Virginia Code 56-484.17: Wireless E-911 Fund; uses of Fund; enforcement; audit required.
A. There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to be known as the Wireless E-911 Fund (the Fund). The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. Interest earned on moneys in the Fund shall remain in the Fund and be credited to it. Any moneys remaining in the Fund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund. Except as provided in § 44-146.18:5, moneys in the Fund shall be used for the purposes stated in subsections C and D. Expenditures and disbursements from the Fund shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the Comptroller upon written request signed by the Tax Commissioner or the State Coordinator of Emergency Management.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 56-484.17
- Board: means the 9-1-1 Services Board created pursuant to this article. See Virginia Code 56-484.12
- CMRS: means mobile telecommunications service as defined in the federal Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act, Virginia Code 56-484.12
- CMRS provider: means an entity authorized by the Federal Communications Commission to provide CMRS within the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 56-484.12
- Commission: means the State Corporation Commission. See Virginia Code 56-1
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Coordinator: means the Virginia Public Safety Communications Systems Coordinator employed by the Division. See Virginia Code 56-484.12
- ESInet: means a shared public safety agency-managed Internet protocol (IP) network that (i) is used for emergency services communications, (ii) provides an IP transport infrastructure that is capable of carrying voice and data and that supports next generation 9-1-1 service core functions such as routing and location validation of emergency service requests, and (iii) is engineered, managed, and intended to support emergency public safety communications and 9-1-1 service. See Virginia Code 56-484.12
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Originating service provider: means the local exchange carrier, VoIP provider, or CMRS provider that serves the end user over which a 9-1-1 call, 9-8-8 call, call to the crisis call center, as defined in § Virginia Code 56-484.12
- Place of primary use: has the meaning as defined in the federal Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act, Virginia Code 56-484.12
- PSAP: means a facility (i) equipped and staffed on a 24-hour basis to receive and process 9-1-1 calls or (ii) that intends to receive and process 9-1-1 calls and has notified CMRS providers in its jurisdiction of its intention to receive and process such calls. See Virginia Code 56-484.12
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
B. Each CMRS provider and each CMRS reseller shall collect a monthly wireless E-911 surcharge of $0.82 from each of its customers whose place of primary use is within the Commonwealth. However, no surcharge shall be imposed on federal, state and local government agencies. A payment equal to all wireless E-911 surcharges shall be remitted within 30 days to the Department of Taxation. The Department of Taxation, after subtracting its direct costs of administration, shall deposit all remitted wireless E-911 surcharges into the state treasury. The Comptroller shall as soon as practicable deposit such moneys into the Fund. Each CMRS provider and CMRS reseller may retain an amount equal to three percent of the wireless E-911 surcharges collected to defray the costs of collecting the surcharges. State and local taxes shall not apply to any wireless E-911 surcharge collected from customers. Surcharges collected from customers shall be subject to the provisions of the federal Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act (4 U.S.C. § 116 et seq., as amended).
The CMRS provider and CMRS reseller shall collect the surcharge through regular periodic billing.
C. Sixty percent of the Wireless E-911 Fund shall be distributed on a monthly basis to the PSAPs according to each PSAP‘s average pro rata distribution from the Wireless E-911 Fund for fiscal years 2007-2012, taking into account any funding adjustments made pursuant to subsection E. On or before July 1, 2018, and every five years thereafter, the Department of Taxation shall recalculate the distribution percentage for each PSAP based on the population and call load data of the PSAP for the previous five fiscal years, which data shall continue to be received by the Board and then reported to the Department of Taxation. The distribution from the Wireless E-911 Fund shall be made on a monthly basis to the PSAPs according to such distribution percentage beginning July 1 of such fiscal year.
D. The remaining 40 percent of the Fund shall be distributed to PSAPs or on behalf of PSAPs based on grant requests received by the Board each fiscal year. The Board shall establish criteria for receiving and making grants from the Fund, including procedures for determining the amount of a grant and payment schedule. The Board shall give the highest priority to grants that support the regional or multijurisdictional deployment and sustainment of NG9-1-1, and it shall give secondary priority to grants that support the deployment and sustainment of (i) NG9-1-1 in a single jurisdiction and (ii) in-building repeaters that improve public safety radio coverage within buildings with impaired radio coverage. If requested by an originating service provider, the Board shall execute a contract to reimburse that originating service provider for its costs incurred to deliver 9-1-1 calls to the ESInet points of interconnection. The Board shall ensure that cost is minimized while still achieving necessary 9-1-1 service and ESInet objectives. The Board may retain some or all of this uncommitted funding for an identified 9-1-1 funding need or for a reserve balance pursuant to a reserve balance policy adopted by the Board.
E. After the end of each fiscal year, on a schedule adopted by the Board, the Board shall audit the grant funding received by all recipients to ensure it was utilized in accordance with the grant requirements. Each funding recipient shall provide such verification of such costs as may be requested by the Board. Any overpayment shall be refunded to the Board or credited to payments during the then-current fiscal year, on such schedule as the Board shall determine. If payments are less than the actual costs reported, the Board may include the additional funding in the then-current fiscal year.
F. The Auditor of Public Accounts, or his legally authorized representatives, shall audit the Wireless E-911 Fund as determined necessary by the Auditor of Public Accounts. The cost of such audit shall be borne by the Board and be payable from the Wireless E-911 Fund, as appropriate. The Board shall furnish copies of the audits to the Governor, the Public Safety Subcommittees of the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations and the House Committee on Appropriations, and the Virginia State Crime Commission.
G. The special tax authorized by § 58.1-1730 shall not be imposed on consumers of CMRS.
2000, c. 1064; 2001, c. 529; 2002, c. 68; 2003, c. 341; 2004, c. 167; 2005, c. 942; 2006, cc. 739, 780; 2010, cc. 466, 566; 2011, cc. 162, 630; 2012, cc. 25, 165, 672; 2017, cc. 22, 260; 2018, cc. 57, 307, 532, 533; 2020, c. 423; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 248.