84R20395 KKR-F
 
  By: Deshotel H.B. No. 3462
 
  Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3462:
 
  By:  Phillips C.S.H.B. No. 3462
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the creation of regional emergency communication
  districts; authorizing a fee.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 772, Health and Safety Code, is amended
  by adding Subchapter H to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER H.  REGIONAL EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION DISTRICTS: STATE
  PLANNING REGIONS WITH 9-1-1 POPULATION SERVED LESS THAN 1.5 MILLION
         Sec. 772.601.  SHORT TITLE. This subchapter may be cited as
  the Regional Emergency Communication Districts Act.
         Sec. 772.602.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "9-1-1 region" means the portion of a state
  planning region established under Chapter 391, Local Government
  Code, composed of counties and municipalities that on September 1,
  2015, exclusively received 9-1-1 system services provided by a
  9-1-1 system operated through a regional planning commission.
               (2)  "Board" means the board of managers of a district.
               (3)  "District" means a regional emergency
  communication district created under this subchapter.
               (4)  "Regional planning commission" means a commission
  or council of governments created under Chapter 391, Local
  Government Code, for a designated region.
         Sec. 772.603.  APPLICATION OF SUBCHAPTER. (a)  This
  subchapter applies to a 9-1-1 region:
               (1)  in which the total population served by the 9-1-1
  system operated through a regional planning commission was less
  than 1.5 million on September 1, 2015; and
               (2)  in which the governing bodies of each
  participating county and municipality in the 9-1-1 region adopt a
  resolution under Section 772.604 to participate in the district.
         (b)  This subchapter does not affect:
               (1)  a public agency or group of public agencies acting
  jointly that provided 9-1-1 service before September 1, 1987, or
  that had voted or contracted before that date to provide that
  service;
               (2)  a district created under Subchapter B, C, D, F, or
  G; or
               (3)  the distribution of funds under Section 771.072.
         Sec. 772.604.  CREATION OF DISTRICT. (a) A district is
  created when the governing bodies of each participating county and
  municipality in a 9-1-1 region adopt a resolution approving the
  district's creation. The district's creation is effective on the
  date the last resolution is adopted by a participating county or
  municipality.
         (b)  The district shall file with the county clerk of each
  county in which the district is located a certificate declaring the
  creation of the district.
         Sec. 772.605.  POLITICAL SUBDIVISION; DISTRICT POWERS. (a)
  A district is a political subdivision of this state created to carry
  out essential governmental functions.
         (b)  A district may exercise all powers necessary to carry
  out the purposes and provisions of this subchapter.
         (c)  A district created under this subchapter may enter into
  an interlocal agreement with an emergency communication district
  established under Subchapter B, C, D, F, or G to promote enhanced
  public safety and increased fiscal and service efficiencies.
         Sec. 772.606.  TERRITORY OF DISTRICT. The territory of a
  district:
               (1)  consists of the territory of each participating
  county or municipality located in a 9-1-1 region; and
               (2)  does not include any land that is located in the
  territory of an emergency communication district authorized under
  Subchapter B, C, D, F, or G.
         Sec. 772.607.  BOARD OF MANAGERS. (a) A district is
  governed by a board of managers.
         (b)  A district's initial board is composed of members who
  are appointed by the governing bodies of each participating county
  and municipality. At least two-thirds of the initial board members
  must be elected officials of the participating counties and
  municipalities.
         (c)  The initial board appointed under Subsection (b) shall
  establish the size of the board and the qualifications of board
  members.
         Sec. 772.608.  POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD. (a) The board
  shall name, control, and manage the district.
         (b)  The board shall approve, adopt, and amend an annual
  budget.
         (c)  The board may adopt orders, rules, bylaws, policies, and
  procedures governing the operations of the board and the district.
         Sec. 772.609.  DIRECTOR OF DISTRICT; STAFF; FISCAL AND
  ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT. (a) The regional planning commission for the
  9-1-1 region in which the district is established shall serve as the
  fiscal and administrative agent for the district.
         (b)  The executive director of the regional planning
  commission for the 9-1-1 region may serve as director of the
  district.
         (c)  The director is responsible for:
               (1)  performing all duties required by the board;
               (2)  ensuring that board policies and procedures are
  implemented for the purposes of this subchapter;
               (3)  preparing an annual budget; and
               (4)  employing and assigning employees of the regional
  planning commission to perform duties under this subchapter in
  accordance with the district's approved annual budget.
         (d)  The director may use district money to compensate an
  employee assigned duties under this subchapter.
         (e)  The director and an employee assigned duties under this
  subchapter are employees of the regional planning commission for
  all purposes.
         Sec. 772.610.  AUDIT AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.  The
  district shall prepare an annual report that includes:
               (1)  the amount and source of funds received by the
  district;
               (2)  the amount and source of funds spent by the
  district; and
               (3)  the results of an audit of the district's affairs
  prepared by an independent certified public accountant in
  compliance with the district's policies and procedures.
         Sec. 772.611.  PROVISION OF 9-1-1 SERVICE. (a) A district
  shall provide 9-1-1 service to each participating county or
  municipality through one or a combination of the following methods
  and features or equivalent state-of-the-art technology:
               (1)  the transfer method;
               (2)  the relay method;
               (3)  the dispatch method;
               (4)  automatic number identification;
               (5)  automatic location identification; or
               (6)  selective routing.
         (b)  The district shall design, implement, and operate a
  9-1-1 system for each participating county and municipality in the
  district.
         (c)  For each individual telephone subscriber in the
  district, 9-1-1 service is mandatory and is not an optional service
  under any definition of terms relating to telephone service.
         Sec. 772.612.  LIABILITY.  The liability protection provided
  by Section 771.053 applies to services provided under this
  subchapter.
         Sec. 772.613.  PRIMARY EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER. The
  digits 9-1-1 are the primary emergency telephone number in a
  district. A public safety agency whose services are available
  through a 9-1-1 system:
               (1)  may maintain a separate number for an emergency
  telephone call; and
               (2)  shall maintain a separate number for a
  nonemergency telephone call.
         Sec. 772.614.  TRANSMITTING REQUESTS FOR EMERGENCY AID. (a)
  A 9-1-1 system established under this subchapter must be capable of
  transmitting requests for firefighting, law enforcement,
  ambulance, and medical services to a public safety agency that
  provides the requested service at the location from which the call
  originates. A 9-1-1 system may provide for transmitting requests
  for other emergency services, including poison control, suicide
  prevention, and civil defense.
         (b)  A public safety answering point may transmit emergency
  response requests to private safety entities with the board's
  approval.
         (c)  With the consent of a participating county or
  municipality, a privately owned automatic intrusion alarm or other
  privately owned automatic alerting device may be installed to cause
  the number 9-1-1 to be dialed to gain access to emergency services.
         Sec. 772.615.  9-1-1 EMERGENCY SERVICE FEE. (a) The board
  may impose a 9-1-1 emergency service fee on service users in the
  district.
         (b)  The fee may be imposed only on the base rate charge or
  the charge's equivalent, excluding charges for coin-operated
  telephone equipment. The fee may not be imposed on:
               (1)  more than 100 local exchange access lines or the
  lines' equivalent for a single business entity at a single
  location, unless the lines are used by residents of the location; or
               (2)  any line that the Commission on State Emergency
  Communications has excluded from the definition of a local exchange
  access line or equivalent local exchange access line under Section
  771.063.
         (c)  If a business service user provides residential
  facilities, each line that terminates at a residential unit and is a
  communication link equivalent to a residential local exchange
  access line shall be charged the 9-1-1 emergency service fee. The
  fee must have uniform application throughout the district and be
  imposed in each participating county or municipality in the
  district.
         (d)  The amount of the fee may not exceed 50 cents per month
  for each line.
         (e)  The board shall set the amount of the fee each year as
  part of the annual budget. The board shall notify each service
  supplier of a change in the amount of the fee not later than the 91st
  day before the date the change takes effect.
         (f)  In imposing the fee, the board shall attempt to match
  the district's revenues to the district's operating expenditures,
  including the current and planned expenditures for the purchase,
  installation, and maintenance of 9-1-1 emergency services in
  accordance with the district's approved annual budget and operating
  policies.
         Sec. 772.616.  COLLECTION OF FEE. (a) A service supplier or
  a business service user that provides residential facilities and
  owns or leases a publicly or privately owned telephone switch used
  to provide telephone service to facility residents shall collect
  the fees imposed on a customer under Section 772.615.
         (b)  Not later than the 30th day after the last day of the
  month in which the fees are collected, the service supplier or
  business service user shall deliver the fees to the district in the
  manner determined by the district. The district may establish an
  alternative date for payment of fees under this section, provided
  that the required payment date is not earlier than the 30th day
  after the last day of the report period in which the fees are
  collected. The service supplier or business service user shall
  file with each payment to the district a receipt in the form
  prescribed by the district.
         (c)  Both a service supplier and a business service user
  under Subsection (a) shall maintain records of the amount of fees
  the service supplier or business service user collects until at
  least the second anniversary of the date of collection. The board
  may require, at the board's expense, an annual audit of the service
  supplier's or business service user's books and records with
  respect to the collection and remittance of the fees.
         (d)  A business service user that does not collect and remit
  the 9-1-1 emergency service fee as required is subject to a civil
  cause of action under Subsection (g). A sworn affidavit by the
  district specifying the unremitted fees is prima facie evidence
  that the fees were not remitted and of the amount of the unremitted
  fees.
         (e)  A service supplier may retain an administrative fee of
  two percent of the amount of fees the service supplier collects
  under this section.
         (f)  A service supplier is not required to take any legal
  action to enforce the collection of the 9-1-1 emergency service
  fee. The service supplier shall provide the district with an annual
  certificate of delinquency that includes the amount of all
  delinquent fees and the name and address of each nonpaying service
  user. The certificate of delinquency is prima facie evidence that a
  fee included in the certificate is delinquent and of the amount of
  the delinquent fee. A service user account is considered
  delinquent if the fee is not paid to the service supplier before the
  31st day after the payment due date stated on the user's bill from
  the service supplier.
         (g)  The district may file legal proceedings against a
  service user to collect fees not paid by the service user and may
  establish internal collection procedures and recover the cost of
  collection from the nonpaying service user. If the district
  prevails in a legal proceeding filed under this subsection, the
  court shall award costs, attorney's fees, and interest to be paid by
  the nonpaying service user. A delinquent fee accrues interest at
  the legal rate beginning on the date the payment becomes due.
         Sec. 772.617.  DISTRICT DEPOSITORY. The board shall select
  a depository for the district in the manner provided by law.
         Sec. 772.618.  ALLOWABLE EXPENSES. A district's allowable
  operating expenses include all costs attributable to designing a
  9-1-1 system and all equipment and personnel necessary to establish
  and maintain a public safety answering point and other related
  operations that the board considers necessary.
         Sec. 772.619.  NUMBER AND LOCATION IDENTIFICATION. (a) As
  part of 9-1-1 service, a service supplier shall furnish, for each
  call, the telephone number of the subscriber and the address
  associated with the number.
         (b)  A business service user that provides residential
  facilities and owns or leases a publicly or privately owned
  telephone switch used to provide telephone service to facility
  residents shall provide to those residential end users the same
  level of 9-1-1 service that a service supplier is required to
  provide under Subsection (a) to other residential end users in the
  district.
         (c)  Information furnished under this section is
  confidential and is not available for public inspection.
         (d)  A service supplier or business service user under
  Subsection (b) may not be held liable to a person who uses a 9-1-1
  system created under this subchapter for the release to the
  district of the information specified in Subsections (a) and (b).
         Sec. 772.620.  PUBLIC REVIEW. (a) Periodically, the board
  shall solicit public comments and hold a public review hearing on
  the continuation of the district and the 9-1-1 emergency service
  fee. The first hearing shall be held on or before the third
  anniversary of the date of the district's creation. Subsequent
  hearings shall be held on or before the third anniversary of the
  date each resolution required by Subsection (c) is adopted.
         (b)  The board shall publish notice of the time and place of a
  hearing once a week for two consecutive weeks in a daily newspaper
  of general circulation published in the district. The first notice
  must be published not later than the 16th day before the date set
  for the hearing.
         (c)  After the hearing, the board shall adopt a resolution on
  the continuation or dissolution of the district and the 9-1-1
  emergency service fee.
         Sec. 772.621.  DISSOLUTION PROCEDURES. (a) If a district is
  dissolved, 9-1-1 service must be discontinued in compliance with
  the district's policies and bylaws and must be administered in
  accordance with Chapter 771.
         (b)  The regional planning commission for the district's
  9-1-1 region shall assume the district's assets, provide 9-1-1
  service, and pay the district's debts. If the district's assets are
  insufficient to retire all existing debts of the district on the
  date of dissolution, the regional planning commission shall
  continue to impose the 9-1-1 emergency service fee in compliance
  with Section 772.615, and each service supplier shall continue to
  collect the fee for the regional planning commission. Proceeds
  from the imposition of the fee by the regional planning commission
  after dissolution of the district may be used only to retire the
  outstanding debts of the district.
         (c)  The regional planning commission shall retire the
  district's debts to the extent practicable according to the terms
  of the instruments creating the debts and the terms of the
  resolutions authorizing creation of the debts.
         (d)  The governing body of the regional planning commission
  for the district's 9-1-1 region may adopt rules necessary to
  administer this section.
         Sec. 772.622.  TRANSFER OF ASSETS. If a district is
  established under this subchapter, the regional planning
  commission for the 9-1-1 region in which the district is
  established may transfer to the district any land, buildings,
  improvements, equipment, and other assets acquired by the regional
  planning commission in relation to the provision of 9-1-1 service
  in accordance with Chapter 771.
         SECTION 2.  Section 771.001(3), Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
               (3)  "Emergency communication district" means:
                     (A)  a public agency or group of public agencies
  acting jointly that provided 9-1-1 service before September 1,
  1987, or that had voted or contracted before that date to provide
  that service; or
                     (B)  a district created under Subchapter B, C, D,
  F, [or] G, or H, Chapter 772.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.