FCC: State 911 Fee Diversion Continued in 2015
Eight states and Puerto Rico diverted a portion of state 911 fees for other purposes in 2015, the FCC said in an annual report to Congress. The report was submitted to legislators Dec. 30 and released Friday. The total amount…
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diverted was nearly $220.3 million, or about 8.4 percent of total fees collected, the FCC said. In the previous year’s report, the FCC said eight states diverted $223.4 million, or 8.8 percent of 911 funds, in 2014. And the practice appeared to continue last year despite a few state legislative tries to address it, our earlier research on the topic found (see 1605270020). Also in the report, the FCC said 36 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico combined spent about $164.8 million in 911 revenue on Next Generation-911 programs in 2015. That's 6.26 percent of total 911 fees collected, the FCC said. But 13 states, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands didn't spend any money on NG-911, the agency said. Also, 38 states and three territories spent no 911 funds on 911-related cybersecurity programs for public safety answering points, but nine states and the District did, it said. In addition to seeking comments on the findings, the FCC asked about the role of oversight and auditing in ensuring collected 911 fees are used properly. "As in previous years, the Report finds that almost every reporting jurisdiction collects 911 fees from in-state subscribers, but many states lack authority to audit service providers to verify that the collected fees accurately reflect the number of in-state subscribers served by the provider,” the commission said in a public notice. Comments are due Feb. 13, replies March 15.