An Act To Simplify the Assessment ofE-9-1-1 Surcharges on Prepaid Wireless Telecommunications Service
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 1056
Committee Amendment CA_A_H270 (House)
Amends: 25 MRSA §2921, 25 MRSA §2927

COMMITTEE AMEND:MENT 41 " 
to H.P. 731, L.D. 1056, Bill, "An Act To 
Simplify the Assessment ofE-9-1-1 Surcharges on Prepaid Wireless Telecommunications 
Service" 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 1. 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 2 the following: 
'Sec. 3. 25 MRSA §2921, sub-§13-A is enacted to read: 
13-A. Prepaid wireless telecommunications service consumer. "Prepaid wireless 
telecommunications service consumer" or "prepaid wireless consumer" means a person 
who purchases prepaid wireless telecommunications service in a retail transaction.' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 6 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 6. 25 MRSA §2927, sub-§l-B, as amended by PL 2007, c. 637, §1, is 
repealed.' 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 7 the following: 
'Sec. 7. 25 MRSA §2927, sub-§l-D is enacted to read: 
i-D. Funding. The activities authorized under this chapter are funded through: 
A. The statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge under subsection l-E levied on: 
(1) Each residential and business telephone exchange line, including private 
branch exchange lines and Centrex lines; 
(2) Semipublic coin and public access lines; 
(3) Customers of interconnected voice over Internet protocol service; and 
(4) Customers of cellular or wireless telecommunications service that is not 
prepaid wireless telecommunications service; and 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITIEE AMENDMENT" R 
"to H.P. 731, L.D. 1056 
B. The statewide prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharge under subsection 1-F levied on 
prepaid wireless telecommunication service consumers.' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 8 and 9 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 8. 25 MRSA §2927, sub-§l-E is enacted to read: 
i-E. Statewide E-9-i-l surcharge. The statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge is governed by 
this subsection. 
A. The statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge is 30¢ per month per line or number. The 
statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge may not be imposed on more than 25 lines or numbers 
per customer billing account. 
B. The statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge must be collected from the customer according 
to subsection 1-D, paragraph A 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. 
C. 
The place of residence of cellular or wireless telecommunications service 
customers who are not prepaid wireless telecommunications service consumers must 
be determined according to the sourcing rules for mobile telecommunications 
services as set forth in Title 36, section 2556. 
Sec. 9. 25 MRSA §2927, sub-§l-F is enacted to read: 
i-F. Statewide prepaid wireless telecommunications service E-9-i-i surcharge. 
The statewide prepaid wireless telecommunications service E-9-1-1 surcharge, referred to 
in this subsection as "the prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharge," is governed by this 
subsection. 
A. The prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharge is 30¢ per retail transaction. 
B. The prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharge must be collected by the seller from the 
prepaid wireless consumer according to subsection 1-D, paragraph B with respect to 
each retail transaction occurring in this State. The amount of the prepaid wireless 
E-9-1-1 surcharge must be separately stated on an invoice, receipt or similar 
document that is provided to the prepaid wireless consumer by the seller when 
practicable. In circumstances in which disclosure of the E-9-1-1 surcharge on an 
invoice, receipt or similar document is not practicable, the seller must otherwise 
make information available to the consumer regarding the amount of the E-9-1-1 
prepaid surcharge. 
C. For purposes of paragraph B, a retail transaction that is effected in person by a 
prepaid wireless consumer at the business location of the seller is treated as occurring 
in this State if that business location is in this State. Any other retail transaction must 
be treated as occurring in this State if the retail transaction is treated as occurring in 
this State for the purposes of Title 36, section 1752, subsection 8-B. 
D. The prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharge is the liability of the prepaid wireless 
consumer and not of the seller or of any prepaid wireless telecommunications service 
provider, except that the seller is liable to remit all prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 
surcharges that the seller collects from prepaid wireless consumers as provided in this 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMlvlITIEE AMENDMENT .oR "to H.P. 731, L.D. 1056 
subsection, including all such charges that the seller is deemed to collect when the 
amount of the surcharge has not been separately stated on an invoice, receipt or 
similar document provided to the prepaid wireless consumer by the seller. 
E. The amount of the prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharge that is collected by a seller 
from a prepaid wireless consumer, whether or not such amount is separately stated on 
an invoice, receipt or similar document provided to the prepaid wireless consumer by 
the seller, may not be included in the base for measuring any tax, fee, surcharge or 
other charge that is imposed by this State, any political subdivision of this State or 
any intergovernmental agency. 
F. If the prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharge amount established in paragraph A is 
amended, the new surcharge amount takes effect 60 days after enactment of the 
change to the surcharge amount in paragraph A. The bureau shall provide not less 
than 30 days advance notice of any change to the surcharge amount on the bureau's 
publicly accessible website. 
G. Prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharges collected by sellers must be remitted to the 
Treasurer of State. Prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharges must be remitted at the times 
and in the manner provided for the remittance of sales taxes under Title 36, section 
1951-A and rules adopted pursuant to that section for the remittance of sales taxes on 
an other than monthly basis. The State Tax Assessor shall establish registration and 
payment procedures that substantially coincide with registration and payment 
procedures as provided in Title 36, section 1754-B and related provisions. 
H. A seller who is not a prepaid wireless telecommunications service provider may 
deduct and retain 3 % of prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharges that are collected by the 
seller from consumers. 
I. The State Tax Assessor shall establish procedures by which a seller may document 
that a sale is not a retail transaction, which procedures must substantially coincide 
with the procedures for documenting a sale for retail transaction as provided in Title 
36, section 1754-B. 
J. The State Tax Assessor shall ensure that all remitted prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 
surcharges are deposited in the E-9-1-1 fund under subsection 2-B within 30 days of 
receipt. 
For prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharges remitted during the period 
beginning January 1, 2010 and ending December 31, 2011, the State Tax Assessor 
may deduct an amount not to exceed 2% of remitted prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 
surcharges to reimburse the direct costs of the assessor for administering the 
collection and remittance of the prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharges during that 
period. 
Sec. 10. 25 MRSA §2927, sUlb-§l-G is enacted to read: 
l-G. E-9-1-1 funding obligation; limitation. The statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge 
imposed by subsection 1-E and the prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharge imposed by 
subsection I-F are the only E-9-1-1 funding obligations imposed with respect to 
telecommunications services in this State, and another tax, fee, surcharge or other charge 
may not be imposed by this State, any political subdivision of this State or any 
intergovernmental agency for funding E-9-1-1 purposes on any telecommunications 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMlTIEE AMENDMENT ,,/1 "to H.P. 731, L.D. 1056 
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service with respect to the sale, purchase, use or provision of that telecommunications 
service. 
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Sec. 11. 25 MRSA §2927, sub-§2-B, as amended by PL 2007, c. 68, §7, is 
further amended to read: 
2-B. Surcharge remittance. Each local exchange telephone utility, cellular or 
wireless telecommunications service provider, insluding a prepaid \vireless telephone 
servise 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 sestion subsection I-D 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-I-l 
fund. 
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. 
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Prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharges collected by sellers must be remitted to the Treasurer 
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of State in accordance with subsection 1-F, paragraph G. 
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Sec. 12. Transfer from Other Special Revenue Funds; Public Utilities 
Commission. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on or before October 1, 
2009 the State Controller shall transfer $10,000 from the Public Utilities Commission 
E-9-1-1 fund to the Bureau of Revenue Services, Internal Services Fund account 
established pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, section 114. 
Sec. 13. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and 
allocations are made. 
ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF 
Bureau of Revenue Services Fund 0885 
Initiative: Provides a one-time allocation of $10,000 to Maine Revenue Services for 
computer programming changes and also provides an allocation for other administrative 
costs to be reimbursed through retention of 2% of telecommunications prepaid wireless 
fees collected for the Public Utilities Commission. 
BUREAU OF REVENUE SERVICES FUND 
All Other 
BUREAU OF REVENUE SERVICES FUND TOTAL 
2009-10 
$10,880 
$10,880 
COMMI 
IENDMENT 
20JlO-11 
$1,720 
$1,720 
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COMMITIEE AMENDMENT" A 
"to H.P. 731, L.D. 1056 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment is the majority report of the committee. 
Like the bill, the 
amendment modifies the current method for collecting E-9-1-1 surcharges to require 
retailers of prepaid wireless services to collect the surcharge from purchasers at the point 
of sale in a manner similar to sales tax collections on those services. The amendment 
makes the following changes to the bill. 
l.1t changes the prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharge amount from 15 cents to 30 cents 
per retail transaction. 
2. It amends the provision regarding disclosure of the prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 
surcharge to address those instances when it is not practicable to state the surcharge 
separately on an invoice, receipt or similar document. 
3. It clarifies the provision regarding remittance of the prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 
surcharge to ensure it is parallel to statutory requirements and rules governing sales tax 
remittance, particularly with respect to remittance on a basis other than monthly for 
certain sellers. 
4. It clarifies that the State Tax Assessor rather than the Public Utilities Commission 
shall establish procedures for a seller to document that a sale is not a retail transaction. 
5. It limits the allowance for the State Tax Assessor to retain up to 2% of remitted 
prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharges to the first 2 years after the effective date of this law. 
6. It eliminates the provisions in the bill regarding absolute immunity for prepaid 
wireless telecommunications service providers and sellers. 
7. It amends the provision of the bill regarding the E-9-1-1 funding obligation to 
app ly to both the statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge and the prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharge. 
8. It adds language to the provision of law governing surcharge remittance to clarify 
the separate remittance procedures for the statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge and the prepaid 
wireless E-9-1-1 surcharge. 
9. It provides $10,000 from the E-9-1-1 fund for the State Tax Assessor to establish 
procedures for administering the collection and remittance of the prepaid wireless 
E-9-1-1 surcharges. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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Approved: 05/07/09 wac 
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LD 1056 
LR 1595(02) 
An Act To Simplify the Assessment ofE-9-1-1 Surcharges on Prepaid Wireless Telecommunications 
Service 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment 'n" 
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Committee: Utilities and Energy 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
2009-10 
Appropriations/Allocations 
Bureau orRevenue Services Fund 
$10,880 
2010-11 
$1,720 
Projections 
2011-12 
$880 
Projections 
2012-13 
$0 
Revenue 
::> 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
Bureau of Revenue Services Fund 
Transfers 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
Bureau of Revenue Services Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
($880) 
$880 
($10,000) 
$10,000 
($1,720) 
$1,720 
$0 
$0 
($880) 
$880 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
This bill repeals the three existing methods of collecting g-9-1-1 surcharges on prepaid wireless telecommunication 
services and creates one method of collecting the surcharges at the point of sale. To acconimodate the new collection 
method, this bill includes a one-time allocation of $10,000 to Maine Revenue Services (MRS) to implement the 
collection and remittance of the prepaid wireless E-9-1-1 surcharges. The cost to MRS includes modifying the sales 
tax form, computer programming and creating a monthly report The resource for the $10,000 will come from a 
transfer from the Public Utilities Commission E-9,;.I-l Fund on or before October 1,2009. Additionally, MRS will 
retain up to 2% of the surcharges for two calendar years beginning January 1, 2010 to cover administrative costs. The 
estimated surcharge revenue is $86,000 annually and 2% equals $1,720. This amount has been prorated to $880 in FY 
2009-10 due to the January 1, 2010 effective date. 
LR1595(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1 
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