84R3250 KKR-F
By: Deshotel H.B. No. 3462
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of regional emergency communication
districts; authorizing a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 772, Health and Safety Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter H to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER H. REGIONAL EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION DISTRICTS: STATE
PLANNING REGIONS WITH 9-1-1 POPULATION SERVED LESS THAN 1.5 MILLION
Sec. 772.601. SHORT TITLE. This subchapter may be cited as
the Regional Emergency Communication Districts Act.
Sec. 772.602. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Board" means the board of managers of a district.
(2) "District" means a regional emergency
communication district created under this subchapter.
(3) "Region" means a state planning region established
under Chapter 391, Local Government Code.
(4) "Regional planning commission" means a commission
or council of governments created under Chapter 391, Local
Government Code, for a designated region.
Sec. 772.603. APPLICATION OF SUBCHAPTER. (a) This
subchapter applies to a region:
(1) composed of counties and municipalities that on
September 1, 2015, exclusively received 9-1-1 system services
provided by a 9-1-1 system operated through a regional planning
commission;
(2) in which the total population served by the 9-1-1
system operated through a regional planning commission was less
than 1.5 million on September 1, 2015; and
(3) in which the governing bodies of each
participating county and municipality in the region adopt a
resolution under Section 772.604 to participate in the district.
(b) This subchapter does not affect:
(1) a public agency or group of public agencies acting
jointly that provided 9-1-1 service before September 1, 1987, or
that had voted or contracted before that date to provide that
service;
(2) a district created under Subchapter B, C, D, F, or
G; or
(3) the distribution of funds under Section 771.072.
Sec. 772.604. CREATION OF DISTRICT. (a) A district is
created when the governing bodies of each participating county and
municipality in a region adopt a resolution approving the
district's creation. The district's creation is effective on the
date the last resolution is adopted by a participating county or
municipality.
(b) The district shall file with the county clerk of each
county in which the district is located a certificate declaring the
creation of the district.
Sec. 772.605. POLITICAL SUBDIVISION; DISTRICT POWERS. (a)
A district is a political subdivision of this state created to carry
out essential governmental functions.
(b) A district may exercise all powers necessary to carry
out the purposes and provisions of this subchapter.
(c) A district created under this subchapter may enter into
an interlocal agreement with an emergency communication district
established under Subchapter B, C, D, F, or G to promote enhanced
public safety and increased fiscal and service efficiencies.
Sec. 772.606. TERRITORY OF DISTRICT. The territory of a
district:
(1) consists of the territory of each participating
county or municipality located in a region; and
(2) does not include any land that is located in the
territory of an emergency communication district authorized under
Subchapter B, C, D, F, or G.
Sec. 772.607. BOARD OF MANAGERS. (a) A district is
governed by a board of managers.
(b) A district's initial board is composed of members who
are appointed by the governing bodies of each participating county
and municipality. At least two-thirds of the initial board members
must be elected officials of the participating counties and
municipalities.
(c) The initial board appointed under Subsection (b) shall
establish the size of the board and the qualifications of board
members.
Sec. 772.608. POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD. (a) The board
shall name, control, and manage the district.
(b) The board shall approve, adopt, and amend an annual
budget.
(c) The board may adopt orders, rules, bylaws, policies, and
procedures governing the operations of the board and the district.
Sec. 772.609. DIRECTOR OF DISTRICT; STAFF; FISCAL AND
ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT. (a) The regional planning commission for the
region in which the district is established shall serve as the
fiscal and administrative agent for the district.
(b) The executive director of the regional planning
commission for the region may serve as director of the district.
(c) The director is responsible for:
(1) performing all duties required by the board;
(2) ensuring that board policies and procedures are
implemented for the purposes of this subchapter;
(3) preparing an annual budget; and
(4) employing and assigning employees of the regional
planning commission to perform duties under this subchapter in
accordance with the district's approved annual budget.
(d) The director may use district money to compensate an
employee assigned duties under this subchapter.
(e) The director and an employee assigned duties under this
subchapter are employees of the regional planning commission for
all purposes.
Sec. 772.610. AUDIT AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. The
district shall prepare an annual report that includes:
(1) the amount and source of funds received by the
district;
(2) the amount and source of funds spent by the
district; and
(3) the results of an audit of the district's affairs
prepared by an independent certified public accountant in
compliance with the district's policies and procedures.
Sec. 772.611. PROVISION OF 9-1-1 SERVICE. (a) A district
shall provide 9-1-1 service to each participating county or
municipality through one or a combination of the following methods
and features or equivalent state-of-the-art technology:
(1) the transfer method;
(2) the relay method;
(3) the dispatch method;
(4) automatic number identification;
(5) automatic location identification; or
(6) selective routing.
(b) The district shall design, implement, and operate a
9-1-1 system for each participating county and municipality in the
district.
(c) For each individual telephone subscriber in the
district, 9-1-1 service is mandatory and is not an optional service
under any definition of terms relating to telephone service.
Sec. 772.612. LIABILITY. The liability protection provided
by Section 771.053 applies to services provided under this
subchapter.
Sec. 772.613. PRIMARY EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER. The
digits 9-1-1 are the primary emergency telephone number in a
district. A public safety agency whose services are available
through a 9-1-1 system:
(1) may maintain a separate number for an emergency
telephone call; and
(2) shall maintain a separate number for a
nonemergency telephone call.
Sec. 772.614. TRANSMITTING REQUESTS FOR EMERGENCY AID. (a)
A 9-1-1 system established under this subchapter must be capable of
transmitting requests for firefighting, law enforcement,
ambulance, and medical services to a public safety agency that
provides the requested service at the location from which the call
originates. A 9-1-1 system may provide for transmitting requests
for other emergency services, including poison control, suicide
prevention, and civil defense.
(b) A public safety answering point may transmit emergency
response requests to private safety entities with the board's
approval.
(c) With the consent of a participating county or
municipality, a privately owned automatic intrusion alarm or other
privately owned automatic alerting device may be installed to cause
the number 9-1-1 to be dialed to gain access to emergency services.
Sec. 772.615. 9-1-1 EMERGENCY SERVICE FEE. (a) The board
may impose a 9-1-1 emergency service fee on service users in the
district.
(b) The fee may be imposed only on the base rate charge or
the charge's equivalent, excluding charges for coin-operated
telephone equipment. The fee may not be imposed on:
(1) more than 100 local exchange access lines or the
lines' equivalent for a single business entity at a single
location, unless the lines are used by residents of the location; or
(2) any line that the Commission on State Emergency
Communications has excluded from the definition of a local exchange
access line or equivalent local exchange access line under Section
771.063.
(c) If a business service user provides residential
facilities, each line that terminates at a residential unit and is a
communication link equivalent to a residential local exchange
access line shall be charged the 9-1-1 emergency service fee. The
fee must have uniform application throughout the district and be
imposed in each participating county or municipality in the
district.
(d) The amount of the fee may not exceed 50 cents per month
for each line.
(e) The board shall set the amount of the fee each year as
part of the annual budget. The board shall notify each service
supplier of a change in the amount of the fee not later than the 91st
day before the date the change takes effect.
(f) In imposing the fee, the board shall attempt to match
the district's revenues to the district's operating expenditures,
including the current and planned expenditures for the purchase,
installation, and maintenance of 9-1-1 emergency services in
accordance with the district's approved annual budget and operating
policies.
Sec. 772.616. COLLECTION OF FEE. (a) A service supplier or
a business service user that provides residential facilities and
owns or leases a publicly or privately owned telephone switch used
to provide telephone service to facility residents shall collect
the fees imposed on a customer under Section 772.615.
(b) Not later than the 30th day after the last day of the
month in which the fees are collected, the service supplier or
business service user shall deliver the fees to the district in the
manner determined by the district. The district may establish an
alternative date for payment of fees under this section, provided
that the required payment date is not earlier than the 30th day
after the last day of the report period in which the fees are
collected. The service supplier or business service user shall
file with each payment to the district a receipt in the form
prescribed by the district.
(c) Both a service supplier and a business service user
under Subsection (a) shall maintain records of the amount of fees
the service supplier or business service user collects until at
least the second anniversary of the date of collection. The board
may require, at the board's expense, an annual audit of the service
supplier's or business service user's books and records with
respect to the collection and remittance of the fees.
(d) A business service user that does not collect and remit
the 9-1-1 emergency service fee as required is subject to a civil
cause of action under Subsection (g). A sworn affidavit by the
district specifying the unremitted fees is prima facie evidence
that the fees were not remitted and of the amount of the unremitted
fees.
(e) A service supplier may retain an administrative fee of
two percent of the amount of fees the service supplier collects
under this section.
(f) A service supplier is not required to take any legal
action to enforce the collection of the 9-1-1 emergency service
fee. The service supplier shall provide the district with an annual
certificate of delinquency that includes the amount of all
delinquent fees and the name and address of each nonpaying service
user. The certificate of delinquency is prima facie evidence that a
fee included in the certificate is delinquent and of the amount of
the delinquent fee. A service user account is considered
delinquent if the fee is not paid to the service supplier before the
31st day after the payment due date stated on the user's bill from
the service supplier.
(g) The district may file legal proceedings against a
service user to collect fees not paid by the service user and may
establish internal collection procedures and recover the cost of
collection from the nonpaying service user. If the district
prevails in a legal proceeding filed under this subsection, the
court shall award costs, attorney's fees, and interest to be paid by
the nonpaying service user. A delinquent fee accrues interest at
the legal rate beginning on the date the payment becomes due.
Sec. 772.617. DISTRICT DEPOSITORY. The board shall select
a depository for the district in the manner provided by law.
Sec. 772.618. ALLOWABLE EXPENSES. A district's allowable
operating expenses include all costs attributable to designing a
9-1-1 system and all equipment and personnel necessary to establish
and maintain a public safety answering point and other related
operations that the board considers necessary.
Sec. 772.619. NUMBER AND LOCATION IDENTIFICATION. (a) As
part of 9-1-1 service, a service supplier shall furnish, for each
call, the telephone number of the subscriber and the address
associated with the number.
(b) A business service user that provides residential
facilities and owns or leases a publicly or privately owned
telephone switch used to provide telephone service to facility
residents shall provide to those residential end users the same
level of 9-1-1 service that a service supplier is required to
provide under Subsection (a) to other residential end users in the
district.
(c) Information furnished under this section is
confidential and is not available for public inspection.
(d) A service supplier or business service user under
Subsection (b) may not be held liable to a person who uses a 9-1-1
system created under this subchapter for the release to the
district of the information specified in Subsections (a) and (b).
Sec. 772.620. PUBLIC REVIEW. (a) Periodically, the board
shall solicit public comments and hold a public review hearing on
the continuation of the district and the 9-1-1 emergency service
fee. The first hearing shall be held on or before the third
anniversary of the date of the district's creation. Subsequent
hearings shall be held on or before the third anniversary of the
date each resolution required by Subsection (c) is adopted.
(b) The board shall publish notice of the time and place of a
hearing once a week for two consecutive weeks in a daily newspaper
of general circulation published in the district. The first notice
must be published not later than the 16th day before the date set
for the hearing.
(c) After the hearing, the board shall adopt a resolution on
the continuation or dissolution of the district and the 9-1-1
emergency service fee.
Sec. 772.621. DISSOLUTION PROCEDURES. (a) If a district is
dissolved, 9-1-1 service must be discontinued in compliance with
the district's policies and bylaws and must be administered in
accordance with Chapter 771.
(b) The regional planning commission for the district's
region shall assume the district's assets, provide 9-1-1 service,
and pay the district's debts. If the district's assets are
insufficient to retire all existing debts of the district on the
date of dissolution, the regional planning commission shall
continue to impose the 9-1-1 emergency service fee in compliance
with Section 772.615, and each service supplier shall continue to
collect the fee for the regional planning commission. Proceeds
from the imposition of the fee by the regional planning commission
after dissolution of the district may be used only to retire the
outstanding debts of the district.
(c) The regional planning commission shall retire the
district's debts to the extent practicable according to the terms
of the instruments creating the debts and the terms of the
resolutions authorizing creation of the debts.
(d) The governing body of the regional planning commission
for the district's region may adopt rules necessary to administer
this section.
Sec. 772.622. TRANSFER OF ASSETS. If a district is
established under this subchapter, the regional planning
commission for the region in which the district is established may
transfer to the district any land, buildings, improvements,
equipment, and other assets acquired by the regional planning
commission in relation to the provision of 9-1-1 service in
accordance with Chapter 771.
SECTION 2. Section 771.001(3), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(3) "Emergency communication district" means:
(A) a public agency or group of public agencies
acting jointly that provided 9-1-1 service before September 1,
1987, or that had voted or contracted before that date to provide
that service; or
(B) a district created under Subchapter B, C, D,
F, [or] G, or H, Chapter 772.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.