HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

431

TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to enhanced 911 surcharge.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  Chapter 138, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§138-    Prepaid wireless enhanced 911 surcharge.  (a)  A prepaid wireless enhanced 911 surcharge of 1.2 per cent for each retail sale of a prepaid wireless telecommunications service shall be assessed and collected by each communications service provider, reseller, or seller.  The surcharge is the liability of the customer and not of the provider, reseller, or seller, and shall be listed separately on any receipt or invoice provided to the customer.

     (b)  Each communications service provider, reseller, or seller shall remit to the enhanced 911 fund, within sixty days after the end of the calendar month in which any surcharge is collected:

     (1)  An amount that represents the surcharges collected less amounts retained for administrative expenses incurred by the communications service provider, reseller, or seller as provided in subsection (c); and

     (2)  The name, communication service connection, shipping address, or billing address of each customer.

     (c)  Each communications service provider, reseller, or seller may retain 3 per cent of the amount of surcharges collected from each retail sale to offset administrative expenses associated with billing and collecting the surcharge.

     (d)  The surcharge collected by the communications service provider, reseller, or seller pursuant to this section shall not be subject to any tax, nor are the surcharges considered gross income of the provider, reseller, or seller.

     (e)  If the sale of the prepaid wireless telecommunications service does not take place at the provider's, reseller's, or seller's place of business, it shall be conclusively determined to take place at the customer's shipping address, or if there is no item shipped, the customer's billing address."

     SECTION 2.  Section 138-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

     1.   By adding five new definitions to be appropriately inserted and to read:

     ""Customer" means a person who subscribes to a residential or commercial communications service connection or purchases prepaid wireless telecommunications service in a retail sale.

     "Prepaid wireless telecommunications service" means a wireless telecommunications service sold in a retail sale that allows a caller to dial 911 to access the 911 system, must be prepaid for in advance, and is sold in predetermined units or dollars that decline with use of the service.

     "Retail sale" means the purchase of prepaid wireless telecommunications service from a communications service provider, reseller, or seller for any purpose other than resale.

     "Seller" means a person who sells retail prepaid wireless telecommunications service to an end user whose place of primary use is within the State.

     "Wireless telecommunications service" means commercial mobile radio service as defined in title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 20.3, as amended."

     2.   By amending the definition of "communications service provider" to read:

     ""Communications service provider" or "provider" means an entity that provides communications service to a subscriber.

     3.   By repealing the definition of "prepaid connection".

     [""Prepaid connection" means the sale of a communications service that is paid for in advance or sold in predetermined units of which the number of units declines with use of the services."]

     SECTION 3.  Section 138-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§138-3  Enhanced 911 fund.  There is established outside the state treasury a special fund, to be known as the enhanced 911 fund, to be administered by the board.  The fund shall consist of amounts collected under [section] sections 138-4[.] and 138-  .  The board shall place the funds in an interest-bearing account at any federally insured financial institution, separate and apart from the general fund of the State.  Moneys in the fund shall be expended exclusively by the board for the purposes of ensuring adequate funding to deploy and sustain enhanced 911 service, developing and funding future enhanced 911 technologies, and funding expenses of administering the fund."

     SECTION 4.  Section 138-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

     1.   By amending subsection (b) to read:

     "(b)  The rate of the surcharge shall be set at 66 cents per month for each communications service connection.  The surcharge shall have uniform application and shall be imposed on each communications service connection operating within the State except:

     (1)  Connections billed to federal, state, and county governmental entities;

     (2)  Prepaid wireless telecommunications service connections; and

     (3)  Connections provided by the public utility providing telecommunications services and land line enhanced 911 services through section 269-16.95."

      2.  By amending subsection (i) to read:

     "(i) Each customer who [is subject to this chapter] subscribes to a residential or commercial communications service connection shall be liable to the State for the surcharge imposed by this section until it has been paid to the communications service provider.  Communications service providers or resellers shall have no liability to remit surcharges that have not been paid by customers.  A communications service provider or reseller shall have no obligation to take any legal action to enforce the collection of the surcharge for which any customer is billed.  However, the board may initiate a collection action against the customer.  If the board prevails in such a collection action, reasonable attorney's fees and costs shall be awarded."

     SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2016.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

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Report Title:

911 Surcharge; Prepaid Wireless Telecommunications Service

 

Description:

Establishes a prepaid wireless 911 surcharge of 1.2 per cent of each retail sale by a communication service provider, reseller, or seller, which shall be the liability of the customer.

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.