A. There is created in the state treasury a fund that shall be known as the "enhanced 911 fund". The fund shall be administered by the division.
B. All surcharges collected and remitted to the department shall be deposited in the fund.
C. Money deposited in the fund and income earned by investment of the fund are appropriated for expenditure in accordance with the Enhanced 911 Act and shall not revert to the general fund.
D. Payments shall be made from the fund to, or on behalf of, participating local governing bodies or their fiscal agents upon vouchers signed by the director of the division solely for the purpose of reimbursing local governing bodies or their fiscal agents and communications service providers for their costs of providing enhanced 911 service. A person who purchases communication services from a communications service provider for the purpose of reselling that service is not eligible for reimbursement from the fund. Money in the fund may be used for the payment of bonds issued pursuant to the Enhanced 911 Bond Act.
E. Annually, the division may expend no more than five percent of all money deposited annually in the fund for administering and coordinating activities associated with implementation of the Enhanced 911 Act.
F. Money in the fund may be awarded as grant assistance to provide enhanced 911 service and equipment upon application of local governing bodies or their fiscal agents to the division and upon approval by the state board of finance. If it is anticipated that the funds available to pay all requests for grants will be insufficient, the state board of finance may reduce the percentage of assistance to be awarded. In the event of such reduction, the state board of finance may award supplemental grants to local governing bodies that demonstrate financial hardship.
G. After requesting enhanced 911 service from a communications service provider, a local governing body may, by ordinance or resolution, recover from the fund an amount necessary to recover the costs of providing the enhanced 911 system in its designated 911 service area. The division, on behalf of local governing bodies, shall directly pay or reimburse communications service providers for their costs of providing enhanced 911 service. If a communications service provider does not receive payment or reimbursement for the costs of providing enhanced 911 service, the provider is not obligated to provide that service.
H. The division shall report to the legislature each session the status of the fund and whether the current level of the 911 emergency surcharge is sufficient, excessive or insufficient to fund the anticipated needs for the next year.
History: Laws 1989, ch. 25, § 8; 1990, ch. 86, § 10; 1990, ch. 87, § 2; 1993, ch. 48, § 9; 2001, ch. 110, § 6; 2005, ch. 203, § 5; 2017, ch. 122, § 4.
ANNOTATIONSThe 2017 amendment, effective June 16, 2017, changed references to "telecommunications company or commercial mobile radio service provider" to "communications service provider"; in Subsections D and G, replaced "commercial mobile radio" with "communications" and deleted all references to "telecommunications companies" throughout the subsections.
The 2005 amendment, effective July 1, 2005, provided in Subsection D that payments shall be made from the fund to the fiscal agents of local governing bodies solely for the purpose of reimbursing local governing bodies or their agents, commercial mobile radio service providers or telecommunications companies for the cost of providing enhanced 911 service, that the purchase of service for the purpose of reselling it does not qualify for reimbursement and that money in the fund may be used to pay bonds pursuant to the Enhanced 911 Bond Act; deleted the provision in former Subsection E that money in the fund may be used to acquire or maintain 911 system equipment, including repayment of bonds; added Subsection F to provide that money in the fund may be awarded as grant assistance to provide enhanced 911 service and equipment; and added Subsection G.
Temporary provision. — Laws 2005, ch. 203, § 14, provided that all money in the wireless enhanced 911 fund and network and database surcharge fund is transferred to the enhanced 911 fund.
The 2001 amendment, effective July 1, 2001, inserted "or on behalf of" in Subsection D; substituted "sufficient" for "adequate" in Subsection F; and made stylistic changes.
The 1993 amendment, effective July 1, 1993, inserted "are hereby appropriated for expenditure in accordance with the Enhanced 911 Act and" in Subsection C; added the first sentence of Subsection E; and made stylistic changes throughout the section.
The 1990 amendment, effective March 2, 1990, added present Subsections C and E and redesignated former Subsections C and D as present Subsections D and F.