Bill moving through legislature to allow county vote on cell phone tax

By MIKE MCCOY

Statesman Staff Writer

Stoddard County 911 Services Administrator Carol Moreland said she was encouraged by a House bill that is working its way through the legislature that would abolish the tariff on telephone land line users to fund 911 services in the state and replace it with a tax on all telephone devices used to call 911.

Moreland said House Bill 1573 was scheduled to have a hearing in the senate, which is further than proposed legislation has advanced in recent legislative sessions. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Jeanie Lauer (R-Dist. 32) and co-sponsored by 15 other House members.

House Bill 1573 would allow each county in the state to hold an election to approve a fee on land lines and contract cell phone users "not to exceed $1.50 per any device capable of contacting 911 and shall be imposed soley for the purpose of funding 911 service in such county and city to within a county." The bill would establish a three percent sales tax on all pre-paid cell phone service transactions collected by the retailer. Service of less than 10 minutes or five dollars or less would not include the tax.

The bill specifies about authorizing the fee, "No such order or ordinance adopted under this section shall become effective unless the governing body of the county or city not within a county submits to the voters residing within the county or city not within a county at a state general, primary or special election a proposal to authorize the governing body to impose a fee under this section."

The fee on land lines and contract cell phones would be collected by the Department of Revenue and returned to each county where the fee was collected, minus a one percent administrative fee.

Money collected from the sales tax on pre-paid services would be collected by the Department of Revenue and deposited in the Missouri 911 Service Trust Fund, with the Revenue Department keeping one percent for administation and the seller of the pre-paid contract keeping one percent for administration. Another 10 percent is to go to the Missouri Regional Poison Information Center. Individual counties or cities not within a county are to receive 25 to 50 percent of the pre-paid funds collected. The remaining portion of the money collected from the pre-paid tax is to be used for grants to local entities for enhanced 911 services in the state.

The 14-page bill sets up boards and outlines the responsibilites of those boards. It also requires that there be only one 911 service administrator for each county or city not within a county. The bill outlines how services are to be consolidated in the event there is more than one provider. Stoddard County has one service for the entire county.

Funding for 911 services in the state has been declining in recent years. Most counties having 911 services obtain funds through a fee on land line telephone users. There has never been a fee levied on cell phone users. That holds true in spite of the decreasing number of land lines and the growing number of cell phone users.

As an example, the total number of calls to Stoddard County 911 in January was 1, 036, of which 798 (77 percent) were made from cell phones.

Board Member Dave Cooper pointed out that 911 Services is not required to answer calls made from a cell phone. He said the county may have made a mistake when they answered the first cell phone call. He clarified that the county would never opt not to answer any call for emergency services, and that was not an option.

"What it did was provide them a service for free, so why should they want to pay for it?" asked Cooper.

Moreland said the bill was opposed by three wireless companies and the St. Louis Municipal League. She said she attended meetings in Greenville and New Madrid and something had to be done to increase funding for 911 services. The bill is a step in the right direction she said.

"I think it was well thought out," said Moreland of the proposed bill.

"I've got a question," said Board Member Gary Kitchen. "How come Missouri is the only state without a tax on cell phones?"

Kitchen continued, "If AT&T fought it in other states, they must have lost.Why have they not lost in Missouri?"

Moreland said one of the big problems would be how to determine the number of contract cell phone users and pre-paid cell phone users within the county. She said without that information, it was difficult to determine how much money would be raised by the fee and tax. She said if the bill passes, the county should look at setting the rate at $1.50 for land lines and contract cell phones, and then adjust that amount when they saw how much revenue it would generate.

Board Member Leroy Stockton noted that the bill would actually lower the fee paid by land line users. That fee in now around $3, so it would be reduced to $1.50.

Board President Mike Reinbott asked, "Is it possible we could take a survey of the number of contract or pre-paid cell phone users in the county?"

Kitchen said a "big issue" will be how it is worded on the ballot.

Stockton wanted to know if there was a limit on how many times it could be put before the voters in the event it didn't pass.

Moreland said she was unaware of any limits on how many times it could be put to the voters. Moreland said County 911 Services could not use money to support a campaign to pass the fee on cell phones. She said that would have to come from private donations.

Cooper said social media such as Facebook could be a good place to campaign for the 911 funding in the event the bill does pass this year.

Board Member LaVeda Banken said people need to know that there is much more to 911 Services than just answering calls. She said addressing, mapping and equipment purchases are vital to a good 911 service.

Cooper said prompt responses to emergencies require good road signs, mapping and equipment. All of this requires funding. He said while it appears County 911 Services has adequate funding, there is not enough to pay for the expensive equipment and software needed to maintain a good 911 service. He said the board had to finance the last upgrade.

Moreland added that the county had to apply for a grant to help pay for the equipment upgrade. She also said much of the equipment is in need of replacement.

"We've pushed our equipment past what it was designed to do," said Cooper.