[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3788 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3788

  To ensure that State and local E911 fees, taxes, and surcharges are 
 imposed in a fair and equitable manner with respect to prepaid mobile 
                               services.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 18, 2012

Mr. Davis of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was referred 
    to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the 
Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined 
 by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as 
        fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To ensure that State and local E911 fees, taxes, and surcharges are 
 imposed in a fair and equitable manner with respect to prepaid mobile 
                               services.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``E911 Surcharge Fairness Act of 
2011''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Wireless E911 was established by Congress to provide 
        for vital emergency communications systems for the benefit of 
        end-users of mobile services and the public, and funding 
        methods and surcharges are intended to be the responsibility of 
        end-users and fair, equitable, and competitively neutral among 
        all wireless providers and sellers of wireless service.
            (2) Wireless services have traditionally been offered on a 
        monthly billed or postpaid basis, but in recent years the 
        offering of wireless services on a ``pay as you go'' or prepaid 
        basis, has grown to be a significant share of the wireless 
        marketplace and this trend is continuing.
            (3) Wireless E911 has been typically funded in the postpaid 
        model by a uniform monthly surcharge on customer bills, but 
        prepaid mobile services are purchased by customers at retail on 
        a ``pay-as-you-go'' basis, and there are no bills.
            (4) States have not adopted an effective uniform approach 
        to collecting E911 surcharges from retail ``pay-as-you-go'' 
        customers of mobile services, as has existed with postpaid 
        mobile services, and solutions have ranged from imposing and 
        collecting no surcharges from prepaid customers, to shifting 
        the burden to pay the surcharge to providers and sellers of 
        prepaid mobile services. The latter solution has resulted in 
        unfair and inequitable treatment of the prepaid mobile service 
        business model and reduced funding for E911.
            (5) Virtually all States require postpaid mobile service 
        providers to simply put the State's E911 charge on their 
        monthly bills, and such providers are statutorily exonerated 
        from any failure to collect the E911 charge from such 
        customers. Those same States require prepaid service providers 
        and sellers to serve as a financial guarantor of collection 
        from all prepaid mobile service customers, notwithstanding the 
        fact that there is no feasible method of collection for such 
        providers and sellers for most customers.
            (6) There needs to be a uniform feasible collection method 
        for prepaid mobile service customers to contribute to States' 
        E911 funds just as has been provided for postpaid customers via 
        their monthly bills.
            (7) Congress, in House Report No. 110-442 and Senate Report 
        No. 110-142, encouraged State and local governments to apply 
        E911 fees equitably to communications services and to 
        accommodate the prepaid mobile service business model.

SEC. 3. E911 SURCHARGES.

    (a) In General.--Beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, no 
State or local jurisdiction shall impose a new unfair or inequitable 
E911 fee, tax, or surcharge (``E911 fee'') with respect to any prepaid 
mobile service, prepaid mobile service provider, or prepaid mobile 
service customer, nor shall it enforce a new or existing E911 fee in an 
unfair or inequitable manner.
    (b) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) E911 fee.--The term ``E911 fee'' means any 911 or E911 
        fee, tax, or surcharge specifically imposed or designated by a 
        State or local jurisdiction for the support of 911 or E911 
        communications systems and related public safety purposes, 
        whether or not actually appropriated and expended for such 
        purposes.
            (2) Mobile service.--The term ``mobile service'' means 
        commercial mobile radio service, as such term is defined in 
        section 20.3 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, as in 
        effect on the date of enactment of this Act, or any other 
        service that is primarily intended for receipt on, transmission 
        from, or use with a mobile telephone or other mobile device, 
        including but not limited to the receipt of a digital good.
            (3) Prepaid mobile service.--The term ``prepaid mobile 
        service'' means mobile service which is paid for in advance, is 
        sold in predetermined units or dollars, or for use within a 
        predetermined period of time, and without the issuance of a 
        monthly or other periodic bill.
            (4) Postpaid mobile service.--The term ``postpaid mobile 
        service'' means a mobile service which is paid for in arrears 
        pursuant to monthly or other periodic billing arrangements.
            (5) New unfair or inequitable e911 fee.--The term ``new 
        unfair or inequitable E911 fee'' means--
                    (A) any E911 fee that cannot be collected from end-
                users who are the intended payors of the E911 fees 
                under the existing wireless business model of the 
                prepaid mobile service provider; or
                    (B) any E911 fee that is enforced in a manner that 
                imposes strict liability on a prepaid mobile service 
                provider for its inability to collect such E911 fee as 
                prescribed in subparagraph (A).
            (6) Unfair or inequitable manner.--The term ``unfair or 
        inequitable manner'' means--
                    (A) the imposition against a prepaid mobile service 
                provider or seller of any E911 fee that the prepaid 
                mobile service provider cannot collect from its end-
                user customers who are the intended payors of the fees 
                under its existing wireless business model;
                    (B) the enforcement of an E911 fee against a 
                prepaid mobile service provider in a manner that 
                creates strict liability for the prepaid mobile service 
                provider or seller for its inability to collect as 
                prescribed in subparagraph (A); or
                    (C) the imposition of a E911 fee in a manner that 
                results in the E911 fee being subject to other State or 
                local taxes when such other State or local taxes are 
                not equally imposed on the E911 fees paid by postpaid 
                mobile service customers.
            (7) Provider.--The term ``provider'' means a 
        telecommunications carrier as defined in section 1 of the 
        Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153(44)) that offers 
        mobile service.
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