BILL NUMBER: AB 1050 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 10, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 25, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ma
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to add and repeal Section 41127.9 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code, relating to telecommunications.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1050, as amended, Ma. Telecommunications: taxes and fees.
The existing Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Act generally
imposes a surcharge on amounts paid by every person in the state for
intrastate telephone service to provide revenues sufficient to fund
"911" emergency telephone system costs. Surcharge amounts are paid to
the State Board of Equalization on a monthly basis by the telephone
service supplier and are deposited into the State Treasury to the
credit of the State Emergency Telephone Number Account in the General
Fund, to be expended for limited purposes, including to pay the
Department of General Services for its costs in administration of the
"911" emergency telephone number system.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations,
and is authorized to fix just and reasonable rates and charges for
services provided by those public utilities. Existing law establishes
the Public Utilities Commission Utilities Reimbursement Account and
authorizes the commission to annually determine a fee to be paid by
every public utility providing service directly to customers or
subscribers and subject to the jurisdiction of the commission, except
for a railroad corporation. The commission is required to establish
the fee, with the approval of the Department of Finance, to produce a
total amount equal to that amount established in the authorized
commission budget for the same year, and an appropriate reserve to
regulate public utilities, less specified sources of funding.
Existing law establishes the state's telecommunications universal
service programs and authorizes the commission to impose charges for
the purpose of funding those programs.
This bill would, upon appropriation for that purpose, require the
State Board of Equalization to convene a working group by March 1,
2012, to develop recommendations for an equitable and uniform method
of collecting state and locally authorized communications taxes,
fees, and surcharges from prepaid communications end-use consumers.
The bill would require the working group to report its
recommendations by April 30, 2013. The bill would require that the
working group include stakeholder representatives, including
representatives from the commission, the California Technology
Agency, local government entities, law enforcement agencies, mobile
telephony service providers, retailers, and consumer groups. Pursuant
to existing law, the bill would repeal these requirements on January
1, 2016.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Maintaining effective and efficient telecommunications
services, 911 emergency systems, telecommunications-related public
policy programs to promote universal service, and various local
programs across the state benefits all citizens.
(b) Under existing law, communications taxes, fees, and
surcharges, including the Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Act,
telecommunications universal service surcharges, local 911 emergency
system surcharges, and utility user taxes are important funding
mechanisms to assist state and local governments with the deployment
of a variety of important services and programs to the citizens of
this state.
(c) Providers of communications services are required to collect
and remit communications taxes, fees, and surcharges on various types
of communication service revenues, as provided by existing state or
local law.
(d) Under existing law, there is a method for collecting
communications taxes, fees, and surcharges from postpaid
communications end-use consumers. However, there is no method for
collecting communications taxes, fees, and surcharges from prepaid
end-use consumers.
(e) Consumers purchase prepaid communications services at a wide
variety of retail locations and other distribution channels, as well
as through service providers.
(f) Prepaid communications services are an important and growing
segment of the communications industry.
(g) To ensure equitable contributions from end-use consumers of
postpaid and prepaid communications services, there should be
standardization with respect to the method used to collect
communications taxes, fees, and surcharges from end-use consumers of
prepaid communications services.
SEC. 2. Section 41127.9 is added to the Revenue and Taxation Code,
to read:
41127.9. (a) Upon an appropriation being made for that purpose,
the State Board of Equalization shall convene a working group, by
March 1, 2012, to develop recommendations for an equitable and
uniform method of collecting state and locally authorized
communications taxes, fees, and surcharges from prepaid
communications end-use consumers. The working group shall report to
the Legislature with its recommendations by April 30, 2013. The
working group shall include stakeholder representatives, including
, but not limited to, representatives from the
Public Utilities Commission, the California Technology Agency, local
government entities, law enforcement agencies, mobile telephony
service providers, retailers, and consumer groups.
(b) For the purposes of this section, "communications taxes, fees,
and surcharges" means any and all state and
local-authorized locally authorized taxes, fees,
and surcharges on communications services, including but not limited
to:
(1) Surcharges authorized pursuant to the Emergency Telephone
Users Surcharge Act (Part 20 (commencing with Section 41001)).
(2) Charges authorized by the Public Utilities Commission,
including:
(A) The California High Cost Fund-A program surcharge (Section
275.6, Public Utilities Code).
(B) The California High Cost Fund-B program surcharge (Section
739.3, Public Utilities Code).
(C) The Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program surcharge
(Section 2881 and following, Public Utilities Code).
(D) The California Teleconnect Administrative Committee program
surcharge (Section 280, Public Utilities Code).
(E) The California Advanced Services Fund program surcharge
(Section 281, Public Utilities Code).
(F) The Moore Universal Telephone Service Act (Article 8
(commencing with Section 871) of Chapter 4 of Part 1 of Division 1 of
the Public Utilities Code).
(G) Public Utilities Commission reimbursement fees collected
pursuant to Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 401) of Part 1 of
Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code.
(3) Local 911 or access line taxes, fees, or surcharges.
(4) Local utility user taxes.
(c) (1) The report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a)
shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
Code.
(2) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this
section is repealed on January 1, 2016.