An Act To Reduce the Amount Collected for the Purpose of the E-9-1-1 System
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 2265
Committee Amendment CA_A_H929 (House)
Amends: 25 MRSA §2927

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to H.P. 1628, L.D. 2265, Bill, "An Act To 
Reduce the Amount Collected for the Purpose of the E-9-1-1 System" 
Amend the bill by inserting after the title and before the enacting clause the 
following: 
'Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and 
Whereas, the State's E-9-1-1 service provides significant public safety benefits by 
enabling the public to dial 9-1-1 in the event of an emergency and speeding up the 
dispatch of emergency services through automatic caller location information; and 
Whereas, the E-9-1-1 system is funded by a special statewide surcharge on 
telephone lines; and 
Whereas, in recent years, the E-9-1-1 surcharge, which is established in statute and 
has been fixed at 50¢ per line per month since 2001, has generated revenues in excess of 
necessary expenditures to fund the E-9-1-1 system; and 
Whereas, it is necessary to reduce the E-9-1-1 surcharge as soon as possible to 
ensure that the money contributed by telephone ratepayers to fund the E-9-I -I system is 
used for that purpose and the surcharge amount going forward is consistent with 
expenditure needs; and 
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within 
the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as 
immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, 
therefore,' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 1 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 25 MRSA §2927, sub-§l-B, as amended by PL 2007, c. 68, §5, is further 
amended to read: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "~,, to H.P. 1628, L.D. 2265 
I-B. Statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge. The activities authorized under this chapter are 
funded through a special statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge levied on each residential and 
business telephone exchange line, including private branch exchange lines and Centrex 
lines, cellular or wireless telecommunications service customers, including prepaid 
wireless telephone service customers, interconnected voice over Internet protocol 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, 
except that this limitation does not apply to prepaid wireless telephone services. In the 
case of cellular or wireless telecommunications service customers, the place of residence 
of those customers 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 ~ 
30¢ per month per line or number or, in the case of prepaid wireless 
telephone services, ~ 
30¢ per month or 30-day increment of service per customer. The 
statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge must be collected from the customer on a monthly basis by 
each local exchange telephone utility, cellular or wireless telecommunications service 
provider and interconnected voice over Internet protocol service provider and be shown 
separately as a statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge on the customer's bill, except that in the case 
of prepaid wireless telephone service, the collection of the statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge is 
governed by subsection I-C. 
Sec. 2. Review of E-9-1-1 fund and surcharge; report. The Public Utilities 
Commission, Emergency Services Communication Bureau, referred to in this section as 
"the bureau," shall conduct a thorough review of the E-9-1-1 fund under the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 25, section 2927, including but not limited to surcharge revenue 
history and projections, expenditure history and projections and unexpended amounts in 
the fund. Based on the results of the review, the bureau shall make a recommendation 
regarding the E-9-1-1 surcharge amount under Title 25, section 2927, subsection I-B. No 
later than February 1, 2009, the bureau shall submit the results of its review and its 
recommendation regarding the E-9-1-1 surcharge to the joint standing committee of the 
Legislature having jurisdiction over utilities matters. The report required under this 
section may be combined with the February 1, 2009 annual report required under Title 
25, section 2927, subsection 5. After receipt and review of the report, the joint standing 
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over utilities matters may submit 
legislation regarding the E-9-1-1 surcharge to the First Regular Session of the 124th 
Legislature. 
Sec. 3. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and 
allocations are made. 
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION 
Emergency Services Communication Bureau 0994 
Initiative: Deallocates funds within the Emergency Services Communication Bureau as a 
result of a reduction in the E-9-1-1 surcharge from SO¢ to 30¢ per line per month. 
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS 
All Other 
2007-08 
$0 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
2008-09 
($3,520,000) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A· t. H.P. 1628, L.D. 2265 
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL 
$0 
($3,520,000) 
Emergency clause. 
In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this 
legislation takes effect when approved.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment reduces the statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge to 30¢ per line per month, 
rather than to 45¢ per line per month as proposed in the bill. The amendment adds a 
provision to the bill to require the Public Utilities Commission, Emergency Services 
Communication Bureau to conduct a thorough review of the E-9-1-1 fund, including but 
not limited to surcharge revenue history and projections, expenditure history and 
projections and unexpended amounts in the fund, and to make a recommendation 
regarding the E-9-1-1 surcharge amount going forward. 
The Emergency Services 
Communication Bureau is required to report the results of its review and recommendation 
regarding the surcharge to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over utilities matters by February 1, 2009. The amendment also adds an 
appropriations and allocations section to the bill. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
7 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 04/03/08 ;:f;?ac::.. 
LD2265 
LR 3559(02) 
An Act To Reduce the Amount Collected for the Purpose ofthe E-9-1-1 System 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment" {}. 
Committee: Utilities and Energy 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Appropriations/Allocations 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
Revenue 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Fiscal Note 
2007-08 
$0 
$0 
2008-09 
($3,520,000) 
($3,520,000) 
Projections 
2009-10 
Projections 
2010-11 
($3,520,000) 
($3,520,000) 
($3,520,000) 
($3,520,000) 
This legislation includes a reduction of Other Special Revenue Funds and a corresponding deallocation of $3,520,000 
annually to the Public Utilities Commission beginning in fiscal year 2008-09 as a result of a 20 cent reduction in the 
monthly E-9-1-1 surcharge rate. Additional costs associated with a required reporting requirement can be absorbed by 
the Public Utilities Commission utilizing existing budgeted resources. 
LR3559(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1