Oklahoma 2023 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HB1897 Latest Draft

Bill / Enrolled Version Filed 04/19/2023

                            An Act 
ENROLLED HOUSE 
BILL NO. 1897 	By: Cantrell and Humphrey of 
the House 
 
   and 
 
  Kidd of the Senate 
 
 
 
 
 
 
An Act relating to public health and safety; amending 63 
O.S. 2021, Sections 2814 and 2815, which relate to 
political subdivisions authorized to operate emergency 
telephone service and fee collection; modifying 
statutory references; modifying name of certain act; 
amending 63 O.S. 2021, Section 2862, as amended by 
Section 6, Chapter 30, O.S.L. 2022 (63 O.S. Supp. 2022, 
Section 2862), which relates to definitions; defining 
terms; modifying definition ; amending 63 O.S. 2021, 
Section 2868, which relates to use of funds; modifying 
name of certain act; removing certain duplicate 
language; providing for recodification; repealing 63 
O.S. 2021, Sections 2811, 2812 and 2813, which relate to 
short title, purpose of act and definitions; and 
providing an effective date. 
 
 
 
 
SUBJECT: Public health and saf ety 
 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOP LE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA: 
 
SECTION 1.    AMENDATORY     63 O.S. 2021, Section 2814, is 
amended to read as follows: 
 
Section 2814. A.  In addition to other powers for the 
protection of the public health, a governing body may provide for 
the operation of an emergency telephone service and may impose an 
emergency telephone fee, as provided in this section, for emergency 
telephone service in areas, subject to the jurisdiction of the 
governing body.  The governing body may do such other acts as are  ENR. H. B. NO. 1897 	Page 2 
necessary for the protection and preservation of the public health 
if necessary for the operation of the emergency telephone system. 
 
B.  The governing body is hereby authorized, by ordinance in the 
case of municipalities and by resolution in the case of counties or 
a combined governing b ody, to provide for the operation of emergency 
telephone service and to impose an emergency telephone fee in the 
area to be served by the system.  The ordinance or resolution shall 
submit to the voters in the area to be served the que stion of the 
imposition of emergency telephone service and the amount of the 
emergency telephone fee.  The ordinance or resolution shall propose 
the amount of the emergency telephone fee to begin the second year 
and for each year thereafter, in an amount n ot greater than fiftee n 
percent (15%) of the tariff rate, and shall call for an election to 
be held within one (1) year from the date the ordinance or 
resolution is adopted. 
 
The ordinance or resolution shall also provide for the 
collection of an amount not to exceed five percen t (5%) of the 
tariff rate in areas subject to the jurisdiction of the governing 
body for a period of no longer than one (1) year.  The one (1) year, 
five percent (5%) fee shall be a part of, not an addition to, the 
fee set by the voters.  The collection of the five percent (5%) fee 
may begin, prior to the election, within thirty (30) days after the 
resolution or ordinance becomes effective.  The one (1) year, five 
percent (5%) fee shall be used to provide for the cost of conducting 
the election to set the e mergency telephone fee and any initial or 
start-up cost necessary to implement the emergency telephone 
service.  If the fee is not approved by the electors, any remaining 
money collected during the first year shall be distributed to t he 
local exchange telephone company and then shall be refunded to each 
service user charged on a pro rata basis. 
 
C.  Within sixty (60) days of the publication of the resolution 
adopted pursuant to subsection B of this section, there may be filed 
with the county election board o f the affected county or counties a 
petition signed by not less than three percent (3%) of the total 
number of votes cast in the next preceding general election of the 
county or affected area. 
 
Within sixty (60) days of publication of an ordinance adopted b y 
a municipality pursuant to subsection B of this section, there may 
be filed with the county election board of the county in which the 
municipality is located a petition signed by not less than three  ENR. H. B. NO. 1897 	Page 3 
percent (3%) of the total number of votes cast in the n ext preceding 
election of the city. 
 
The petitions may request that the question of the installation 
and operation of emergency telephone service and imposition of the 
one (1) year, five percent (5%) emergency telephone fee as called 
for in the resolution o r ordinance be disapproved. 
 
Upon determination of the suffi ciency of the petition and 
certification by the county election board or boards, the 
proposition shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the 
county, municipality or area to be served not less than sixty (60) 
days following the certification of the pe tition. 
 
If a majority of the votes cast in an election held pursuant to 
subsection B of this section disapprove the operation of emergency 
telephone service and imposition of an emergency telephone fee or a 
majority of the votes cast disapprove the one (1) year, five percent 
(5%) emergency telephone fee, upon certification of the election 
results by the county election board or boards, the resolution or 
ordinance shall not take effect and the emerge ncy telephone service 
and the emergency telephone fee calle d for in the resolution or 
ordinance shall not be imposed.  If the resolution or ordinance is 
disapproved by the electors, any remaining money collected during 
the first year shall be distributed t o the local exchange telephone 
company and then shall be re funded to each service user charged on a 
pro rata basis. 
 
D.  If the governing board does not take action to provide for 
the operation of emergency telephone service and to imp ose an 
emergency telephone fee as provided in subsection B of this section, 
there may be filed with the county election board or boards of the 
affected area a petition signed by not less than three percent (3%) 
of the total numbers of votes cast in the nex t preceding election o f 
the affected area. 
 
The petition shall request that the qu estion of the installation 
and operation of emergency telephone service and imposition of a fee 
in an amount not greater than fifteen percent (15%) of the tariff 
rate be submitted to the qualified voters of the county, 
municipality or area to be served.  U pon determination of the 
sufficiency of the petition and certification by the county election 
board or boards, the proposition shall be submitted to the qualified 
voters of the county, municipality or area to be served not less 
than sixty (60) days followi ng the certification of the petition.  ENR. H. B. NO. 1897 	Page 4 
 
If a majority of the votes cast at an election held pursuant to 
this subsection approve the installation and operation of emergency 
telephone service and impos ition of an emergency telephone fee the 
governing body shall provide for the installation and operation of 
the service, impose the approved fee and provide for the governance 
of the system.  If the affected area is governed by two or more 
governmental entities the governing bodies of each shall enter into 
an agreement in accordance with the Interlocal Cooperative Act to 
provide for the governance of the system. 
 
E.  Any fee imposed by a county or combined governing body shall 
not apply to any portion of the county located within the boundaries 
of a municipality or o ther governmental entity also imposing an 
emergency telephone fee pursuant to the provisions of the Nine-One-
One Emergency Number Oklahoma 9-1-1 Management Authority Act.  The 
approved emergency telephone fee shall be effective upon 
certification of the el ection results by the county election board 
or boards.  Except as provided for in subsections G and I of this 
section, an emergency telephone fee imposed prior to the effectiv e 
date of this act shall continue at th e established amount until an 
election to change the fee is called as provided for in this 
section. 
 
F.  If a majority of the votes cast at an election held pursuant 
to subsection B of this section approve the installa tion and 
operation of emergency teleph one service and imposition of an 
emergency telephone fee, the governing body shall provide for the 
installation and operation of the service and impose the approved 
fee.  The initial five percent (5%) fee, established by resolution 
or an ordinance, as prov ided pursuant to the provisions of 
subsection B of this section shall remain in effect for the 
remainder of the first year. 
 
G.  The emergency telephone fee approved pursuant to the 
provisions of this section shall be reviewed at least once each 
calendar year by the governing body which shall, in a ccordance with 
subsection D of Section 2815 2 of this title act, establish the 
amount of the fee for the next calendar year, not to exceed the 
amount set by the electors.  The governing body shall have the power 
and authority to reduce the emergency telephone fee being paid by 
the service users of the emergency telephone system to the estimated 
amount needed for the annual operation and maintenance of the 
system.  If the govern ing body makes a reduction and in a s ubsequent 
year determines it is necessary to increase the fee to operate and  ENR. H. B. NO. 1897 	Page 5 
maintain the system, the governing body may raise the fee up to an 
amount not to exceed the amount previously set by the electors.  Any 
fee imposed by the electors of a county, mu nicipality or area served 
shall remain at the amount approved by the electors until a new vote 
of the electors is conducted in the manner for which an election may 
be conducted to impose a fee as provided for in this se ction.  The 
proceeds of the fee shall be utilized to pay for the operation of 
emergency telephone service as specified in this section.  
Collection of the fee may begin at any time if an existing service 
is already operative or at any time subsequent to ex ecution of a 
contract with the provid er of the emergency telephone service at the 
discretion of the governing body. 
 
H.  If the fee approved by the voters is less than fifteen 
percent (15%) and the governing body determines there exists a need 
for ancillary communications systems necessary to communicate the 
reported emergency to the appropriate emergency service and 
personnel and the governing body also determines that the fee set by 
the electors is not sufficient to fund the ancillary communications 
systems, the governing body may by resolut ion or ordinance call an 
election to submit the question of raising the voter-approved fee in 
a sufficient amount, not to exceed fifteen percent (15%), for such 
additional time as determined by the governing body it is n ecessary 
to purchase the ancillary c ommunications equipment.  The vote shall 
be conducted in the manner provided for in subsection B of this 
section. 
 
I.  A governing body with an existing emergency telephone 
service system in operation prior to the effecti ve date of this act 
may by ordinance or resolution restore the emergency telephone fee 
set at three percent (3%) to an amount not to exceed five percent 
(5%) of the tariff rate for such additional time as is necessary to 
fund ancillary communications equip ment necessary to communicate the 
reported emergency to the appropriate emergency service and 
personnel. 
 
Within sixty (60) days of the publication of the resolution 
adopted pursuant to this subsection, there may be filed with the 
county election board of t he affected county or counties a p etition 
signed by not less than three percent (3%) of the total number of 
votes cast in the next preceding general election of the county or 
affected area. 
 
Within sixty (60) days of publication of an ordinance adopted by 
a municipality pursuant to this su bsection, there may be filed with  ENR. H. B. NO. 1897 	Page 6 
the county election board of the county in which the municipality is 
located a petition signed by not less than three percent (3%) of the 
total number of votes cast in the next preceding el ection of the 
city. 
 
The petitions may request that the question of restoring the 
emergency telephone fee to an amount not to exceed five percent (5%) 
of the tariff rate to fund ancillary communications equipment be 
submitted to the qualified voters of the county, municipality or 
area to be served. 
 
Upon determination of the sufficiency of the petition and 
certification by the county election board or boards, the 
proposition shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the 
county, municipality or area to be served not less than sixty (60) 
days following the certification of the petition. If a majority of 
the votes cast at the election are for restoring the emergency 
telephone fee to an amount not to exceed five percent (5%) of the 
tariff rate to fund ancilla ry communications equipment, th e 
resolution or ordinance restoring the fee shall become effective.  
The increase of the fee may be implemented within thirty (30) days 
after the resolution or ordinance becomes effective. 
 
J.  The tariff rate used for initial calculation of the 
emergency telephone service fee shall remain static for the purpose 
of calculating future fees for emergency telephone service.  
Therefore, future rate changes for emergency telephone service shall 
be stated as a percentage of the initi al tariff rate. 
 
K.  The emergency telephone fee shall be imposed only upon the 
amount received from the tariff for exchange telephone service or 
its equivalent.  No fee shall be imposed upon more than one hundred 
exchange access lines or their equivalent p er person per location. 
 
L.  Every billed service user shall be liable for any fee 
imposed pursuant to this section until it has been paid to the local 
exchange telephone company. 
 
M.  The duty to collect any fee imposed pursuant to the 
authority of the Nine-One-One Emergency Number Oklahoma 9-1-1 
Management Authority Act from a service user shall commence at a 
time specified by the governing body.  Fees imposed pursuant to this 
section that are required to be collected by the local exchange 
telephone company shall be added to and shal l be stated separately 
in the billings to the service user.  ENR. H. B. NO. 1897 	Page 7 
 
N.  The local exchange telephone company shall have no 
obligation to take any legal action to enforce the collection of any 
fee imposed pursuant to the authority of this sec tion, however, 
should any service user tender a payment insufficient to satis fy all 
charges, tariffs, fees and taxes for exchange telephone service, the 
amount tendered shall be credited to the emergency telephone fee in 
the same manner as other taxes and fees.  The local excha nge 
telephone company shall annually provide the govern ing body with a 
list of amounts uncollected along with the names and addresses of 
those service users which carry a balance that can be determined by 
the local exchange telephone company to be nonpayme nt of any fee 
imposed pursuant to the authority of this section. 
 
O.  Any fee imposed pursuant to the authority provided by this 
section shall be collected insofar as practicable at the same time 
as, and along with, the charges for exc hange telephone servi ce in 
accordance with the regular billing practice of th e local exchange 
telephone service.  The tariff rates determined by or stated in the 
billing of the local exchange telephone company shall be presumed to 
be correct if such charge s were made in accord ance with the business 
practices of the local exchange t elephone company.  The presumption 
may be rebutted by evidence which establishes that an incorrect 
tariff rate was charged. 
 
SECTION 2.     AMENDATORY     63 O.S. 2021, Se ction 2815, is 
amended to read as follows: 
 
Section 2815. A.  Any fee imposed pursuant to Section 2814 1 of 
this title act and the amounts required to be collected are due 
monthly.  The amount of fee collected in one (1) month by the local 
exchange telephone company shall be remitted to the governing body 
no later than thirty (30) days after the close of the month in which 
such fees were collected.  In the event the fee collected is not 
remitted by the local exchange telep hone company or by a competitive 
local exchange company, as both are defined in Section 139.102 of 
Title 17 of the Oklahoma Statutes, to the governing body within 
thirty (30) days after the close of the month in which such fees 
were collected, then the loc al exchange telephone company shall 
remit a penalty to the governing body.  The penalty shall be equal 
to ten percent (10%) of the original unremitted fee, payable on the 
first day of each month the fee remains delinquent.  All fees 
collected by the local exchange telephone company and remitted to 
the governing body and any other money collected to fund the 
emergency telephone system shall be deposited in a special nine-one- ENR. H. B. NO. 1897 	Page 8 
one account established by the governing body, and shall be used 
only to fund the expenditures authorized by the Nine-One-One 
Emergency Number Oklahoma 9-1-1 Management Authority Act.  The 
governing body shall account for all disbursements from the account 
and shall not allow the funds to be transferred to another account 
not specifically established for the operation of the emergen cy 
telephone system. 
 
B.  On or before the last day of each month, a return for the 
preceding month shall be filed with the governing body in a form the 
governing body and the local exchange telephone company agr ee to.  
The local exchange telephone company required to file the return 
shall deliver the return toget her with a remittance of the amount of 
the fee payable to the treasurer or other person responsible to the 
governing body for receipt of payments from th e fee.  The local 
exchange telephone company shall maintain records of the amount of 
any fee collected in accordance with the provisions of the Nine-One-
One Emergency Number Oklahoma 9-1-1 Management Authority Act.  The 
records shall be maintained for a pe riod of one (1) year from the 
time the fee is collected. 
 
C.  From every remittance of the collected fee to the governing 
body made on or before the date when the same becomes due, the local 
exchange telephone company required to remit the fee shall be 
entitled to deduct and retain for administ rative costs, an amount 
not to exceed three percent (3%) of the f irst five percent (5%) of 
the emergency telephone fee. 
 
D.  At least once each calendar year, the governing body shall 
establish the fee for the subsequen t year in an amount not to exceed 
the amount approved by the voters as provided by the provisions of 
Section 2814 1 of this title act that, together with any surplus 
revenues, will produce sufficient revenues to fund the expenditures 
authorized by the Nine-One-One Emergency Number Oklahoma 9-1-1 
Management Authority Act.  Amounts collected in excess of that 
necessary within a given year shall be carried forward to subsequent 
years.  The governing body shall make the determination of the fee 
amount no later than September 1 of each year and shall fi x the new 
fee to take effect commencing with the first billing peri od of each 
service user on or following the next January 1.  Immediately upon 
making its determination and fixing the fee, the governing body 
shall publish in its minutes the new fee, and i t shall, at least 
ninety (90) days before the new fee shall become effective, notify 
by certified mail every local exchange telephone company providing 
emergency telephone service to areas within the jurisdiction of th e  ENR. H. B. NO. 1897 	Page 9 
governing body.  The governing body may at its own expense require 
an annual audit of the books and rec ords of the local exchange 
telephone company concerning the collection and remittance of the 
fee authorized by the Nine-One-One Emergency Number Oklahoma 9-1-1 
Management Authority Act. 
 
E.  The governing body shall be required to have conducted 
separately or as a part of the annual audit required by law of the 
municipality or county an annual audit of any accounts established 
or used by the governing bod y for the operation of an emergency 
telephone system.  The audit may be conducted by the State Auditor 
and Inspector at the discretion of the governing body.  All audits 
shall be conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing 
standards and Govern ment Auditing Standards issued by the 
Comptroller General of the United States.  A copy of the audit shal l 
be filed with the State Auditor and Inspector and action taken in 
accordance with Section 212A of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes.  
The audit of the emergency telephone system accounts may be paid for 
and be considered a part of the operating expenses of the 9-1-1 
emergency telephone system. 
 
F.  The governing body shall meet at least quarterly to oversee 
the operations of the 9-1-1 emergency telephone system, re view 
expenditures, set and approve an operating budget and take such 
other action as necessar y for the operation and management of the 
system.  The records and meetings of the governing body shall be 
subject to the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act and the Oklahom a Open 
Records Act. 
 
G.  A governing body made up of two or more governmental 
entities shall have a board consisting of not less than three (3) 
members; provided, the board shall consist of at least one (1) 
member representing each governmental entity, appointed by the 
governing body of each participating governmental entities, as set 
forth in the agreement forming the board.  The members shall serve 
for terms of not more than three (3) years as set forth in the 
agreement.  Members may be appointed to serve more tha n one term.  
The names of the members of the governing body board and the 
appointing authority of each member shall be maintained in the 
office of the county clerk in the county or counties in which the 
system operates, along with copies of the agreement f orming the 
board and any amendments to that agreement. 
  ENR. H. B. NO. 1897 	Page 10 
SECTION 3.    AMENDATORY     63 O.S. 2021, Section 2862, as 
amended by Section 6, Chapter 30, O.S.L. 2022 (63 O.S. S upp. 2022, 
Section 2862), is amended to read as follows: 
 
Section 2862. As used in the Oklahoma 9-1-1 Management 
Authority Act: 
 
1.  "Area served" means the geographic area which shall be 
served by the 9-1-1 emergency telephone service pr ovided by the 
governing body of a county, municipality, part of a county or 
combination of such g overning bodies; 
 
2.  "Authority" means the Oklahoma 9 -1-1 Management Authority 
created in Section 2863 of this title; 
 
3.  "Emergency telephone service " means any telephone system 
utilizing a three-digit number, nine-one-one (9-1-1), for reporting 
an emergency to the appropriate public agency providing law 
enforcement, fire, med ical or other emergency services, including 
ancillary communications systems and personnel necessary to pass the 
reported emergency to the appropriate eme rgency service and 
personnel; 
 
4.  "Emergency telephone fee" means a fee to finance the 
operation of emergency telephone service; 
 
2. 5.  "Governing body" means the board of cou nty commissioners 
of a county, the city council, tribal authority or other governing 
body of a municipalit y, or a combination of such boards, councils or 
other municipal governing bodies including county or municipal 
beneficiary public trusts, or other pub lic trusts which shall have 
an administering board.  A governing body made up of two or more 
governmental entities shall have a board consisting of not less than 
three members and shall consist of at least one member representing 
each governmental entity, appointed by the governing body of each 
participating governmental entity, as set forth in the agreement 
forming the board. The members of the board shall serve for terms 
of not more than three (3) years as set forth in the agreement.  
Members may be appointed to serve more than one term.  The names of 
the members of the governing body board and the appointin g authority 
of each member shall be maintained in the office of the county clerk 
in the county or counties in which the system operates, along with 
copies of the agreement forming the board and any amendments to that 
agreement; 
  ENR. H. B. NO. 1897 	Page 11 
6.  "Local exchange telepho ne company" means any company 
providing exchange telephone services to any ser vice user in this 
state, and shall include any compet itive local exchange carrier as 
defined in Section 139.102 of Title 17 of the Oklahoma Statutes; 
 
3. 7.  "Next-generation 9-1-1" or "NG9-1-1" means an: 
 
a. IP-based system comprised of hardware, software, data, 
and operational policies and procedures that: 
 
(1) provides standardized interfaces from emergency 
call and message services to support emergency 
communications, 
 
(2) processes all types of emergency calls, including 
voice, text, data and multimedia information, 
 
(3) acquires and integrates additional emergency call 
data useful to call routing and handling, 
 
(4) delivers the emergency calls, messages and data 
to the appropriate public safety answering point 
and other appropriate emergency entities, 
 
(5) supports data or video communications needs for 
coordinated incident response and management, and 
 
(6) provides broadband service to public safety 
answering points or other first responder 
entities, or 
 
b. IP-based system comprised of hardware, software, data 
and operational policies and procedures that conforms 
with subsequent amend ments made to the definition of 
Next Generation 9-1-1 services in Public Law 112 -96; 
 
4. 8.  "9-1-1 emergency telephone service" means any telephone 
system whereby telephone subscribers may utilize a three-digit 
number (9-1-1) for reporting an emergency to the appropriate public 
agency providing law enforcement, fire, medical or other emergency 
services, including ancillary communications systems and personnel 
necessary to pass the reported emergency to the appropriate 
emergency service and which the wireless s ervice provider is 
required to provide pursuant to the Federal Communications 
Commission Order 94-102 (961 Federal Register 40348);  ENR. H. B. NO. 1897 	Page 12 
 
5. 9.  "9-1-1 wireless telephone fee" means the fee imposed in 
Section 2865 of this title to finance the installation and operation 
of emergency 9-1-1 services and any necessary equipment; 
 
10.  "Person" means any service user, including, but not limited 
to, any individual, firm, partnership, co -partnership, joint 
venture, association, cooperative organiz ation, private corporation, 
whether organized for profit or not, fraternal organization, 
nonprofit organization, estate, trust, business or common law trust, 
receiver, assignee for the benefit of credit ors, trustee or trustee 
in bankruptcy, the United Stat es of America, the state, any 
political subdivision of the state, or any federal or state agency, 
department, commission, board or bureau; 
 
6. 11.  "Place of primary use" means the street address 
representative of where the use of the mobile telecommunications 
service of the customer primarily occurs, which shall be the 
residential street address or the primary business street address of 
the customer and shall be within the licensed service a rea of the 
home service provider in accordance with Section 55001 of Title 68 
of the Oklahoma Statutes and the federal Mobile Telecommunicatio ns 
Sourcing Act, P.L. No. 106-252, codified at 4 U.S.C. 116-126; 
 
7. 12.  "Prepaid wireless telecommunications service " means a 
telecommunications wireless service that provides the right to 
utilize mobile wireless service as well as other telecommunications 
services including the download of digital products delivered 
electronically, content and ancillary services, which are paid for 
in advance and sold in predetermined units or dollars of which the 
number declines with use in a known amount; 
 
8. 13.  "Proprietary information" means wireless service 
provider or VoIP service provider, subscriber, market share, cost 
and review information; 
 
9. 14.  "Public agency" means any city, town, county, municipal 
corporation, public district, public trust, substate planning 
district, public authority or tribal authority located within this 
state which provides or has authority to provide firefig hting, law 
enforcement, ambulance, emergency medical or other emergency 
services; 
  ENR. H. B. NO. 1897 	Page 13 
10. 15.  "Public safety answering point" or "PSAP" means an 
entity responsible for receiving 9-1-1 calls and processing those 
calls according to specific operational policy; 
 
11. 16.  "Public safety telecommunicator" means a person who 
performs a public service by processing, analyzing, and dispatching 
calls for emergency a ssistance.  The person is a first responder 
that provides pre-arrival instructions and has specialized trai ning 
to mitigate the loss of life and property; 
 
17.  "Service user" means any person who is provided exchange 
telephone service in this state; 
 
18.  "Tariff rate" means the rate or rates billed by a local 
exchange telephone company stated in tariffs applica ble for such 
company, as approved by the Oklahoma Corp oration Commission, or the 
current equivalent of such rates, which represent the recurring 
charges of such local exchange telephone company for exchan ge 
telephone service or its equivalent, exclusive of all taxes, fees, 
licenses or similar charges whatsoev er; 
 
12. 19.  "Wireless service provider" means a provider of 
commercial mobile service under Section 33 2(d) of the 
Telecommunications Act of 1996 , 47 U.S.C., Section 151 et seq., 
Federal Communications Commission rules, and the Omnibus Budget 
Reconciliation Act of 1993, Pub. L. No. 103-66, and includes a 
provider of wireless two-way communication service, r adio-telephone 
communications related to c ellular telephone service, network radio 
access lines or the equivalent, and personal communication service .  
The term does not include a provider of: 
 
a. a service whose users do not have access to 9-1-1 
service, 
 
b. a communication channel used only for da ta 
transmission, or 
 
c. a wireless roaming service or oth er nonlocal radio 
access line service; 
 
13. 20.  "Wireless telecommunications connection" means the ten-
digit access number assigned to a customer regardle ss of whether 
more than one such number is aggreg ated for the purpose of billing a 
service user; and 
  ENR. H. B. NO. 1897 	Page 14 
14. 21.  "Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) provider " means a 
provider of interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol service to 
end users in the state, including resellers. 
 
SECTION 4.     AMENDATORY     63 O.S. 2021, Section 2868 , is 
amended to read as follows: 
 
Section 2868. A.  Public agencies recognized by the Oklahoma 9 -
1-1 Management Authority and authorized to receive funds coll ected 
pursuant to the provisions of the Ok lahoma 9-1-1 Management 
Authority Act shall use the funds only for services, equipment and 
operations related to 9 -1-1 emergency telephone services. 
 
B.  The 9-1-1 Management Authority will oversee all 9 -1-1 fees 
collected under the Oklahoma Emergency Telep hone Act and the fees 
collected by this act.  The Authority may order the Oklahoma Tax 
Commission to escrow fees attri butable to public agencies which have 
misspent, diverted or supplanted 9 -1-1 collected fees to a purpose 
other than what is authorized by the Oklahoma Emergency Telephone 
Act or this act. 
 
C.  Money remitted to public agencies pursuant to the Oklahoma 
9-1-1 Management Authority Act and any money otherwise collected by 
any lawful means for purposes o f providing 9-1-1 emergency telephone 
services shall be deposited in a separate 9 -1-1 emergency telephone 
service account established by a public agency or its go verning body 
to carry out the requirements of the Oklahoma 9 -1-1 Management 
Authority Act.  Monies remaining in such accounts at the end o f a 
fiscal year shall carry over to subsequent years.  The monies 
deposited in the Oklahoma 9-1-1 Management Authority Revolving Fund 
shall at no time be monies of the state and shall not become part of 
the general budget of the Office of Emergency Managem ent or any 
other state agency.  Except as other wise authorized by the Oklahoma 
9-1-1 Management Authority Act, no moni es from the Oklahoma 9 -1-1 
Management Authority Revolving Fund shall be transferred for any 
purpose to any other state agency or any accou nt of the Office of 
Emergency Management or be used for the purpose of contracting with 
any other state agency or reim bursing any other state agency for any 
expense.  Payments from the Oklahoma 9 -1-1 Management Authority 
Revolving Fund shall not become or be construed to be any obligation 
of the state. No claims for reimbursement from the Oklahoma 9-1-1 
Management Authority Revolving Fund shall be paid with state monies. 
 
D.  If the Oklahoma 9 -1-1 Management Authority determines that 
the public agency has f ailed to deploy Phase II service, failed to  ENR. H. B. NO. 1897 	Page 15 
meet the State master plan for NG9-1-1 services or has failed to 
deliver service consistent with National Emergency Number 
Association (NENA) standards, the public age ncy shall submit an 
improvement plan within t he time prescribed by the Authority.  The 
Authority may order the Oklahoma Tax Commission to escrow fees 
attributable to public agencies which have not submitted plans or 
complied with improvement plans. 
 
E.  A public agency shall be required to have conduc ted 
separately or as a part of the annual audit required by law of the 
municipality or county an annual audit of any a ccounts established 
or used for the operation of a 9 -1-1 emergency telephone system.  
The audit may be conducted by the State Auditor and Inspector at the 
discretion of the public agenc y.  The cost of the audit of the 9-1-1 
emergency telephone system may b e paid from and be considered a part 
of the operating expenses of the 9 -1-1 emergency telephone system.  
Proprietary information of the wi reless service providers shall be 
confidential. Audit information pertaining to revenue collected or 
disbursed may be released only in aggregate form so that no 
provider-specific information may be extrapolate d. 
 
F.  Public agencies shall be required to an nually submit to the 
Authority: 
 
1.  A report, on a form to be prescribed by the Authority, 
covering the operation and financing of the public safety answering 
point which shall include all sources of funding available to the 
public agency for the 9 -1-1 emergency telephone system; and 
 
2.  A copy of the most recent annual audit or budget showing all 
expenses of the public a gency relating to the 9 -1-1 emergency 
telephone system. 
 
G.  The Authority shall have the power to review, approve, 
submit for further info rmation or deny approval of the annual report 
of each public agency required pursuant to subsection F of this 
section. Failure by a public agency to submit the report annually 
or denial of a report may cau se the Authority to order the Tax 
Commission to escrow the 9-1-1 emergency telephone fees due to the 
public agency until the public agency complies with the requirement s 
of the Oklahoma 9-1-1 Management Authority Act and the procedures 
established by the A uthority. 
 
H.  The governing body of the public age ncy shall meet at least 
quarterly to oversee th e operations of the 9-1-1 emergency telephone  ENR. H. B. NO. 1897 	Page 16 
system, review expenditur es and annually set and approve an 
operating budget, and take any other action as neces sary for the 
operation and management of the system . 
 
I.  Records and meetings of the public agency shall be subject 
to the Oklahoma Open Records Act and the Oklahoma Ope n Meeting Act. 
 
SECTION 5.    RECODIFICATION     63 O.S. 2021, Section 2814, as 
last amended by Section 1 of this act, shall be recod ified as 
Section 2869.1 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, unless there is 
created a duplication in numb ering. 
 
SECTION 6.    RECODIFICATION     63 O.S. 2021, Section 2815, as 
last amended by Section 2 of this act, shall be recod ified as 
Section 2869.2 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, unless there is 
created a duplication in numbering. 
 
SECTION 7.    RECODIFICATION     63 O.S. 2021, Section 2815.1, 
shall be recodified as Section 2869.3 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma 
Statutes, unless there is created a duplication in numbering. 
 
SECTION 8.    RECODIFICATION     63 O.S. 2021, Section 2816, 
shall be recodified as Section 2869.4 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma 
Statutes, unless there is created a duplication in numberi ng. 
 
SECTION 9.    RECODIFICATION    63 O.S. 2021, Section 2817, 
shall be recodified as Section 2869.5 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma 
Statutes, unless there is created a duplication in numbering. 
 
SECTION 10.    RECODIFICATION    63 O.S. 2021, Section 2818, 
shall be recodified as Section 2869.6 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma 
Statutes, unless there is creat ed a duplication in numbering. 
 
SECTION 11.    RECODIFICATION     63 O.S. 2021, Section 2820, 
shall be recodified as Section 2869.7 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma 
Statutes, unless there is created a duplication in numb ering. 
 
SECTION 12.     REPEALER     63 O.S. 2021, Sections 2811, 2812 
and 2813 are hereby repealed. 
 
SECTION 13.  This act shall become effective November 1, 2023. 
  ENR. H. B. NO. 1897 	Page 17 
Passed the House of Representatives the 7th day of March, 2023. 
 
 
 
  
 	Presiding Officer of the House 
 	of Representatives 
 
 
 
Passed the Senate the 18th day of April, 2023. 
 
 
 
  
 	Presiding Officer of the Senate 
 
 
 
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR 
Received by the Office of the Governor this ____________________ 
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M. 
By: _________________________________ 
Approved by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _____ ____ 
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M. 
 
 
 	_________________________________ 
 	Governor of the State of Oklahoma 
 
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE 
Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this __________ 
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M. 
By: _________________________________