2015 Oklahoma Statutes
Title 63. Public Health and Safety
§63-2843.1. Emergency wireless telephone fee – Exempting prepaid wireless telecommunications services.

A. To provide for processing nine-one-one emergency wireless calls, the board of county commissioners of a county may by resolution submit to the voters of the county the question of the imposition of a nine-one-one emergency wireless telephone fee for each wireless connection, excluding a connection for prepaid wireless telecommunications services, in the county as determined by the subscriber’s place of primary use. The resolution shall include the amount of the fee which shall be fifty cents ($0.50) per month for each wireless connection, and shall call for an election to be held within one (1) year from the date the resolution is adopted. If a majority of the votes cast in an election held approve the imposition of an emergency telephone fee, the fee shall be imposed. A political subdivision may not impose another fee on a wireless service provider or subscriber for nine-one-one emergency service. The proceeds of the fee shall be utilized to pay for the operation of emergency wireless telephone service as specified in this section. Prepaid wireless telecommunications services shall be subject only to the fees as set forth in Section 3 of this act.

B. A wireless service provider shall collect the emergency wireless telephone fee in an amount equal to the amount approved as provided for in subsection A of this section for each wireless telecommunications connection from each of its subscribers of wireless telephone service within the boundaries of the county as determined by the subscriber’s place of primary use and shall pay the money collected to the substate planning district that represents that county not later than thirty (30) days after the last day of the month during which the fees were collected. The wireless service provider may retain an administrative fee of two percent (2%) of the amount collected when remitted in the time specified, unless otherwise agreed upon. The money remitted to the substate planning district and any other money collected to fund the emergency wireless telephone system shall be deposited in a special wireless nine-one-one account established by the district.

C. Money collected under subsection B of this section shall be used only for services related to nine-one-one emergency wireless telephone services, including automatic number identification and automatic location information services. The substate planning districts shall distribute the money collected for each county which has approved the emergency wireless telephone fee to each public agency within that county which has established emergency wireless telephone service or has sent a written request for installation, maintenance, and operation of an emergency wireless telephone service to a wireless service provider. The money remitted to the public agency and any other money collected to fund the emergency wireless telephone system shall be deposited in a special wireless nine-one-one account established by the substate planning district. From the emergency wireless telephone fee, the substate planning districts shall distribute to other public agencies in the county their proportionate share attributable to emergency wireless telephone services as determined by at least an annual census of wireless users provided by the wireless service provider. All wireless user information provided by a wireless service provider shall be deemed proprietary and is not subject to disclosure to the public or any other party. Remittance of the fee to a public agency may begin at any time if an existing emergency wireless telephone service is already operative or upon written request by the local governing body to the provider for installation, maintenance, and operation of a nine-one-one emergency wireless telephone service and related equipment. Amounts not used within a given year shall be carried forward.

D. Every billed service user shall be liable for any emergency wireless telephone fee imposed pursuant to this section until it has been paid to the wireless service provider.

E. The duty to collect any emergency wireless telephone fee imposed pursuant to the authority of the Nine-One-One Wireless Emergency Number Act from a service user shall commence on the first day of the calendar quarter following the date that a wireless service provider receives notice from a local county which shall be at least sixty (60) days from the date that the voters in a county have approved the fee, the amount of such fee and the address to which the fee should be remitted. Fees imposed pursuant to this section that are required to be collected by the wireless service provider may be added to and shall be stated separately in any billings to the service user.

F. The wireless service provider shall have no obligation to take any legal action to enforce the collection of any emergency wireless telephone fee imposed pursuant to the authority of this section; however, should any service user tender a payment insufficient to satisfy all charges, tariffs, fees, and taxes for wireless telephone service, the amount tendered shall be credited to the nine-one-one emergency wireless telephone fee in the same manner as other taxes and fees. The wireless service provider shall at least annually provide the governing body with a list of amounts uncollected along with the names and addresses of those service users who carry a balance that can be determined by the wireless service provider to be nonpayment of any fee imposed pursuant to the authority of this section.

G. Any emergency wireless telephone fee imposed pursuant to the authority provided by this section shall be collected insofar as practicable at the same time as, and along with, the charges for wireless telephone service in accordance with the regular billing practice of the wireless telephone service. However, if the public agency has not deployed nine-one-one emergency wireless telephone service within twenty-four (24) months or thirty-six (36) months for counties with a population of less than thirty thousand (30,000), from the initial collection of the fee under subsection B of this section, the collection of the fee may be suspended until such service is deployed. A wireless service provider is not liable for failing to suspend collection of a fee.

H. Nothing in the Nine-One-One Wireless Emergency Number Act shall be construed to limit the ability of a wireless service provider from recovering its costs associated with designing, developing, deploying, and maintaining wireless enhanced nine-one-one service directly from the customers of the provider, whether the costs are itemized on the bill of the wireless customer as a surcharge or by any other lawful means.

Added by Laws 2001, c. 56, § 2, eff. July 1, 2001. Amended by Laws 2002, c. 456, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2002; Laws 2005, c. 303, § 2, emerg. eff. June 6, 2005; Laws 2007, c. 353, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2007; Laws 2010, c. 191, § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 2011.