BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
2545 (De La Torre)
Hearing Date: 08/02/2010 Amended: 06/22/2010
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy Policy Vote: EU&C 9-0
AB 2545 (De La Torre), Page 2
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 2545 requires the Public Utilities Commission
to open a proceeding to determine a method to collect the
existing 911 surcharge from users of prepaid mobile
telecommunication services.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
Public Utilities Commission $300 Special
*
staff support
Board of Equalization staff $300 General
support
* Public Utilities Commission Utilities Reimbursement Account.
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
Under current law, local governments (and the California Highway
Patrol) respond to calls made to the 911 emergency telephone
system. California residents pay a surcharge based on the amount
paid for all intrastate telephone calls. The surcharge is set by
the Department of General Services, and must be between 0.50
percent and 0.75 percent of the billed amount. (Currently, the
surcharge is set at 0.50 percent.) The surcharge is collected by
service providers and remitted to the Board of Equalization.
Surcharge revenues pay for state oversight costs, 911 database
and networks costs, local government equipment costs, and local
public education campaigns.
Customers with traditional (post-paid) landline and mobile phone
service who pay monthly bills are charged the 911 surcharge
monthly as part of their bill. Under the law, customers who use
prepaid telecommunications services should also pay the 911
surcharge on intrastate calls. However, because providers of
these services do not actually know which calls are intrastate
calls, these providers have difficulty in accurately assessing
the 911 surcharge.
AB 2545 (De La Torre), Page 2
AB 2545 directs the Public Utilities Commission to open a
proceeding to determine an equitable manner to impose the 911
surcharge on users of prepaid mobile telecommunications
services. The Public Utilities Commission indicates that it will
need one additional staff position to support the required
proceeding.
Staff notes that the author is working on amendments that will
broaden the scope of the bill to address other issues
surrounding the imposition of various fees and taxes on users of
prepaid telecommunications services. While the amendments have
not been finalized, expanding the bill's scope will likely
increase costs for the Public Utilities Commission and the Board
of Equalization.
The proposed author's amendments rewrite the bill to require the
Public Utilities Commission and the Board of Equalization to
jointly convene a public process to develop recommendations for
a system to equitably collect all appropriate fees and taxes
owed by telecommunications customers who use prepaid
telecommunications services.