The New York State Assembly is considering a bill that would amend county laws and state finance laws that relate to the state’s cellular telephone surcharge.
New York’s 70-cents per month surcharge on wireless subscribers was established in 1991 to compensate the Division of State Police for its efforts in handling most wireless distress calls. At the time, wireless calls were made mainly from car phones, and the State Police by default had jurisdiction over most of the wireless E911 calls being made, said an industry source.
By 1995, however, more and more people were using handheld wireless phones, and the county police were beginning to deal with increasing volumes of calls without having access to any of the funds being collected by the state police.
Today, the state police receives initial wireless 911 calls in 53 of New York’s 62 counties. With nearly 2.5 million wireless customers in New York, the state police collects in the neighborhood of $21 million each year under current law.
The Binghamton, N.Y., Press & Sun-Bulletin recently reported some New York county sheriffs are pushing to have wireless 911 calls relayed directly to 911 centers rather than to the state police, saying delays caused by transferring wireless 911 calls potentially could be avoided. The article also said some county sheriffs are unhappy that the funds collected for wireless E911 go to the state police and not the sheriff’s departments.
The current law also was drafted prior to the Federal Communications Commission’s 1996 mandate concerning wireless E911 services, leaving wireless carriers without a cost-recovery method for deploying E911 services.
Under the new bill, customers would continue to pay the 70-cents per month surcharge on their wireless phone bill. However, instead of turning over the money to the state police, wireless carriers would give the money to the comptroller on a quarterly basis. The bill allows operators to retain 2 percent of the funds it collects as an administrative fee.
All funds then would be deposited into a special fund known as the “New York State Wireless Emergency Telephone Service Account” to be used for wireless enhanced 911 public safety answering point costs and wireless enhanced 911 service costs. Wireless carriers and public-safety organizations then would submit invoices for their costs related to deploying and providing wireless E911 services.
In addition, the bill would create a New York State 911 commission that would be responsible for planning, designing and implementing an integrated E911 telecommunications system throughout the state. The commission would consist of 17 members appointed by the governor and state legislators representing various public-safety groups and wireless carriers.
The commission would be charged with reviewing all 911 reports submitted and developing a plan to implement E911 and wireless E911 service statewide, including all necessary funding and technical recommendations.
The bill also would give wireless providers liability protection except in the cases of willful misconduct or gross negligence.
New York’s wireless carriers favor the bill. Peter White, director of legal/external affairs for AT&T Wireless Services Inc., said carriers worked with the bill’s sponsor, Joseph Morelle, to develop language that took good points from other state’s wireless 911 legislation.
Calls to the New York State Police general counsel were not returned by RCR press time.
