North Carolina § 143B-1403 - Service charge for 911 service.

§ 143B-1403. Service charge for 911 service.

Charge Imposed. - A monthly 911 service charge is imposed on each active communications service connection that provides access to the 911 system through a voice communications service. The service charge for service other than prepaid wireless telecommunications service is seventy cents (70›) or a lower amount set by the 911 Board under subsection (d) of this section. The service charge is payable by the subscriber to the provider of the voice communications service. The provider may list the service charge separately from other charges on the bill. Partial payments made by a subscriber are applied first to the amount the subscriber owes the provider for the voice communications service. If a subscriber is capable of making more than one simultaneous outbound 911 call though its communications service connections, then the total number of 911 service charges billed to the subscriber shall be (i) for CMRS providers, an amount equal to the number of CMRS connections and (ii) for all other communications service providers, an amount equal to the total number of simultaneous outbound 911 calls the subscriber can make using the North Carolina telephone numbers or trunks billed to their account. Prepaid Wireless. - A 911 service charge is imposed on each retail purchase of prepaid wireless telecommunications service occurring in this State of seventy cents (70›) for each retail transaction of prepaid wireless telecommunications service or a lower amount set as provided by subsection (d) of this section. The service charge is collected and remitted as provided in G.S. 143B-1414. Remittance to 911 Board. - A communications service provider must remit the service charges collected by it under subsection (a) of this section to the 911 Board. The provider must remit the collected service charges by the end of the calendar month following the month the provider received the charges from its subscribers. A provider may deduct and retain from the service charges it receives from its subscribers and remits to the 911 Board an administrative allowance equal to the greater of one percent (1%) of the amount of service charges remitted or fifty dollars ($50.00) a month. Adjustment of Charge. - The 911 Board must monitor the revenues generated by the service charges imposed by this section. If the 911 Board determines that the rates produce revenue that exceeds or is less than the amount needed, the 911 Board may adjust the rates. The 911 Board must set the service charge for prepaid wireless telecommunications service at the same rate as the monthly service charge for nonprepaid service. A change in the rate becomes effective only on July 1. The 911 Board must notify providers of a change in the rates at least 90 days before the change becomes effective. The 911 Board must notify the Department of Revenue of a change in the rate for prepaid wireless telecommunications service at least 90 days before the change becomes effective. The Department of Revenue must provide notice of a change in the rate for prepaid wireless telecommunications service at least 45 days before the change becomes effective only on the Department's Web site. The revenues must: Ensure full cost recovery for communications service providers over a reasonable period of time; and Fund allocations under G.S. 143B-1404 of this Part for monthly distributions to primary PSAPs and for the State ESInet. Collection. - A communications service provider has no obligation to take any legal action to enforce the collection of the service charge billed to a subscriber. The 911 Board may initiate a collection action, and reasonable costs and attorneys' fees associated with that collection action may be assessed against the subscriber. At the request of the 911 Board, but no more than annually, a communications service provider must report to the 911 Board the amount of the provider's uncollected service charges. The 911 Board may request, to the extent permitted by federal privacy laws, the name, address, and telephone number of a subscriber who refuses to pay the 911 service charge. Restriction. - A local government may not impose a service charge or other fee on a subscriber to support the 911 system. History (2007-383, s. 1(a); 2010-158, s. 4; 2011-122, ss. 1(a), 3; 2015-241, s. 7A.3(2); 2015-261, s. 4(c); 2018-5, s. 37.4(a); 2019-200, s. 7(c).) Editor's Note. - Former G.S. 62A-43 was recodified by Session Laws 2015-241, s. 7A.3(2) as G.S. 143B-1363. It was subsequently renumbered as G.S. 143B-1403 at the direction of the Revisor of Statutes. Session Laws 2015-241, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as 'The Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2015.'" Session Laws 2015-241, s. 33.6, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2018-5, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations Appropriations Act of 2018.'" Session Laws 2018-5, s. 39.4, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2018-2019 fiscal year, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2018-2019 fiscal year." Session Laws 2018-5, s. 39.7, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2018-5, s. 37.4(b), as amended by Session Laws 2018-97, s. 10.3, provides: "For any services for which a bill is or has been rendered at any time prior to 180 days following the effective date of this section, whether under G.S. 143B-1403 or its predecessors as previously codified, no subscriber or communications service provider shall be liable to any person or entity for billing or remitting a different number of 911 service charges than is required by Part 10 of Article 15 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes, as clarified by subsection (a) of this section. Subsection (a) of this section is intended as a clarification of existing law." Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2011-122, s. 1(a), effective June 13, 2011, rewrote subsection (b). Session Laws 2011-122, s. 3, effective July 1, 2013, and applicable to all retail transactions occurring in this State, as the term is defined in this act, on or after that date, in subsection (a), inserted "for service other than prepaid wireless telecommunications service" in the third sentence; in subsection (b), deleted the former last sentence, which read: "The monthly service charge for 911 service is not imposed on prepaid wireless service," and added the last two sentences; in subsection (c), inserted "subsection (a)" in the second sentence; and in subsection (d), in the second sentence, substituted "service charges" for "service charge" and added "imposed by this section," in the third sentence, substituted "rates produce" for "rate produces," in the third and fourth sentences, substituted the last occurrence of "rates" for "rate," added the fifth sentence, in the sixth sentence, deleted "the amount of" following "A change in," in the seventh sentence, substituted "rates" for "rate," and added the last two sentences. Session Laws 2015-261, s. 4(c), effective January 1, 2016, rewrote subsection (a); and deleted "voice" preceding "communications service provider" four times in subsections (c), (d), and (e). Session Laws 2018-5, s. 37.4(a), effective July 1, 2018, added the last sentence in subsection (a). Session Laws 2019-200, s. 7(c), effective August 21, 2019, in subsection (d), deleted the former third sentence, which read: "The rates must ensure full cost recovery for communications service providers and for primary PSAPs over a reasonable period of time." and added the last sentence.