Section 11.14. Collection and disbursement of VoIP 911 fee.
(a) VoIP service customer 911 contribution.--
(1) Each VoIP provider or telecommunications carrier, on
the first monthly billing cycle after the effective date of
this section, shall collect a $1 fee per month for each
telephone number or successor dialing protocol assigned by a
VoIP provider to a VoIP service customer number that has
outbound calling capability and remit the collection
quarterly or, at the option of the provider or
telecommunications carrier, monthly, less the actual
uncollectibles experienced by the VoIP provider to the county
treasurer or, in a home rule county, the county official
responsible for the collection and disbursement of funds or,
as provided in subsection (d), to the State Treasurer. This
fee shall be stated separately in the VoIP service customer's
paper or electronic billing and the fee shall be collected
apart from and in addition to any fee levied by the VoIP
provider in whole or in part for the provision of 911
services or E-911 services.
(2) In the case of VoIP service customers purchasing
multiple dial tone telephone access lines from a VoIP
provider, the following multipliers shall be applied to
determine the contribution rate of each customer:
(i) For the first 25 lines, each line shall be
billed at the approved contribution rate.
(ii) For lines 26 through 100, each line shall be
billed at 0.75 of the approved contribution rate.
(iii) For lines 101 through 250, each line shall be
billed at 0.50 of the approved contribution rate.
(iv) For lines 251 through 500, each line shall be
billed at 0.20 of the approved contribution rate.
(v) For lines 501 or more, each line shall be billed
at 0.172 of the approved contribution rate.
(3) If a VoIP provider receives a partial payment for a
monthly bill from a VoIP service customer, the VoIP provider
may apply the payment against the amount the VoIP service
customer owes the VoIP provider first and then shall remit to
the county or the State Treasurer the lesser amount, if any,
as shall result therefrom.
(4) The fees collected and remitted under this
subsection shall not be subject to taxes or charges levied by
the Commonwealth or any political subdivision of this
Commonwealth, nor shall the fees be considered revenue of the
VoIP provider for any purpose.
(5) As reimbursement for administrative costs to cover
its expenses of billing, collecting and remitting the fees
during the reporting period, the VoIP provider is allowed to
retain for reimbursement up to 2% of the total fees collected
under this subsection, if remitted to the county, or up to 1%
of the total fees collected if remitted to the State
Treasurer.
(6) To the extent that a VoIP provider obtains
connections to the public switched telephone network from a
telecommunications carrier, that telecommunications carrier
shall not be required to assess or make contributions to any
911 or E-911 fund in connection with the customers or the
telephone numbers for which the VoIP provider is responsible
for collecting and making contributions under this section.
If, however, the telecommunications carrier is, by agreement
with the VoIP provider, required to make 911 or E-911
contributions on behalf of the VoIP provider customer, the
VoIP provider will not be responsible for collecting and
making contributions under this section.
(b) Reporting by VoIP providers.--With each remittance, a VoIP provider and telecommunications carrier shall supply the following information to the county treasurer or, in a home rule county, the county official responsible for the collection and disbursement of funds or, as applicable under subsection (d), to the State Treasurer and to the agency:
(1) The total fees collected under subsection (a)(1)
from its VoIP service customers during the reporting period.
If the telecommunications carrier has remitted the fees to
the county or the agency pursuant to an agreement with the
VoIP provider, the VoIP provider must provide notification of
such reporting agreement along with the telecommunications
carrier's name and 911 or E-911 account number.
(2) All VoIP providers and telecommunications carriers
shall provide the county or, if remitting to the State
Treasurer, the agency with such information as it shall
request, including the primary place of use of each
interconnected VoIP service customer, in writing in order to
discharge its obligations under this section, including, but
not limited to, the collection and deposit of the VoIP fee
and its administration of the fund. Information supplied by
VoIP providers pursuant to this section shall remain
confidential and release of such information shall be
governed by section 11.7.
(c) Collection enforcement.--A VoIP provider has no obligation to take any legal action to enforce the collection of any fee imposed pursuant to this section.
(d) Remittance of fees.--Remittance of fees shall be to the county treasurer or, in a home rule county, the county official responsible for the collection and disbursement of funds, who shall deposit receipts into the Restricted Account established under section 7(c). Remittance to counties shall consist of the fees collected from VoIP service customers located in that county, less any reductions or administrative fees permitted by this section. The VoIP provider may instead, at its option, remit the fees to the State Treasurer for deposit and distribution as provided under subsections (e) and (f). Elections shall be by rules established by the agency, which shall include appropriate notification to the affected counties of the exercise of this option.
(e) Establishment of fund.--There is hereby established in the State Treasury a nonlapsing restricted interest-bearing account to be known as the VoIP 911 Emergency Services Fund. The fund shall consist of the fees remitted to the State Treasurer pursuant to this section.
(f) Distribution of fees.--Moneys in the fund established by subsection (e) and the interest it accrues are hereby appropriated on a continuing basis to the agency to be disbursed by the agency. The agency shall make quarterly disbursements from the account to each county by March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31 of each year in an amount equal to the amount of fees collected from VoIP service customers located in that county and for the purpose of assisting counties with the implementation of an agency-approved plan adopted under section 5. The agency may retain up to 1% of the fees for costs incurred in administering this subsection.
(11.14 added July 9, 2008, P.L.948, No.72)