§9109.1. Prepaid 911 charge; intent; definitions; collection and remittance; administration;
distribution of funds; liability; exclusivity
A. Intent.
(1)The legislature finds that maintaining effective and efficient 911
systems across the state benefits all citizens.
(2)Charges imposed upon the consumers of services that have the ability to access
911 are an important funding mechanism to assist state and local governments with the
deployment of 911 services to the citizens of this state.
(3)Prepaid services that provide access to 911 are an important segment of the
industry and have proven particularly attractive to low-volume consumers.
(4)Unlike traditional telecommunication services, prepaid services that provide
access to 911 are not sold or used pursuant to term contracts or subs
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§9109.1. Prepaid 911 charge; intent; definitions; collection and remittance; administration;
distribution of funds; liability; exclusivity
A. Intent. (1) The legislature finds that maintaining effective and efficient 911
systems across the state benefits all citizens.
(2) Charges imposed upon the consumers of services that have the ability to access
911 are an important funding mechanism to assist state and local governments with the
deployment of 911 services to the citizens of this state.
(3) Prepaid services that provide access to 911 are an important segment of the
industry and have proven particularly attractive to low-volume consumers.
(4) Unlike traditional telecommunication services, prepaid services that provide
access to 911 are not sold or used pursuant to term contracts or subscriptions, and monthly
bills are not sent to consumers by prepaid service providers or retail vendors.
(5) Prepaid service consumers have access to emergency 911 services from their
devices, and prepaid service consumers benefit from the ability to access the 911 system.
Therefore, prepaid service consumers should contribute to funding of the 911 emergency
communications system.
(6) Consumers purchase prepaid services that provide access to 911 at a wide variety
of general retail locations and other distribution channels, not just through service providers.
Such purchases are made on a "cash-and-carry" or "pay-as-you-go" basis from retailers.
(7) To ensure equitable contributions to the funding of 911 systems from consumers
of prepaid services, the collection and payment obligation of charges to support 911 should
be imposed upon the consumer's retail purchase of the prepaid service and should be in the
form of a single, statewide charge that is collected once at the time of purchase directly from
the consumer, remitted to the state, and distributed to communications districts.
B. Definitions. As used in this Section, the following words and terms have the
following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) "911" means an emergency telephone system that provides the caller with
emergency 911 system service, that directs 911 calls to appropriate public safety answering
points by selective routing based on the geographical location from which the call originated,
and that provides the capability for automatic number identification and other features that
the Federal Communications Commission may require in the future.
(2) "Consumer" means a person who purchases a prepaid service that provides access
to 911 in a retail transaction.
(3) "Department" means the Department of Revenue.
(4) "Prepaid 911 charge" means the charge that is required to be collected by a seller
from a consumer in the amount established under Subsection C of this Section.
(5) "Prepaid service" means a commercial mobile radio service as defined by 47
C.F.R. 20.3 in addition to any other service capable of accessing 911 through the use of
voice, text, video, image, data, or any other means, which service shall be paid for in advance
and is sold in predetermined units or dollars of which the number declines with use in a
known amount.
(6) "Provider" means a person that provides a prepaid service.
(7) "Retail transaction" means each individual purchase of a prepaid service that
provides access to 911 from a seller for any purpose other than resale.
(8) "Seller" means a person who sells a prepaid service that provides access to 911
to another person.
(9) Repealed by Acts 2016, No. 590, §2, eff. Oct. 1, 2016.
C. Collection and remittance of prepaid 911 charge. (1) There is hereby imposed a
prepaid 911 charge of four percent of the amount of the per retail transaction.
(2) The prepaid 911 charge shall be collected by the seller from the consumer with
respect to each retail transaction occurring in this state. The amount of the prepaid 911
charge shall be either separately stated on an invoice, receipt, or other similar document that
is provided to the consumer by the seller, or otherwise disclosed to the consumer.
(3) For purposes of Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, a retail transaction that is
effected in person by a consumer at a business location of the seller shall be treated as
occurring in this state if that business location is in this state, and any other retail transaction
shall be treated as occurring in this state if the retail transaction is treated as occurring in this
state for purposes of R.S. 47:301(16)(d).
(4) The prepaid 911 charge shall be the liability of the consumer and not of the seller
or of any provider, except that the seller shall be liable to remit all prepaid 911 charges that
the seller collects from consumers as provided in Subsection D of this Section, including all
such charges that the seller is deemed to collect where the amount of the charge has not been
separately stated on an invoice, receipt, or other similar document provided to the consumer
by the seller.
(5) The amount of the prepaid 911 charge that is collected by a seller from a
consumer, whether or not such amount is separately stated on an invoice, receipt, or other
similar document provided to the consumer by the seller, shall not be included in the base
for measuring any tax, fee, surcharge, or other charge that is imposed by this state, any
political subdivision of this state, or any intergovernmental agency.
D. Administration of prepaid 911 charge. (1) Prepaid 911 charges collected by sellers
shall be remitted to the department quarterly by the seller and the return for the quarter shall
be filed on or before the twentieth day of the first month of the next succeeding quarter. The
department shall establish electronic registration procedures to enable sellers to file and pay
the prepaid 911 charges electronically in accordance with R.S. 47:1520(A), which authorizes
the secretary of the department to mandate electronic filing when the report is required for
dedicated fund distribution. Sellers shall be required to file their prepaid 911 charge reports
and to remit the prepaid 911 charge collection electronically using the electronic format
prescribed by the department.
(2) A seller shall be permitted to deduct and retain half of the 2016 fourth quarter's
fees. Thereafter, a seller shall be permitted to deduct and retain two percent of prepaid 911
charges that are collected by the seller from consumers.
(3) The audit and appeal procedures applicable under Chapter 2 of Subtitle I of Title
47 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 with respect to the state sales tax shall apply
to prepaid 911 charges and prescription shall be governed by Article VII, Section 16 of the
Constitution of Louisiana.
(4) The department shall establish procedures by which a seller of prepaid 911
service may document that a sale is not a retail transaction, which procedures shall
substantially coincide with the procedures for documenting sale for resale transactions under
Chapter 2 of Subtitle I of Title 47 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 with respect to
the state sales tax.
(5) The department shall pay all remitted prepaid 911 charges over to eligible
communications districts in accordance with Subsection E of this Section. The department
may retain up to two percent of remitted charges to reimburse its direct costs of
administering the collection and remittance of prepaid 911 charges.
E. Distribution of funds to communications districts. (1) Each communications
district shall receive a distribution within thirty days of the end of each calendar quarter of
a portion of the revenues remitted to the department under Subsection D of this Section.
(2) The amount of the distribution shall be determined by dividing the population of
the communications district by the state population, and then multiplying that quotient times
the total revenues remitted to the department after deducting the amount authorized in
Paragraph (D)(5) of this Section.
F. Liability. (1) No provider or seller of prepaid service shall be liable for damages
to any person resulting from or incurred in connection with the provision of, or failure to
provide, 911 or E911 service, or for identifying, or failing to identify, the telephone number,
address, location, or name associated with any person or device that is accessing or
attempting to access 911 or E911 service.
(2) No provider or seller of prepaid service shall be liable for damages to any person
resulting from or incurred in connection with the provision of any lawful assistance to any
investigation or activity by a law enforcement officer of the United States, this or any other
state, or any political subdivision of this or any other state, in connection with any lawful
investigation or other law enforcement activity by such law enforcement officer.
G. Exclusivity of charge. The prepaid 911 charge shall be the only 911 funding
obligation imposed with respect to prepaid service in this state, and no tax, fee, surcharge,
or other charge shall be imposed by this state, any political subdivision of this state, or any
intergovernmental agency, for 911 funding purposes, upon any provider, seller, or consumer
with respect to the sale, purchase, use, or provision of prepaid 911 service.
NOTE: See Acts 2009, No. 531, §3, relative to retention of funds for
implementation.