An Act To Subject Prepaid Wireless Telephone Service to E-9-1-1 Funding Requirements
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1418
Committee: Utilities and Energy
Sponsors: BLISS, BARTLETT
Amends: 25 MRSA §292, 25 MRSA §2927

Legislative Document 
No. 1418 
H.P.982 
House of Representatives, March 22, 2005 
An Act To Subject Prepaid Wireless Telephone Service to E-9-1-1 
Funding Requirements 
Submitted by the Public Utilities Commission pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Reference to the Committee on Utilities and Energy suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative BLISS of South Portland. 
Cosponsored by Senator BARTLETT of Cumberland. 
Printed on recycled paper 
'7J'l~ 1/7. 7ll~ 
MllLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. I. 25 MRSA §292I, sub-6-C is enacted to read: 
6-C. 
Prepaid wireless telephone se.~vice. 
"Prepaid wireless 
telephone service" means 
a wireless telephone service that is 
paid for in advance of activation. 
Sec. 2. 25 MRSA §2927. sub-§I-B. as amended by PL 
2003, c. 
673, Pt. V, §4 and affected by §29, is further amended to read: 
I-B. 
Statewide 
E-9-1-1 
surcharge. 
The 
activities 
authorized 
under 
this 
chapter 
are 
funded 
through 
a 
special 
statewide 
E-9-l-l 
surcharge 
levied 
on 
each 
residential 
and 
business 
telephone 
exchange 
line, 
including 
private 
branch 
exchange 
lines 
and 
Centrex 
lines, 
cellular 
or 
wireless 
telecommunications 
service 
subscribers, 
prepaid 
wireless 
telephone service customers and semipublic coin and public access 
lines. 
The statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge may not be imposed on 
more than 25 lines or numbers per customer billing account. 
In 
the 
case 
of 
cellular 
or 
wireless 
telecommunications 
service 
subscribers, the place of residence of those subscribers must be 
determined 
according 
to 
the 
sourcing 
rules 
for 
mobile 
telecommunications services as set forth in Title 36, 
section 
2556. 
The statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge is 50¢ per month per line 
or number. 
The statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge must be billed on a 
monthly 
basis 
by 
each 
local 
exchange 
telephone 
utility 
or 
cellular or wireless telecommunications service provider and be 
shown 
separately 
as 
a 
statewide 
E-9-1-1 
surcharge 
on 
the 
customer's bill. 
To 
comply with the surcharge reguirement, 
a 
prepaid wireless telephone service provider shall collect from 
the customer the surcharge for the entire period of the prepaid 
wireless telephone service at a rate of 50¢ per month at the time 
the customer purchases the service or shall collect the 
50¢ 
surcharge at the beginning of each month for which time is left 
on the service. 
Sec. 3. 25 MRSA §2927, sub-§2-B, as amended by PL 2001, c. 
439, Pt. EEEE, §7, is further amended to read: 
2-B. 
Surcharge remittance. 
Each local exchange telephone 
utility aBeL 
cellular 
or 
wireless 
telecommunications 
service 
provider and prepaid wireless telephone service provider shall 
remit the statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge revenues collected from its 
customers pursuant to this section on a monthly basis and within 
one month of the month collected to the Treasurer of State for 
deposit in a separate account known as the E-9-l-l fund. 
Service 
providers shall provide, 
on 
a 
form 
approved 
by 
the 
bureau, 
supporting data, including but not limited to the following: 
Page l-LR0573(1) 
A. 
The 
calculation 
used 
to 
arrive 
at 
the 
surcharge 
remittance amount; 
B. 
The calculation used to arrive at the uncollectible 
amount of surcharge; 
C. 
The total surcharge; 
D. 
The month and year for which surcharge is remitted; 
E. 
The legal name of company and telephone number and, if 
applicable, the parent company name, address and telephone 
number; and 
F. 
The preparer's name and telephone number. 
SUMMARY 
This bill 
amends 
the 
law establishing emergency E-9-1-1 
assessment procedures to clarify that prepaid wireless telephone 
service is 
subject 
to 
the 
same 
monthly 
assessment 
as 
other 
telecommunications service. 
Under the procedure established by 
the bilL an individual customer that purchases, in the State, a 
prepaid wireless telephone or a card or other device that allows 
additional 
use 
of 
a 
previously 
purchased 
prepaid 
wireless 
telephone shall pay the SOt per month assessment by one of 2 
methods, as determined by the provider. 
Under the first method, 
the customer shall at the time of purchase pay SOt per month for 
each month in which the telephone or card may be used by that 
customer. 
Under the 2nd method, the customer shall pay SOt per 
month at the beginning of each month for which time is left on 
the service.