions, and monthly bills are not sent to
4 consumers by prepaid wireless telecommunication service providers or retail
5 vendors.
6 (5) Prepaid wireless service and product consumers have the same access to
7 emergency 911 services from their wireless devices as wireless consumers on term
8 contracts, and prepaid wireless service and product consumers benefit from the
9 ability to access the 911 system by dialing 911. Therefore, prepaid wireless service
10 and product consumers should begin contributing contribute to funding of the 911
11 emergency communications system.
12 (6) Consumers purchase prepaid wireless telecommunication services and
13 products that provide access to 911 at a wide variety of general retail locations and
14 other distribution channels, not just through service providers. Such purchases are
15 made on a "cash-and-carry" or "pay-as-you-go" basis from retailers.
16 (7) To ensure equitable contributions to the funding of 911 systems from
17 consumers of prepaid wireless telecommunication services and products, the
18 collection and payment obligation of charges to support E911 911 should be imposed
19 upon the consumer's retail purchase of the prepaid wireless telecommunication
20 service or product and should be in the form of a single, statewide charge that is
21 collected once at the time of purchase directly from the consumer, remitted to the
22 state, and distributed to communications districts.
23 B. Definitions. As used in this Section, the following words and terms shall
24 have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
25 (1) "Consumer" means a person who purchases a prepaid wireless
26 telecommunications service or product that provides access to 911 in a retail
27 transaction.
28 (2) "Department" means the Department of Revenue.
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1 (3) "E911" "911" means an emergency telephone system that provides the
2 caller with emergency 911 system service, that directs 911 calls to appropriate public
3 safety answering points by selective routing based on the geographical location from
4 which the call originated, and that provides the capability for automatic number
5 identification and other features that the Federal Communications Commission may
6 require in the future.
7 (4) "Prepaid wireless 911 service charge" means the charge that is required
8 to be collected by a seller from a consumer in the amount established under
9 Subsection C of this Section.
10 (5) "Prepaid wireless telecommunications service" means a wireless
11 telecommunications service that allows a caller to dial 911 to access the 911 system,
12 commercial mobile radio service as defined by 47 C.F.R. 20.3 in addition to any
13 other service capable of accessing 911 through the use of voice, text, video, image,
14 data, or any other means, which service shall be paid for in advance and is sold in
15 predetermined units or dollars of which the number declines with use in a known
16 amount.
17 (6) "Provider" means a person that provides a prepaid wireless
18 telecommunications service or product pursuant to a license issued by the Federal
19 Communications Commission.
20 (7) "Retail transaction" means each individual purchase of a prepaid wireless
21 telecommunications service or product that provides access to 911 from a seller for
22 any purpose other than resale.
23 (8) "Seller" means a person who sells a prepaid wireless telecommunications
24 service or product that provides access to 911 to another person.
25 (9) "Wireless telecommunications service" means commercial mobile radio
26 service as defined by 47 C.F.R. 20.3, as amended "Product" means any end user
27 consumer device that provides access to 911 other than a device that operates on a
28 commercial mobile radio service as defined by 47 C.F.R. 20.3.
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1 C. Collection and remittance of prepaid wireless telecommunications 911
2 service charge. (1) There is hereby imposed a prepaid wireless telecommunications
3 911 service charge of two four percent of the amount of the per retail transaction.
4 (2) The prepaid wireless 911 service charge shall be collected by the seller
5 from the consumer with respect to each retail transaction occurring in this state. The
6 amount of the prepaid wireless 911 service charge shall be either separately stated
7 on an invoice, receipt, or other similar document that is provided to the consumer by
8 the seller, or otherwise disclosed to the consumer.
9 (3) For purposes of Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, a retail transaction that
10 is effected in person by a consumer at a business location of the seller shall be
11 treated as occurring in this state if that business location is in this state, and any other
12 retail transaction shall be treated as occurring in this state if the retail transaction is
13 treated as occurring in this state for purposes of R. S. 47:301(16)(d).
14 (4) The prepaid wireless 911 service charge shall be the liability of the
15 consumer and not of the seller or of any provider, except that the seller shall be liable
16 to remit all prepaid wireless 911 service charges that the seller collects from
17 consumers as provided in Subsection D of this Section, including all such charges
18 that the seller is deemed to collect where the amount of the charge has not been
19 separately stated on an invoice, receipt, or other similar document provided to the
20 consumer by the seller.
21 (5) The amount of the prepaid wireless 911 service charge that is collected
22 by a seller from a consumer, whether or not such amount is separately stated on an
23 invoice, receipt, or other similar document provided to the consumer by the seller,
24 shall not be included in the base for measuring any tax, fee, surcharge, or other
25 charge that is imposed by this state, any political subdivision of this state, or any
26 intergovernmental agency.
27 D. Administration of prepaid wireless 911 service charge. (1) Prepaid
28 wireless 911 service charges collected by sellers shall be remitted to the department
29 quarterly by the seller and the return for the quarter shall be filed on or before the
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1 twentieth day of the first month of the next succeeding quarter. The department shall
2 establish electronic registration procedures to enable sellers to file and pay the
3 prepaid wireless 911 service charges electronically in accordance with R.S.
4 47:1520(A), which authorizes the secretary of the department to mandate electronic
5 filing when the report is required for dedicated fund distribution. Sellers shall be
6 required to file their prepaid wireless 911 service charge reports and to remit the
7 prepaid wireless 911 service charge collection electronically using the electronic
8 format prescribed by the department.
9 (2) A seller shall be permitted to deduct and retain the entirety half of the
10 2010 2016 first fourth quarter's fees. Thereafter, a seller shall be permitted to deduct
11 and retain four percent of prepaid wireless 911 service charges that are collected by
12 the seller from consumers.
13 (3) The audit and appeal procedures applicable under Chapter 2 of Subtitle
14 I of Title 47 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 with respect to the state sales
15 tax shall apply to prepaid wireless 911 service charges and prescription shall be
16 governed by Article VII, Section 16 of the Constitution of Louisiana.
17 (4) The department shall establish procedures by which a seller of prepaid
18 wireless telecommunications 911 service or products may document that a sale is not
19 a retail transaction, which procedures shall substantially coincide with the procedures
20 for documenting sale for resale transactions under Chapter 2 of Subtitle I of Title 47
21 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 with respect to the state sales tax.
22 (5) The department shall pay all remitted prepaid wireless 911 service
23 charges over to eligible communications districts in accordance with Subsection E
24 of this Section. The department may retain up to two percent of remitted service
25 charges to reimburse its direct costs of administering the collection and remittance
26 of prepaid wireless 911 service charges.
27 * * *
28 F. Liability. (1) No provider or seller of prepaid wireless telecommunications
29 service or products shall be liable for damages to any person resulting from or
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1 incurred in connection with the provision of, or failure to provide, 911 or E911
2 service, or for identifying, or failing to identify, the telephone number, address,
3 location, or name associated with any person or device that is accessing or
4 attempting to access 911 or E911 service.
5 (2) No provider or seller of prepaid wireless telecommunications service or
6 products shall be liable for damages to any person resulting from or incurred in
7 connection with the provision of any lawful assistance to any investigation or activity
8 by a law enforcement officer of the United States, this or any other state, or any
9 political subdivision of this or any other state, in connection with any lawful
10 investigation or other law enforcement activity by such law enforcement officer.
11 G. Exclusivity of charge. The prepaid wireless E911 911 charge shall be the
12 only E911 911 funding obligation imposed with respect to prepaid wireless
13 telecommunications service and products in this state, and no tax, fee, surcharge, or
14 other charge shall be imposed by this state, any political subdivision of this state, or
15 any intergovernmental agency, for E911 911 funding purposes, upon any provider,
16 seller, or consumer with respect to the sale, purchase, use, or provision of prepaid
17 wireless telecommunications 911 service or products.
18 Section 2. This Act shall become effective upon signature by the governor or, if not
19signed by the governor, upon expiration of the time for bills to become law without signature
20by the governor, as provided by Article III, Section 18 of the Constitution of Louisiana. If
21vetoed by the governor and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become
22effective on the day following such approval.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HB 678 Original 2016 Regular Session Carmody
Abstract: Provides for definitions and increases the amount of the charge being imposed
on prepaid 911 services and products.
Present law details the intent of present law.
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Present law includes definitions and multiple references that include the terms "wireless",
"telecommunications", "wireless telecommunications", and "service charges" relative to
describing certain charges, services, and products. Proposed law removes these references
and modifies the definitions included in present law . Specifically, proposed law enumerates
definitions to include the terms "prepaid 911 charge", "prepaid service", and "product".
Proposed law effectually broadens the scope of present law to make certain services and
products that provide access to 911 subject to the prepaid 911 charge.
Present law provides procedures for the collection and remittance of prepaid wireless
telecommunications 911 service charges. Present law imposes a prepaid wireless
telecommunications 911 service charge in the amount of 2% of the amount of the per retail
transaction. Proposed law imposes a prepaid 911 charge. Further, proposed law increases
the amount of the charge from 2% to 4% of the amount of the per retail transaction.
Otherwise, proposed law makes only technical changes to the procedures established by
present law relative to the collection and remittance of the prepaid 911 charges for the
purpose of incorporating the terms defined in proposed law.
Present law provides for the administration of prepaid wireless 911 service charges.
Proposed law amends a reference to a provision of present law regarding the rights of a seller
of prepaid 911 services and proposed law allows any seller to deduct and retain half of the
2016 fourth quarter's fees. Otherwise, proposed law makes only technical changes to the
procedures established by present law relative to the administration of prepaid 911 charges
for the purpose of incorporating the terms defined in proposed law.
Present law provides for limited liability relative to providers and sellers of prepaid wireless
telecommunications service. Proposed law makes only technical changes to the provisions
of present law relative to liability for the purpose of incorporating the terms defined in
proposed law.
Present law provides that the prepaid wireless E911 charge shall be the exclusive funding
obligation imposed with respect to prepaid wireless telecommunications service in this state.
Proposed law makes only technical changes to the provisions of present law relative to the
exclusivity of the charge for the purpose of incorporating the terms defined in proposed law.
Effective upon signature of governor or lapse of time for gubernatorial action.
(Amends R.S. 33:9109.1(A) through (D), (F), and (G))
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