STAND. COM. REP. 2819

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: S.B. No. 3189

S.D. 2

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 3189, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WIRELESS ENHANCED 911 SERVICE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to impose a surcharge on every Hawaii wireless telephone number to fund the implementation and operation of wireless enhanced 911 service.

Your Committee finds that statewide enhanced 911 has proven to be a lifesaving service and that this service should be available for all users of telecommunications services, regardless of the technology used to make and transmit the 911 call.

However, wireless enhanced 911 service, available in other parts of the United States is not yet available in Hawaii. Currently, only 911 calls placed from a land line transmit the name, number, and location of the caller. This service is funded by a monthly surcharge on every private switched access land line in Hawaii. This measure requires providers and resellers of commercial mobile radio services (wireless telephone communications) to bill and collect from their customers a monthly surcharge at the rate established under this measure. The moneys collected are to be deposited into a wireless enhanced 911 special fund. Public safety answering points receiving wireless 911 calls and wireless providers whose equipment is used to transmit the calls may recover the cost of providing wireless enhanced 911 service in Hawaii from the fund.

Your Committee further finds that it is in the public interest to develop a source of funding to implement wireless enhanced 911 service and to ensure adequate funding for ongoing support of the service.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting the provision in section 2 permitting the Department of Accounting and General Services to retain five per cent of all surcharge funds collected for administrative costs since the department is already able to recover these costs pursuant to section 36-30, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

(2) Moving the language in section -4 authorizing wireless provider cost recovery to section -5 since the former section governs collection of the surcharge and the latter governs payments from the surcharge fund; and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive changes.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3189, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3189, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair