H 4242 Session 112 (1997-1998)
H 4242 General Bill, By Vaughn and McMahand
Similar(S 778)
A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION
23-47-65, SO AS TO CREATE THE COMMERCIAL MOBILE RADIO SERVICE BOARD AND TO
PROVIDE FOR ITS MEMBERS, POWERS, AND DUTIES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
PROVIDING FOR ALLOCATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE REVENUES GENERATED BY THE
COLLECTION OF THE COMMERCIAL MOBILE RADIO SERVICE 911 CHARGES; TO AMEND
SECTION 23-47-10, RELATING TO PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS' DEFINITIONS, SO AS
TO REVISE DEFINITIONS AND DEFINE NEW TERMS; TO AMEND SECTION 23-47-50,
RELATING TO 911 SUBSCRIBER BILLING, SO AS TO ESTABLISH A MONTHLY COMMERCIAL
MOBILE RADIO SERVICE (CMRS) 911 CHARGE FOR EACH CMRS CONNECTION WITH A SOUTH
CAROLINA BILLING ADDRESS OR MOBILE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER CONTAINING A SOUTH
CAROLINA AREA CODE; AND TO AMEND SECTION 23-47-70, RELATING TO IMMUNITY FROM
LIABILITY, SO AS TO EXTEND IMMUNITY TO CERTAIN COMMERCIAL MOBILE RADIO SERVICE
PROVIDERS, OR SERVICE SUPPLIERS, AND THEIR OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, ASSIGNS, OR
AGENTS FROM CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY IN CONNECTION WITH DEVELOPMENT,
DESIGN, INSTALLATION, OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, PERFORMANCE, OR PROVISION OF 911
SERVICE AND PROVISION OF SUBSCRIBER INFORMATION TO GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES.
05/28/97 House Introduced and read first time HJ-102
05/28/97 House Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and
Industry HJ-102
A BILL
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
1976, BY ADDING SECTION 23-47-65, SO AS TO CREATE THE
COMMERCIAL MOBILE RADIO SERVICE BOARD AND TO
PROVIDE FOR ITS MEMBERS, POWERS, AND DUTIES
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROVIDING FOR
ALLOCATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE REVENUES
GENERATED BY THE COLLECTION OF THE COMMERCIAL
MOBILE RADIO SERVICE 911 CHARGES; TO AMEND
SECTION 23-47-10, RELATING TO PUBLIC SAFETY
COMMUNICATIONS' DEFINITIONS, SO AS TO REVISE
DEFINITIONS AND DEFINE NEW TERMS; TO AMEND
SECTION 23-47-50, RELATING TO 911 SUBSCRIBER BILLING,
SO AS TO ESTABLISH A MONTHLY COMMERCIAL MOBILE
RADIO SERVICE (CMRS) 911 CHARGE FOR EACH CMRS
CONNECTION WITH A SOUTH CAROLINA BILLING
ADDRESS OR MOBILE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER
CONTAINING A SOUTH CAROLINA AREA CODE; AND TO
AMEND SECTION 23-47-70, RELATING TO IMMUNITY FROM
LIABILITY, SO AS TO EXTEND IMMUNITY TO CERTAIN
COMMERCIAL MOBILE RADIO SERVICE PROVIDERS, OR
SERVICE SUPPLIERS, AND THEIR OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES,
ASSIGNS, OR AGENTS FROM CIVIL AND CRIMINAL
LIABILITY IN CONNECTION WITH DEVELOPMENT, DESIGN,
INSTALLATION, OPERATION, MAINTENANCE,
PERFORMANCE, OR PROVISION OF 911 SERVICE AND
PROVISION OF SUBSCRIBER INFORMATION TO
GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South
Carolina:
SECTION 1. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 23-47-65. (A) The Commercial Mobile Radio Service
Emergency Telephone Services Board is created and consists of the
State Auditor, ex officio; and the Director of the Office of
Information Resources, Budget and Control Board, ex officio; two
representatives nominated by a majority of the CMRS providers
licensed to do business in the State; two 911 system employees
nominated by a majority of the E911 directors/coordinators in the
State; one representative nominated by the majority of the telephone
(local exchange access facility) service suppliers licensed to do
business in the State; and two consumer representatives residing in
the State. All except the ex officio members must be appointed by
the Governor for a three-year term.
(B) The board shall:
(1) establish and maintain an interest-bearing account in
which revenues from the CMRS 911 charge levied on CMRS
connections must be deposited;
(2) manage and disburse the funds from the account in the
following manner:
(a) distribute not more than thirty-nine percent of the total
monthly revenues in the interest-bearing account to PSAP
administrators based on CMRS 911 call volume for expenses
incurred for the answering, routing, and proper disposition of CMRS
911 calls;
(b) hold and distribute not less than fifty-seven percent of
the total monthly revenues in the interest-bearing account solely for
the purposes of complying with applicable requirements of Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) docket #94-102. These funds
may be utilized by the PSAP and the CMRS providers licensed to do
business in this State for these purposes in connection with
compliance with the FCC requirements: upgrading, purchasing,
programming, and installing necessary data, hardware, and software.
Invoices detailing specific expenses for these purposes must be
presented to the board in connection with any request for
reimbursement, and the request must be approved by a majority vote
of the board. An invoice presented to the board for reimbursement
of costs not provided for in this section may be approved only by a
unanimous vote of the board; however, no reimbursement may be
made for costs unrelated to compliance with applicable requirements
of FCC docket #94-102;
(c) an amount not to exceed two percent of the monthly
fees collected may be utilized by the board to compensate the
independent auditor provided for in subitem (e), and for expenses
which the board is authorized to incur by contract, or otherwise, for
administrative, legal, support, or other services to assist the board to
fulfill its responsibilities under this chapter;
(d) submit annual reports to the State Auditor's Office
outlining fees collected and monies disbursed to PSAP and CMRS
providers;
(e) retain an independent, private auditor, as provided in
the Consolidated Procurement Code, for the purposes of receiving,
maintaining, and verifying the accuracy of any proprietary
information submitted to the board by CMRS providers. Due to the
confidential and proprietary nature of the information submitted by
CMRS providers, the information may not be released to a party
other than the State Auditor and is expressly exempt from disclosure
pursuant to Chapter 4 of Title 30 (Freedom of Information Act). The
information collected by the auditor only may be released in
aggregate amounts that do not identify or allow identification of
numbers of subscribers or revenues attributable to an individual
CMRS provider;
(f) annually calculate the average 911 charge in
accordance with Section 23-47-50(F);
(g) notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, one
year from the effective date of this act, the board may promulgate
regulations that alter the manner in which CMRS 911 charges are
calculated; however, the charge may not exceed one dollar.
(C) CMRS providers are entitled to retain two percent of the fees
collected as reimbursement for collection and handling of the CMRS
911 charge."
SECTION 2. Section 23-47-10 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act
245 of 1991, is amended to read:
"Section 23-47-10. As used in this chapter:
(1) '911 charge' means a fee to the local government
for the 911 service start-up equipment costs, subscriber notification
costs, addressing costs, billing costs, and nonrecurring and recurring
installation, maintenance service, and network charges of a service
supplier providing 911 service as provided in this chapter.
(2) '911 system' or '911 service' means an
emergency telephone system that provides the user of the public
telephone system with the ability to reach a public safety answering
point by dialing the digits 911. The term 911 system or service also
includes 'enhanced 911 service', which means an emergency
telephone system with 911 service, and in addition, directs 911 calls
to appropriate public safety answering points by selective routing
based on the geographical location from which the call originated and
provides the capability for automatic number identification and
automatic location identification features.
(3) 'Addressing' means the assigning of a
numerical address and street name (the name may be numerical) to
each location within a local government's geographical area
necessary to provide public safety service as determined by the local
government. This address replaces any route and box number
currently in place in the '911' data base and facilitates quicker
response by public safety agencies.
(4) 'Automatic location identification' means an
enhanced 911 service capability that enables the automatic display of
the address.
(5) 'Automatic number identification' means an
enhanced 911 service capability that enables the automatic display of
the telephone number used to place a 911 call.
(6) 'Basic 911 system' means a 911 system or
911 service without enhancement.
(7) '911 plan' means a plan for the 911 system,
enhanced 911 system, or an
(8) 'Customer' means the local government
subscribing to 911 service from a service supplier.
(9) 'Enhanced 911 network features' means
selective routing, automatic number identification, and location
identification.
(10) 'Enhancement' means any addition to a
911 system such as automatic number identification, selective routing
of calls, or other future technological advancements, as determined
by the Public Service Commission.
(11) 'Exchange access facility' means the
access from a particular telephone subscriber's premises to the
telephone system of a service supplier. Exchange access facilities
include service supplier provided access lines, PBX trunks, and
Centrex network access registers, all as defined by the South Carolina
Public Service Commission. Exchange access facilities do not include
service supplier owned and operated telephone pay station lines, or
wide area telecommunications service (wats), foreign exchange (fx),
or incoming lines.
(12) 'Local government' means any city,
county, or political subdivision of the State.
(13) 'Mapping' means the development of a
computerized geographical display system of roads and structure
where emergency response may be required.
(14) 'Public safety agent' means a functional
agency which provides fire fighting, law enforcement, medical, or
other emergency services.
(15) 'Public safety answering point' (PSAP)
means a communications facility operated on a twenty-four hour
basis which first receives 911 calls from persons in a 911 service area
and which may directly dispatch public safety services or extend,
transfer, or relay 911 calls to appropriate public safety agencies. A
PSAP may be designated to primary or secondary exchange service,
referring to the order in which calls are directed for answering.
(16) 'Regional systems' means the formation
of two or more local governments or multi-jurisdictional systems for
the purpose of jointly forming and funding 911 systems.
(17) 'Service supplier' means a person,
company, or corporation, public or private, providing local exchange
telephone service and subject to regulation by the South Carolina
Public Service Commission.
(18) 'Tariff rate' means the recurring or
nonrecurring rates billed by the service supplier as stated in the
service supplier's tariff and approved by the Public Service
Commission, which represents the service supplier's recurring
charges for exchange access facilities, exclusive of all taxes, fees,
licenses, or similar charges.
(19) 'Telephone subscriber' or 'subscriber'
means a person or entity to whom exchange telephone service, either
residential or commercial, is provided and in return for which the
person or entity is billed on a monthly basis. When the same person,
business, or organization has several telephone access lines, each
exchange access facility constitutes a separate subscription.
(1) '911 charge' means a fee to the local government for
the 911 service start-up equipment costs, subscriber notification
costs, addressing costs, billing costs, and nonrecurring and recurring
installation, maintenance service, and network charges of a service
supplier providing 911 service as provided in this chapter.
(2) '911 plan' means a plan for the 911 system, enhanced 911
system, or any amendment to the plan developed by a county or
municipality.
(3) '911 system' or '911 service' means an emergency telephone
system that provides the user of the public telephone system with the
ability to reach a public safety answering point by dialing the digits
911. The term also includes 'enhanced 911 service'.
(4) 'Addressing' means the assigning of a numerical address and
street name (the name may be numerical) to each location within a
local government's geographical area necessary to provide public
safety service as determined by the local government. This address
replaces any route and box number currently in place in the '911'
database and facilitates quicker response by public safety agencies.
(5) 'Automatic location identification' means an enhanced 911
service capability that enables the automatic display of information.
(6) 'Automatic number identification' means an enhanced 911
service capability that enables the automatic display of the
seven-digit number used to place a 911 call.
(7) 'Basic 911 system' means a system by which the various
emergency functions provided by public safety agencies within each
local government's jurisdiction may be accessed utilizing the
three-digit number 911, but no available options of enhanced systems
are included in the system.
(8) 'Board' means the CMRS Emergency Telephone Services
Board established in this chapter.
(9) 'CMRS connection' means each account or number assigned
to a CMRS customer.
(10) 'Commercial mobile radio service' or 'CMRS' means
commercial mobile service under Sections 3(27) and 332(d), Federal
Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. Section 151 et seq.),
Federal Communications Commission Rules, and the Omnibus
Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. The term includes any wireless
two-way communication device, including radio-telephone
communications used in cellular telephone service, personal
communication service, or the functional and/or competitive
equivalent of a radio-telephone communications line used in cellular
telephone service, a personal communication service, or a network
radio access line. The term does not include services whose
customers do not have access to 911 service, a communication
channel suitable only for data transmission, a wireless roaming
service or other nonlocal radio access line service, or a private
telecommunications system.
(11) 'Customer' means the local government subscribing to 911
service from a service supplier.
(12) 'Enhanced 911 network features' means selective routing,
automatic number identification, and location identification.
(13) 'Enhanced 911 service' or 'enhanced 911 system', means a
telephone exchange communications service consisting of telephone
network features and public safety answering points designated by
the local government which enables users of the public telephone
system to access a 911 public safety communications center by
dialing the digits 911. The service directs 911 calls to appropriate
public safety answering points by selective routing based on the
geographical location from which the call originated and provides the
capability for automatic number identification and automatic location
identification.
(14) 'Enhancement' means an addition to a 911 system including,
but not limited to, automatic number identification, selective routing
of calls, or other future technological advancements, as determined
by the Public Service Commission.
(15) 'Exchange access facility' means the access from a particular
telephone subscriber's premises to the telephone system of a service
supplier. Exchange access facilities include service supplier provided
access lines, PBX trunks, and Centrex network access registers, all as
defined by the South Carolina Public Service Commission. Exchange
access facilities do not include service supplier owned and operated
telephone pay station lines, or wide area telecommunications service
(wats), foreign exchange (fx), or incoming lines.
(16) 'Local government' means a city, county, or political
subdivision of the State.
(17) 'Mapping' means the development of a computerized
geographical display system of roads and structures where emergency
response may be required.
(18) 'Public safety agent' means a functional agency which
provides fire fighting, law enforcement, medical, or other emergency
services.
(19) 'Public safety answering point' or 'PSAP' means a
communications facility operated on a twenty-four hour basis which
first receives 911 calls from persons in a 911 service area and which
may directly dispatch public safety services or extend, transfer, or
relay 911 calls to appropriate public safety agencies. A PSAP may be
designated to primary or secondary exchange service, referring to the
order in which calls are directed for answering.
(20) 'Regional systems' means the formation of two or more
local governments or multi-jurisdictional systems for the purpose of
jointly forming and funding 911 systems.
(21) 'Selective routing' means the method employed to direct 911
calls to the appropriate public safety answering point based on the
geographical location from which the call originated.
(22) 'Service subscriber' means a person, company, corporation,
business, association, or party not exempt from county or municipal
taxes or utility franchise assessments, who is provided telephone
(local exchange access facility) service or CMRS service in the
political subdivision.
(23) 'Service supplier' means a person, company, or corporation,
public or private, providing exchange telephone service or CMRS
service throughout the political subdivision.
(24) 'Tariff rate' means the recurring or nonrecurring rates billed
by the service supplier as stated in the service supplier's tariff and
approved by the Public Service Commission, which represents the
service supplier's recurring charges for exchange access facilities,
exclusive of all taxes, fees, licenses, or similar charges.
(25) 'Telephone subscriber' or 'subscriber' means a person or
entity to whom exchange telephone service, either residential or
commercial, is provided and in return for which the person or entity
is billed on a monthly basis. When the same person, business, or
organization has several telephone access lines, each exchange access
facility constitutes a separate subscription."
SECTION 3. Section 23-47-50(F) of the 1976 Code, as added by
Act 245 of 1991, is amended to read:
"(F) Fees collected by the service supplier pursuant to this
section are not subject to any tax, fee, or assessment, nor are they
considered revenue of the service supplier. A monthly
CMRS 911 charge is levied for each CMRS connection which has a
billing address within this State or a mobile identification number
containing an area code assigned to South Carolina by the North
American Numbering Plan Administrator. The amount of the levy,
not to exceed one dollar per charge, must be determined annually by
the board based upon the average monthly telephone (local exchange
access facility) 911 charges paid in South Carolina. The board may
calculate the CMRS 911 charge, based upon a review of one or more
months during the year preceding the calculation, of telephone (local
exchange access facility) charges paid in South Carolina. The CMRS
911 charge must be applied uniformly and must be imposed
throughout the State; however, trunks or service lines used to supply
service to CMRS providers are not subject to a CMRS 911 levy. The
CMRS 911 charges collected by CMRS providers must be remitted
to the CMRS Emergency Telephone Services Board within sixty days
after the end of the month in which the fees are collected. The funds
collected pursuant to this subsection are not general fund revenue of
the State and must be kept in a fund separate and apart from the
general fund to be expended as provided in Section 23-47-65.
(G) (1) Fees collected by the service supplier pursuant to this
section are not subject to any tax, fee, or assessment, and these fees
are not considered revenue of the service supplier.
(2) A 911 charge, including a CMRS 911 charge, must be added
to the billing by the service supplier to the service subscriber and may
be stated separately.
(3) A billed subscriber is liable for any 911 charge, including a
CMRS 911 charge, imposed under this chapter until it has been paid
to the service supplier.
(4) The State and its political subdivisions, including the board,
may pursue an action against a delinquent subscriber or service user
for any remedy available at law or in equity for the collection of a
debt."
SECTION 4. Section 23-47-70 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act
245 of 1991, is amended by adding at the end:
"(C) Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no CMRS
provider, or service supplier if not subject to tariff, its officers,
employees, assigns, or agents, may be liable for civil damages or
criminal liability in connection with the development, design,
installation, operation, maintenance, performance, or provision of
911 service. No CMRS provider, or service supplier, its officers,
employees, assigns, or agents may be liable for civil damages or
criminal liability in connection with the release of subscriber
information to a governmental entity as required under this chapter."
SECTION 5. If a provision of this act or the application of a
provision is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other
provisions or applications of the act which can be given effect
without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the
provisions of this act are severable.
SECTION 6. The Commercial Mobile Radio Service Emergency
Telephone Services Board, as provided for in Section 23-47-65 of the
1976 Code, as added by Section 1 of this act, shall conduct a cost
study to be submitted to the House Ways and Means Committee and
Senate Finance Committee one year from this act's effective date.
The board may include any information it considers appropriate to
assist the General Assembly in determining whether future legislation
is necessary or appropriate; however, the report must include
information to assist in determining whether to adjust the
Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS) 911 charge to reflect
actual costs incurred by Public Safety Answering Points or CMRS
providers for compliance with applicable requirements of Federal
Communications Commission docket #94-10.
SECTION 7. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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