Tex.
Health & Safety Code Section 772.001
Definitions
(1)
“Automatic location identification” means a feature corresponding to automatic number identification by which the number provided by the automatic number identification feature is matched with the address or location of the telephone from which the call is made and is presented to the public safety answering point along with the number in a computerized 9-1-1 system.(2)
“Automatic number identification” means a feature that enables a service supplier to identify the telephone number of a caller and that operates by forwarding the caller’s telephone number to the public safety answering point, where the data is received by equipment that translates it into a visual display.(3)
“Base rate” means the rate or rates billed by a service supplier, as stated in the service supplier’s charges approved by the appropriate regulatory authority, that represent the service supplier’s recurring charges for local exchange access lines or their equivalent, exclusive of all taxes, fees, license costs, or similar charges.(4)
“Dispatch method” means the method of responding to a telephone request for emergency service by which a public safety answering point decides on the proper action to be taken and dispatches, when necessary, the appropriate emergency service unit.(4-a)
“Emergency services district” means an emergency services district created under Chapter 775 (Emergency Services Districts).(5)
“Local exchange access lines” means all types of lines or trunks that connect a service user to the service supplier’s local telephone exchange office.(6)
“9-1-1 service” means a communications service that connects users to a public safety answering point through a 9-1-1 system.(7)
“9-1-1 system” means a system of processing emergency 9-1-1 calls.(8)
“Participating jurisdiction” means a public agency that by vote consents to receive 9-1-1 service from an emergency communication district.(9)
“Principal service supplier” means the entity that provides the most central office lines to an emergency communication district.(10)
“Private safety entity” means a private entity that provides emergency fire-fighting, ambulance, or medical services.(11)
“Public agency” means a municipality or county in this state that provides or has authority to provide fire-fighting, law enforcement, ambulance, medical, or other emergency services.(12)
“Public safety agency” means the division of a public agency that provides fire-fighting, law enforcement, ambulance, medical, or other emergency services.(13)
“Public safety answering point” means a communications facility that:(A)
is operated continuously;(B)
is assigned the responsibility to receive 9-1-1 calls and, as appropriate, to dispatch emergency response services directly or to transfer or relay emergency 9-1-1 calls to other public safety agencies;(C)
is the first point of reception by a public safety agency of a 9-1-1 call; and(D)
serves the jurisdictions in which it is located or other participating jurisdictions.(14)
“Relay method” means the method of responding to a telephone request for emergency service by which a public safety answering point notes pertinent information and relays that information to the appropriate public safety agency or other provider of emergency services for appropriate action.(15)
“Selective routing” means the feature provided with computerized 9-1-1 service by which 9-1-1 calls are automatically routed to the answering point serving the place from which the call originates.(16)
“Service supplier” means an entity providing local exchange access lines to a service user in an emergency communication district.(17)
“Service user” means a person that is provided local exchange access lines, or their equivalent, in an emergency communication district.(18)
“Transfer method” means the method of responding to a telephone request for emergency service by which a public safety answering point transfers the call directly to the appropriate public safety agency or other provider of emergency services for appropriate action.(19)
“Data base” means the information stored in a management system that is a system of manual procedures and computer programs used to create, store, and update the data required for the selective routing and automatic location identification features in the provision of computerized 9-1-1 service.(20)
“Business service user” means a user of business service that provides telecommunications service, including 9-1-1 service, to end users through a publicly or privately owned telephone switch.(21)
“Business service” means a telecommunications service classified as a business service under rules adopted by the Public Utility Commission of Texas or under the applicable tariffs of the principal service supplier.(b)
The board of managers of a district by order may require a service supplier or business service user to provide to the district any information the board requires so long as that information and the format requested are readily available for the service provider’s records to determine whether the service provider or business service user is correctly billing and collecting the 9-1-1 emergency service fee and remitting the fee to the district. The information required from a service provider under this subsection may include:(1)
the number of local exchange access lines that the service provider has in the district; and(2)
the number of those local exchange access lines that the Commission on State Emergency Communications excluded from the definition of a local exchange access line or an equivalent local exchange access line under Section 771.063 (Definition of Local Exchange Access Line and Equivalent Local Exchange Access Line).(c)
The district shall maintain the confidentiality of information provided under this section that a service provider or business service user claims is confidential for competitive purposes. The confidential information is exempt from disclosure under Chapter 552 (Public Information), Government Code.(d)
The district may bring suit to enforce this section or to collect fees billed and collected by a service provider or business service user but not remitted to the district. In a proceeding to collect unremitted fees, a sworn affidavit of the district specifying the amount of unremitted fees is prima facie evidence that the fees were not remitted and of the amount of the unremitted fees.(e)
The Public Utility Commission of Texas may impose an administrative penalty under Subchapter B (Action to Enjoin or Require Compliance), Chapter 15 (Judicial Review, Enforcement, and Penalties), Utilities Code, against a service provider who is a person regulated under the Utilities Code if the person:(1)
does not provide information required by a district under this section; or(2)
bills and collects a 9-1-1 emergency service fee as required by this chapter but does not remit the fee to the appropriate district.
Source:
Section 772.001 — Definitions, https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/HS/htm/HS.772.htm#772.001 (accessed Jun. 5, 2024).
