An Act To Create Fairness in E-9-1-1 Funding
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 0547
Committee Amendment CA_A_H57 (House)
Amends: Title 47, Section 332, 25 MRSA §2921, 25 MRSA §2927, 25 MRSA §2930

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "11 "to H.P. 425, L.D. 547, Bill, "An Act To Create 
Fairness in E-9-1-1 Funding" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the 
following: 
'Sec. 1. 25 MRSA §2921, sub-§2-B is enacted to read: 
2-B. 
Cellular or wireless telecommunications service. "Cellular or wireless 
telecommunications service" means commercial mobile service as defined in 47 United 
States Code, Section 332(d). 
Sec. 2. 25 MRSA §2921, sub-§12 is enacted to read: 
12. Interconnected voice over Internet protocol service. "Interconnected voice 
over Internet protocol service" means a service that enables real-time, 2-way voice 
communications; requires a broadband connection from the user's location; and permits 
users generally to receive calls that originate on the public switched telephone network 
and to terminate calls to the public switched telephone network. 
Sec. 3. 25 MRSA §2921, sub-§13 is enacted to read: 
13. Prepaid wireless telephone service. "Prepaid wireless telephone service" means 
a cellular or wireless telecommunications service that the customer pays for prior to 
activation of the service. 
Sec. 4. 25 MRSA §2921, sub-§14 is enacted to read: 
14. 
Prepaid wireless telephone service provider. "Prepaid wireless telephone 
service provider" means a cellular or wireless telecommunications service provider that 
sells prepaid wireless telephone service at wholesale or retail. 
Sec. 5. 25 MRSA §2927, sub-§l-B, as amended by PL 2003, c. 673, Pt. V, §4 
and affected by §29, is further amended to read: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to H.P. 425, L.D. 547 
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 subscribers 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-l 
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 subscribers customers, the 
place of residence of those subscribers 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 50¢ per month per line or number or, in the 
case of prepaid wireless telephone services, 50¢ per month or 30-day increment of service 
per customer. 
The statewide E-9-1-l surcharge must be billeti collected from the 
customer on a monthly basis by each local exchange telephone utility er~ cellular or 
wireless telecommunications service provider and interconnected voice over Internet 
protocol service provider and be shown separately as a statewide E:..9-1-l 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. 6. 25 MRSA §2927, sub-§l-C is enacted to read: 
l-C. 
Statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge; prepaid wireless service. 
The statewide 
E-9-l-l surcharge, referred to in this subsection as "the surcharge," must be collected 
from prepaid wireless telephone service customers by the prepaid wireless telephone 
service provider. The prepaid wireless telephone service provider is authorized to: 
A. Collect the surcharge on a monthly basis from each customer whose account 
balance is equal to or greater than the amount of the surcharge; 
B. Collect the surcharge, or contract with a retail seller of prepaid wireless telephone 
service to collect the surcharge, from the customer at the point-of-sale for each 
30-day increment of prepaid wireless telephone service that is purchased at the time 
of sale; or 
C. Collect the surcharge indirectly from customers by calculating the total surcharge 
owed by its customers and remitting that amount to the Treasurer of State in 
accordance with subsection 2-B. A prepaid wireless telephone service provider that 
elects the collection method specified in this paragraph must calculate the total 
surcharge owed by: 
(1) Dividing its total intrastate prepaid wireless revenue for the month by the 
national average revenue per user for prepaid wireless service, as defined by the 
Public Utilities Commission by rule; and 
(2) Multiplying the result obtained under subparagraph (1) by the amount of the 
surcharge. 
Sec. 7. 25 MRS A §2927, sub-§2-B, as amended by PL 2001, c. 439, Pt. EEEE, 
§ 7, is further amended to read: 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A " 
to H.P. 425, L.D. 547 
2-B. Surcharge remittance. Each local exchange telephone utility aOO~ cellular or 
wireless telecommunications service provider, including a prepaid wireless telephone 
service provider, and interconnected voice over Internet protocol 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-9-1-1 fund. Service 
providers Each telephone utility or service provider required to remit statewide E-9-1-1 
surcharge revenues shall provide, on a form approved by the bureau, supporting data, 
including but not limited to the following: 
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. 
Sec. 8. 25 MRSA §2927, sub-§6, as amended by PL 1997, c. 409, §1, is further 
amended to read: 
6. Violations. A telephone utility er~ a cellular or wireless telecommunications 
service provider, including a prepaid wireless telephone service provider, or an 
interconnected voice over Internet protocol service provider subject to this section that 
intentionally and knowingly fails to remit the statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge revenues 
collected under this section commits a civil violation for which a forfeiture of not more 
than $500 may be adjudged for each day that payment is not made after the due date. 
Sec. 9. 25 MRSA §2927, sub-§8 is enacted to read: 
8. Rules. The Public Utilities Commission shall adopt rules necessary to implement 
the provisions of this section. Rules adopted under this subsection are routine technical 
rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 10. 25 MRSA §2930, sub-§2, as repealed and replaced by PL 1999, c. 209, 
§ 1, is amended to read: 
2. Telecommunications providers. A telecommunications provider assisting in the 
implementation and operation of the statewide E-9-1-1 system, including, but not limited 
to, the development and maintenance of the network, the development and maintenance 
of any databases and the processing of calls, is subject to tort liability: 
A. 
For property damages, bodily injury or death resulting from any defect in the 
E-9-1-1 system or inadequacy in the provision of E-9-1-1 service caused by the 
telecommunications provider's 
negligent acts 
or omissions 
in 
developing, 
establishing, implementing, maintaining or operating the E-9-1-1 system, up to a 
maximum amount for any and all claims arising out of a single occurrence not to 
exceed $300,000 or the dollar amount that appears in Title 14, section 8105, 
subsection 1, whichever is greater; and 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to H.P. 425, L.D. 547 
B. 
For property damages, bodily injury or death resulting from any defect in the 
E-9-1-1 system or inadequacy in the provision of E-9-1-1 service caused by the 
telecommunications provider's intentional, willful or reckless acts or omissions in 
developing, establishing, implementing, maintaining or operating the E-9-I-l system, 
without limitation on the amount. 
For purposes of this subsection, the term "telecommunications provider" means a local 
exchange carrier, a commercial mobile fadie service provider, as defined in 47 United 
States Code, Title 47, Section 332(d), or an interconnected voice over Internet protocol 
service provider; an employee of a local exchange carrier ef~ commercial mobile m4ie 
service provider or interconnected voice over Internet protocol service provider acting 
within the scope of the employee's employment,~ or an agent of a local exchange carrier 
ef~ commercial mobile m4ie service provider or interconnected voice over Internet 
protocol service provider acting within the scope of the agent's agency. 
Sec. 11. 
Report. 
The Public Utilities Commission, Emergency Services 
Communication Bureau shall submit a report by January 15, 2009 to the joint standing 
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over telecommunications matters 
regarding the collection of the E-9-1-1 surcharge on prepaid wireless telephone service 
and interconnected voice over Internet protocol service. The report must include, but is 
not limited to, an accounting of E-9-I -1 surcharge revenues remitted to the State since the 
effective date of this Act and statistics describing the use of the 3 different collection 
methodologies available to prepaid wireless telephone service providers under the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 25, section 2927, subsection l-C.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill. It amends the law governing the funding of the 
E-9-1-I system in the following ways. 
1. It clarifies that prepaid wireless telephone service, as a type of cellular or wireless 
telecommunications service, is subject to the monthly statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge. 
2. It specifies 3 methods for providers of prepaid wireless telephone service to collect 
the statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge, collect the surcharge from each customer whose account 
balance is equal to or greater than the amount of the surcharge, collect the surcharge from 
the customer at the point of sale or collect the surcharge indirectly by calculating the total 
surcharged owed by dividing its monthly intrastate revenue by average revenue per user 
and multiplying the result by the amount of the surcharge. 
3. It adds interconnected voice over Internet protocol service as a type of telephone 
service subject to the statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge and it amends the provision of the 
E-9-1-1 
law regarding tort liability for telecommunications providers to grant 
interconnected voice over Internet protocol providers the same treatment as other 
telecommunications service providers. 
4. It requires the Public Utilities Commission to adopt rules to implement the 
provisions of the E-9-1-1 funding law and to report to the joint standing committee of the 
Legislature having jurisdiction over telecommunications matters no later than January 15, 
2009 regarding the collection of the E-9-1-1 surcharge on prepaid wireless telephone 
service and interconnected voice over Internet protocol service. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 425, L.D. 547 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 03/29/07 frac 
Revenue 
LD547 
LR 1655(02) 
An Act To Create Fairness in E-9-1-1 Funding 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment 'fi" 
Committee: Utilities and Energy 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
2007-08 
2008-09 
Projections 
2009-10 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
$450,000 
$600,000 
$600,000 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Projections 
2010-11 
$600,000 
Under current law, subscribers of prepaid wireless service are not required to contribute to the E-9-1-1 Fund. 
Requiring prepaid wireless and the broadband markets of telephone services to collect funding for E-9-1-1 services 
could add approximately $450,000 in fiscal year 2007-08 and $600,000 annually thereafter of additional Other Special 
Revenue Funds revenue to the E-9-1-1 Fund within the Public Utilities Commission. 
LR1655(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1