Tex.
Health & Safety Code Section 771.0711
Emergency Service Fee for Wireless Telecommunications Connections
(a)
To provide for automatic number identification and automatic location identification of wireless 9-1-1 calls, the commission shall impose on each wireless telecommunications connection a 9-1-1 emergency service fee. A political subdivision may not impose another fee on a wireless service provider or subscriber for 9-1-1 emergency service.(b)
A wireless service provider shall collect the fee in an amount equal to 50 cents a month for each wireless telecommunications connection from its subscribers and shall pay the money collected to the comptroller not later than the 30th day after the last day of the month during which the fees were collected. The comptroller may establish alternative dates for payment of fees under this section. The wireless service provider may retain an administrative fee of one percent of the amount collected. The comptroller shall deposit the money from the fees to the credit of the 9-1-1 services fee account. Until deposited to the credit of the 9-1-1 services fee account as required by Subsection (c), money the comptroller collects under this subsection remains in a trust fund with the state treasury.(c)
Money collected under Subsection (b) may be used only for services related to 9-1-1 services, including automatic number identification and automatic location information services, or as authorized by Section 771.079(c). Not later than the 15th day after the end of the month in which the money is collected, the commission shall distribute to each emergency communication district that does not participate in the state system a portion of the money that bears the same proportion to the total amount collected that the population of the area served by the district bears to the population of the state. The remaining money collected under Subsection (b) shall be deposited to the 9-1-1 services fee account.(d)
A service provider of telecommunications service involved in providing wireless 9-1-1 service is not liable for any claim, damage, or loss arising from the provision of wireless 9-1-1 service unless the act or omission proximately causing the claim, damage, or loss constitutes gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct.(e)
A member of the commission, the governing body of a public agency, or the Department of Information Resources is not liable for any claim, damage, or loss arising from the provision of wireless 9-1-1 service unless the act or omission causing the claim, damage, or loss violates a statute or ordinance applicable to the action.(f)
A wireless service provider is not required to take legal action to enforce the collection of any wireless 9-1-1 service fee. The comptroller may establish collection procedures and recover the cost of collection from the subscriber liable for the fee. The comptroller may institute legal proceedings to collect a fee and in those proceedings is entitled to recover from the subscriber court costs, attorney’s fees, and interest on the amount delinquent.(g)
Repealed by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 830 (H.B. 2911), Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2021.(h)
Information that a wireless service provider is required to furnish to a governmental entity in providing 9-1-1 service is confidential and exempt from disclosure under Chapter 552 (Public Information), Government Code. The wireless service provider is not liable to any person who uses a 9-1-1 service created under this subchapter for the release of information furnished by the wireless service provider in providing 9-1-1 service. Information that is confidential under this section may be released only for budgetary calculation purposes and only in aggregate form so that no provider-specific information may be extrapolated.(i)
Nothing in this section may be construed to apply to wireline 9-1-1 service.(j)
Repealed by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 830 (H.B. 2911), Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2021.(b)
The comptroller shall adopt rules to implement this section by June 1, 2010.(c)
A seller who fails to file a report or remit a fee collected or payable as provided by this section and comptroller rules shall pay five percent of the amount due and payable as a penalty, and if the seller fails to file the report or remit the fee within 30 days after the day the fee or report is due, the seller shall pay an additional five percent of the amount due and payable as an additional penalty.(d)
In addition to any other penalty authorized by this section, a seller who fails to file a report as provided by this section shall pay a penalty of $50. The penalty provided by this subsection is assessed without regard to whether the seller subsequently files the report or whether any taxes were due from the seller for the reporting period under the required report.(e)
A marketplace provider, as defined by Section 151.0242 (Marketplace Providers and Marketplace Sellers)(a), Tax Code, shall:(1)
collect on behalf of the seller the fee imposed by this section on a sale made through the marketplace; and(2)
after making the deduction authorized to be made by a seller under Subsection (a), remit the fee to the comptroller in the same manner a seller remits collected fees under this section.(b)
Notwithstanding any other law and except as provided by federal law, the comptroller shall transfer to the credit of the next generation 9-1-1 service fund any amount available from federal money provided to this state from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds under Section 9901 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Pub. L. No. 117-2) or from any other state or federal governmental source for purposes of this chapter, including money appropriated or otherwise credited to the fund. The comptroller shall transfer the money as soon as practicable following:(1)
the receipt by this state of a sufficient amount of federal money for the transfer; or(2)
the effective date of the most recent legislative appropriation for purposes of this chapter.(c)
Money deposited to the credit of the next generation 9-1-1 service fund may be used only for the purpose of supporting the deployment and reliable operation of next generation 9-1-1 service, including the costs of equipment, operations, and administration. Money in the fund may be distributed to only the commission and emergency communication districts and must be used in a manner that complies with federal law.(c-1)
Except as provided by Subsection (c-2), the commission shall distribute from money appropriated to the commission for purposes of this chapter to each emergency communications district that does not participate in the state system a portion of the appropriated money in an amount proportional to the population of the area served by the district compared to the population of this state.(c-2)
For each emergency communication district created under Chapter 772 (Local Administration of Emergency Communications) that is entitled to a portion of the money distributed under Subsection (c-1), the commission shall:(1)
reduce the portion to which that district is entitled by an amount equal to nine percent of that portion and distribute that resulting amount in equal shares to all the emergency communication districts created under Chapter 772 (Local Administration of Emergency Communications); and(2)
distribute to that district the remainder of the portion to which the district is entitled under Subsection (c-1) that is not distributed under Subdivision (1).(c-3)
The remaining money appropriated to the commission for purposes of this chapter that is not otherwise distributed under Subsection (c-1) or (c-2) shall be deposited to the 9-1-1 services fee account.(d)
Interest earned on money deposited to the credit of the next generation 9-1-1 service fund is exempt from Section 404.071 (Disposition of Interest on Investments), Government Code. Interest on money in the fund shall be retained in the fund.(e)
The comptroller may issue guidelines for use by the commission and emergency communication districts in implementing this section.(f)
All money in the fund from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds under Section 9901 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Pub. L. No. 117-2) shall be distributed in accordance with this section not later than August 31, 2024, and all money distributed under this section from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds under Section 9901 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Pub. L. No. 117-2) shall be spent not later than December 31, 2026, for the deployment and reliable operation of next generation 9-1-1 service.(g)
This section expires December 31, 2028.
Source:
Section 771.0711 — Emergency Service Fee for Wireless Telecommunications Connections, https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/HS/htm/HS.771.htm#771.0711 (accessed Apr. 29, 2024).
