An Act To Make Certain Cha"nges to the Laws Regarding E-9 .. J-l Surcharge Collection from Prepaid Win~less and Voice over Internet Protocol Providers
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 0789
Committee: Utilities and Energy
Sponsors: FLAHERTY
Amends: 25 MRSA §2927

Legislative Document 
No. 789 
H.P.540 
of Representatives, February 26, 2009 
An Act To Make Certain Cha"nges to the Laws Regarding E-9 .. J-l 
Surcharge Collection from Prepaid Win~less and Voice over 
Internet Protocol Providers 
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 FLAHERTY of Scarborough. 
Printed on l'.t:cyc1c:d pnpcr 
'17/~ m.11I1l£~{ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk" 
Be it enacted by the People 9fthe State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 25 MRSA §2927, sub-§l-B, as amended by PL 2007, c. 637, §1, 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-9-1-1 surcharge levied on each residential and 
busi.ness 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 nonprepaid cellular or wireless telecommunications service customers, the 
customer's place of residence of those customers primary use must be determined 
. according to the sourcing rules for mobile telecommunications services as set foith in 
Title 36, section 2556. In the case of customers or purchasers of prepaid cellular or . 
wireless telecommunications service, the determination of whether the customer or 
purchaser has a reasonable nexus to this State must be determined according to the 
sourcing rules -for mobile telecommunications services. as set forth in Title 36, section 
2556. 
The Public Utilities Commission may by rule 'establish additional criteria 
indicative of a nexus to this State, including the assignment of prepaid wireless service to 
a telephone number within an area code assigned to this State. 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 l-C. 
Sec. 2. 25 MRSA §2927, sllIb-§l-C, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 68, §6, is amended 
to read:' 
. 
l-C. 
Statewide E-9-1-1 surcharge; prepaid wireless service. The statewide 
. E-9-1-1 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 surch~ge, or contract with a retail seller of prepaid wireless telephone 
. service to collect the surcharge, from the customer or purchaser at the point-of-sale 
for each 30-day increment of prepaid wireless telephone service that is purchased at 
the time of sale; or 
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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 serviqe provider that 
elects the collection method specified in this paragraph must calculate the total 
surcharge owed by: 
(1) Dividing its the total intrastate prepaid wireless revenue for the month that 
the provider has received from customers or purchasers having a nexus to this 
State as determined pursuant to subsection I-B or pursuant to rule of the Public 
Utilities Commission by the provider's national average monthly revenue per HSef 
customer or purchaser for prepaid wireless serVice, as defined determined by the 
Public Utilities Commission by rule; and 
(2) Multiplying the result obtained under subparagraph (1) by the amount of the 
surcharge. 
SUMMARY 
Public Law 2007, chapter 68 amended the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 25, section 
2927 and clarified that the E-9-1-1 surcharge applies to prepaid wireless service and· 
interconnected voice over Internet protocol providers. 
Chapter 68 also required the' 
Public Utilities Commission to adopt rules to implement the provisions of section 2927. 
This bill makes certain changes to section 2927 to facilitate the commission's 
implementation of the section in the course of the rulemaking .. 
, 
. 
The Maine Revised Statutes, Title 25, section 2927 presently states that the 
"residence" of cellular or wireless service customers must be determined pursuant to the 
"sourcing rules for mobile telecommunications services as set forth in Title 36, section 
2556." This bill substitutes the term "place of primary use" for "residence" because 
"place of primary use" is the criterion used in Title 36, section 2556. This bill amends 
Title 25, section 2927, subsection I-B to state that the commission by rule may establish 
other criteria to determine when prepaid cellular ,or wireless service customers or 
purchasers have a nexus to Maine, i.ncluding the assignment of prepaid wireless service to 
a telephone number within Maine's area code. 
This bill addresses the provIsIOn that allows indirect payment of the E-9-1-1 
surcharge. It amends the formula for determining the total surcharge that is collected 
indirectly from prepaid wireless telephone customers. In the Maine Revised Statutes, 
Title 25, section 2927,subsection l-C, paragraph C, subparagraph (1), the bill substitutes 
the phrase "total prepaid wireless revenue for the month that the provider qas received 
from customers or purchasers having a nexus to this State" for the present phrase "total 
intrastate prepaid wireless revenue for the month." 
This bill also clarifies that the' 
national average revenue used must be that of the individual provider.