PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 433 PRINTER'S NO. 1087
No. 385 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY CORMAN, WONDERLING, COSTA, C. WILLIAMS, TOMLINSON,
KITCHEN, PUNT, TARTAGLIONE, M. WHITE, WOZNIAK, WASHINGTON,
FERLO AND FONTANA, MARCH 13, 2007
SENATOR ARMSTRONG, APPROPRIATIONS, RE-REPORTED AS AMENDED,
JUNE 4, 2007
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of July 9, 1990 (P.L.340, No.78), entitled "An
2 act providing for a Statewide emergency telephone number 911
3 system; providing for contributions from telephone
4 subscribers; providing a penalty; and making a repeal;"
5 providing for interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol
6 service; and establishing the VoIP 911 Emergency Services
7 Fund.
8 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
9 hereby enacts as follows:
10 Section 1. Section 2 of the act of July 9, 1990 (P.L.340,
11 No.78), known as the Public Safety Emergency Telephone Act, is
12 amended by adding definitions to read:
13 Section 2. Definitions.
14 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
15 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
16 context clearly indicates otherwise:
17 * * *
18 "Interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol service
19 customer" or "VoIP service customer." A person who is billed by
1 an interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol provider, is the
2 end user of VoIP service and who has designated a primary place
3 of use within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
4 "Interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol provider" or
5 "VoIP provider." A person engaged in the business of providing
6 VoIP service to end-use customers in this Commonwealth,
7 including resellers.
8 "Interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol service" or
9 "VoIP service." Service as defined by all orders issued by the
10 Federal Communications Commission pursuant to the proceeding
11 entitled "IP-Enabled Services", (WC Docket No. 04-36; FCC 05-
12 116), codified at 47 CFR Part 9 (relating to interconnected
13 Voice over Internet Protocol services), any successor proceeding
14 and any other FCC order that affects the provision of E-911
15 service to VoIP service customers or further defines
16 interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol service.
17 * * *
18 "Primary place of use." The street address representative of
19 where the customer's use of the VoIP service primarily occurs.
20 For the purpose of VoIP 911 fees, primary place of use is the
21 customer's registered location on the date the customer is
22 billed.
23 * * *
24 Telecommunications carrier." Any provider of
25 telecommunications services as defined by the Telecommunications
26 Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-104, 110 Stat. 56).
27 * * *
28 Section 2. Sections 11.7, 11.8 and 11.9 of the act, added
29 December 30, 2003 (P.L.384, No.56), are amended to read:
30 Section 11.7. Public disclosure and confidentiality of
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1 information.
2 (a) Annual report of the agency.--The annual report of the
3 agency shall be a public document.
4 (b) Prohibition against release of information.--Neither the
5 State Treasurer, the agency, nor any employee, agent or
6 representative of a PSAP or public agency shall divulge any
7 information acquired with respect to any wireless provider or
8 VoIP provider, its customers, revenues or expenses, trade
9 secrets, commercial information and such other proprietary
10 information while acting or claiming to act as such employee,
11 agent or representative, and all such information is hereby
12 required to be kept confidential except that aggregations of
13 information which do not identify or effectively identify
14 numbers of customers, revenues or expenses, trade secrets,
15 commercial information and such other proprietary information
16 attributable to any individual wireless provider or VoIP
17 provider may be made public.
18 Section 11.8. Wireless provider and VoIP provider records.
19 (a) Access.--Upon request from and pursuant to agreement
20 with a PSAP, each wireless provider shall provide E-911 service
21 data base information and each VoIP provider shall provide VoIP
22 service data base information as permitted under the law to the
23 requesting PSAP. Such information shall remain the property of
24 the disclosing wireless provider or VoIP provider and, except as
25 otherwise provided by applicable Federal or State law, shall be
26 used by the PSAP only in connection with providing emergency
27 response services to a call to a 911 system or to a wireless E-
28 911 system.
29 (b) Violations.--A person commits a misdemeanor of the third
30 degree who:
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1 (1) Uses or discloses wireless E-911 service data base
2 information or VoIP service data base information for
3 purposes other than handling a call to a 911 system or to a
4 wireless E-911 system without the consent of the wireless
5 service customer or VoIP service customer, or as otherwise
6 provided by applicable Federal or State law.
7 (2) Knowingly uses the telephone number of a 911 system
8 [or], wireless E-911 system or VoIP service data base
9 information to avoid any charges for the services of a local
10 exchange carrier, competitive local exchange carrier,
11 interexchange carrier [or], wireless provider or VoIP
12 provider.
13 (c) Privacy waived.--The provisions of 66 Pa.C.S. § 2906
14 (relating to dissemination of telephone numbers and other
15 identifying information) shall have no application to wireless
16 providers or VoIP providers to the extent they are engaged in
17 providing wireless E-911 service, 911 service or related
18 services.
19 Section 11.9. Immunity.
20 (a) Generally.--No wireless provider or VoIP provider or its
21 officers, directors, employees, agents or vendors shall be
22 liable to any person for civil damages resulting from or caused
23 by such [wireless provider's] providers', its officers',
24 directors', employees', agents' or suppliers' participation in
25 or acts, failure or omissions in connection with that
26 participation in the development, design, installation,
27 operation, maintenance, performance or provision of wireless E-
28 911 service or 911 service, except for willful or wanton
29 misconduct.
30 (b) Parity of liability.--A wireless provider or VoIP
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1 provider shall have the same immunity from liability for
2 transmission errors or failures, network outages or other
3 technical problems that arise in the course of handling
4 emergency calls or providing emergency services, including
5 wireless E-911 service, as a local exchange carrier enjoys in
6 the course of handling such calls or providing such services.
7 (c) Release of information.--No wireless provider or VoIP
8 provider or its employees or agents shall be liable to any
9 person for releasing wireless service customer information or
10 VoIP service customer information to the agency or to any 911
11 system or wireless E-911 system, public agency or PSAP as
12 required by this act or any law.
13 Section 3. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
14 Section 11.14. Collection and disbursement of VoIP 911 fee.
15 (a) VoIP service customer 911 contribution.--
16 (1) Each VoIP provider or telecommunications carrier, on
17 the first monthly billing cycle after the effective date of
18 this section, shall collect a $1 fee per month for each
19 telephone number or successor dialing protocol assigned by a
20 VoIP provider to a VoIP service customer number that has
21 outbound calling capability and remit the collection
22 quarterly less the actual uncollectibles experienced by the
23 VoIP provider to the State Treasurer. This fee shall be
24 stated separately in the VoIP service customer's paper or
25 electronic billing and the fee shall be collected apart from
26 and in addition to any fee levied by the VoIP provider in
27 whole or in part for the provision of 911 services or E-911
28 services.
29 (2) In the case of VoIP service customers purchasing
30 multiple dial tone telephone access lines from a VoIP
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1 provider, the following multipliers shall be applied to
2 determine the contribution rate of each customer:
3 (i) For the first 25 lines, each line shall be
4 billed at the approved contribution rate.
5 (ii) For lines 26 through 100, each line shall be
6 billed at 0.75 of the approved contribution rate.
7 (iii) For lines 101 through 250, each line shall be
8 billed at 0.50 of the approved contribution rate.
9 (iv) For lines 251 through 500, each line shall be
10 billed at 0.20 of the approved contribution rate.
11 (v) For lines 501 or more, each line shall be billed
12 at 0.172 of the approved contribution rate.
13 (3) If a VoIP provider receives a partial payment for a
14 monthly bill from a VoIP service customer, the VoIP provider
15 may apply the payment against the amount the VoIP service
16 customer owes the VoIP provider first and then shall remit to
17 the State Treasurer the lesser amount, if any, as shall
18 result therefrom.
19 (4) The fees collected and remitted under this
20 subsection shall not be subject to taxes or charges levied by
21 the Commonwealth or any political subdivision of this
22 Commonwealth, nor shall the fees be considered revenue of the
23 VoIP provider for any purpose.
24 (5) As reimbursement for administrative costs to cover
25 its expenses of billing, collecting and remitting the fees
26 during the reporting period, the VoIP provider is allowed to
27 retain for reimbursement up to 2% of the total fees collected
28 under this subsection.
29 (6) To the extent that a VoIP provider obtains
30 connections to the public switched telephone network from a
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1 telecommunications carrier, that telecommunications carrier
2 shall not be required to assess or make contributions to any
3 911 or E-911 fund in connection with the customers or the
4 telephone numbers for which the VoIP provider is responsible
5 for collecting and making contributions under this section.
6 If, however, the telecommunications carrier is, by agreement
7 with the VoIP provider, required to make 911 or E-911
8 contributions on behalf of the VoIP provider customer, the
9 VoIP provider will not be responsible for collecting and
10 making contributions under this section.
11 (b) Reporting by VoIP providers.--With each remittance a
12 VoIP provider and telecommunications carrier shall supply the
13 following information to the State Treasurer and to the agency:
14 (1) The total fees collected under subsection (a)(1)
15 from its VoIP service customers during the reporting period.
16 If the telecommunications carrier has remitted the fees to
17 the agency pursuant to an agreement with the VoIP provider,
18 the VoIP provider must provide notification of such reporting
19 agreement along with the telecommunications carrier's name
20 and 911 or E-911 account number.
21 (2) All VoIP providers and telecommunications carriers
22 shall provide the agency with such information as it shall
23 request, including the primary place of use of each
24 interconnected VoIP service customer, in writing in order to
25 discharge its obligations under this section, including, but
26 not limited to, the collection and deposit of the VoIP fee
27 and its administration of the fund. Information supplied by
28 VoIP providers pursuant to this section shall remain
29 confidential and release of such information shall be
30 governed by section 11.7.
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1 (c) Collection enforcement.--A VoIP provider has no
2 obligation to take any legal action to enforce the collection of
3 any fee imposed pursuant to this section.
4 (d) Establishment of fund.--There is hereby established in
5 the State Treasury a nonlapsing restricted interest-bearing
6 account to be known as the VoIP 911 Emergency Services Fund. The
7 fund shall consist of the fees collected pursuant to this
8 section.
9 (e) Distribution of fees.--Moneys in the fund established by
10 this section and the interest it accrues are hereby appropriated
11 ON A CONTINUING BASIS to the agency to be disbursed by the <--
12 agency. The agency shall make an annual appropriation <--
13 DISBURSEMENT from the account to each county in an amount equal <--
14 to the amount of fees collected from VoIP service customers
15 located in that county and for the purpose of assisting counties
16 with the implementation of an agency-approved plan adopted under
17 section 5.
18 Section 4. This act shall take effect in 120 days.
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