Public Act 098-1167
 
SB3265 EnrolledLRB098 19701 JLK 54912 b

    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Wireless Emergency Telephone Safety Act is
amended by changing Section 17 as follows:
 
    (50 ILCS 751/17)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2015)
    Sec. 17. Wireless carrier surcharge.
    (a) Except as provided in Sections 45 and 80, each wireless
carrier shall impose a monthly wireless carrier surcharge per
CMRS connection that either has a telephone number within an
area code assigned to Illinois by the North American Numbering
Plan Administrator or has a billing address in this State. No
wireless carrier shall impose the surcharge authorized by this
Section upon any subscriber who is subject to the surcharge
imposed by a unit of local government pursuant to Section 45.
Prior to January 1, 2008 (the effective date of Public Act
95-698), the surcharge amount shall be the amount set by the
Wireless Enhanced 9-1-1 Board. Beginning on January 1, 2008
(the effective date of Public Act 95-698), the monthly
surcharge imposed under this Section shall be $0.73 per CMRS
connection. The wireless carrier that provides wireless
service to the subscriber shall collect the surcharge from the
subscriber. For mobile telecommunications services provided on
and after August 1, 2002, any surcharge imposed under this Act
shall be imposed based upon the municipality or county that
encompasses the customer's place of primary use as defined in
the Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Conformity Act. The
surcharge shall be stated as a separate item on the
subscriber's monthly bill. The wireless carrier shall begin
collecting the surcharge on bills issued within 90 days after
the Wireless Enhanced 9-1-1 Board sets the monthly wireless
surcharge. State and local taxes shall not apply to the
wireless carrier surcharge.
    (b) Except as provided in Sections 45 and 80, a wireless
carrier shall, within 45 days of collection, remit, either by
check or by electronic funds transfer, to the Illinois Commerce
Commission for deposit with the State Treasurer the amount of
the wireless carrier surcharge collected from each subscriber.
Of the amounts remitted under this subsection prior to January
1, 2008 (the effective date of Public Act 95-698), and for
surcharges imposed before January 1, 2008 (the effective date
of Public Act 95-698) but remitted after January 1, 2008, the
State Treasurer shall deposit one-third into the Wireless
Carrier Reimbursement Fund and two-thirds into the Wireless
Service Emergency Fund. For surcharges collected and remitted
on or after January 1, 2008 (the effective date of Public Act
95-698), $0.1475 per surcharge collected shall be deposited
into the Wireless Carrier Reimbursement Fund, and $0.5825 per
surcharge collected shall be deposited into the Wireless
Service Emergency Fund. For surcharges collected and remitted
on or after July 1, 2014, $0.05 per surcharge collected shall
be deposited into the Wireless Carrier Reimbursement Fund,
$0.66 per surcharge shall be deposited into the Wireless
Service Emergency Fund, and $0.02 per surcharge collected shall
be deposited into the Wireless Service Emergency Fund and
distributed in equal amounts to each County Emergency Telephone
System Board or qualified governmental entity Telephone Boards
in counties with a population under 100,000 according to the
most recent census data which is authorized by the Illinois
Commerce Commission to serve as a primary wireless 9-1-1 public
safety answering point for the county and to provide wireless
9-1-1 service as prescribed by subsection (b) of Section 15 of
this Act, and which does provide such service. Of the amounts
deposited into the Wireless Carrier Reimbursement Fund under
this subsection, $0.01 per surcharge collected may be
distributed to the carriers to cover their administrative
costs. Of the amounts deposited into the Wireless Service
Emergency Fund under this subsection, $0.01 per surcharge
collected may be disbursed to the Illinois Commerce Commission
to cover its administrative costs.
    (c) The first such remittance by wireless carriers shall
include the number of wireless subscribers by zip code, and the
9-digit zip code if currently being used or later implemented
by the carrier, that shall be the means by which the Illinois
Commerce Commission shall determine distributions from the
Wireless Service Emergency Fund. This information shall be
updated no less often than every year. Wireless carriers are
not required to remit surcharge moneys that are billed to
subscribers but not yet collected. Any carrier that fails to
provide the zip code information required under this subsection
(c) shall be subject to the penalty set forth in subsection (f)
of this Section.
    (d) Any funds collected under the Prepaid Wireless 9-1-1
Surcharge Act shall be distributed using a prorated method
based upon zip code information collected from post-paid
wireless carriers under subsection (c) of this Section.
    (e) If before midnight on the last day of the third
calendar month after the closing date of the remit period a
wireless carrier does not remit the surcharge or any portion
thereof required under this Section, then the surcharge or
portion thereof shall be deemed delinquent until paid in full,
and the Illinois Commerce Commission may impose a penalty
against the carrier in an amount equal to the greater of:
        (1) $25 for each month or portion of a month from the
    time an amount becomes delinquent until the amount is paid
    in full; or
        (2) an amount equal to the product of 1% and the sum of
    all delinquent amounts for each month or portion of a month
    that the delinquent amounts remain unpaid.
    A penalty imposed in accordance with this subsection (e)
for a portion of a month during which the carrier provides the
number of subscribers by zip code as required under subsection
(c) of this Section shall be prorated for each day of that
month during which the carrier had not provided the number of
subscribers by zip code as required under subsection (c) of
this Section. Any penalty imposed under this subsection (e) is
in addition to the amount of the delinquency and is in addition
to any other penalty imposed under this Section.
    (f) If, before midnight on the last day of the third
calendar month after the closing date of the remit period, a
wireless carrier does not provide the number of subscribers by
zip code as required under subsection (c) of this Section, then
the report is deemed delinquent and the Illinois Commerce
Commission may impose a penalty against the carrier in an
amount equal to the greater of:
        (1) $25 for each month or portion of a month that the
    report is delinquent; or
        (2) an amount equal to the product of 1/2¢ and the
    number of subscribers served by the wireless carrier. On
    and after July 1, 2014, an amount equal to the product of
    $0.01 and the number of subscribers served by the wireless
    carrier.
    A penalty imposed in accordance with this subsection (f)
for a portion of a month during which the carrier pays the
delinquent amount in full shall be prorated for each day of
that month that the delinquent amount was paid in full. A
penalty imposed and collected in accordance with subsection (e)
or this subsection (f) shall be deposited into the Wireless
Service Emergency Fund for distribution according to Section 25
of this Act. Any penalty imposed under this subsection (f) is
in addition to any other penalty imposed under this Section.
    (g) The Illinois Commerce Commission may enforce the
collection of any delinquent amount and any penalty due and
unpaid under this Section by legal action or in any other
manner by which the collection of debts due the State of
Illinois may be enforced under the laws of this State. The
Executive Director of the Illinois Commerce Commission, or his
or her designee, may excuse the payment of any penalty imposed
under this Section if the Executive Director, or his or her
designee, determines that the enforcement of this penalty is
unjust.
    (h) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,
nothing shall impair the right of wireless carriers to recover
compliance costs for all emergency communications services
that are not reimbursed out of the Wireless Carrier
Reimbursement Fund directly from their wireless subscribers
via line-item charges on the wireless subscriber's bill. Those
compliance costs include all costs incurred by wireless
carriers in complying with local, State, and federal regulatory
or legislative mandates that require the transmission and
receipt of emergency communications to and from the general
public, including, but not limited to, E-911.
    (i) The Auditor General shall conduct, on an annual basis,
an audit of the Wireless Service Emergency Fund and the
Wireless Carrier Reimbursement Fund for compliance with the
requirements of this Act. The audit shall include, but not be
limited to, the following determinations:
        (1) Whether the Commission is maintaining detailed
    records of all receipts and disbursements from the Wireless
    Carrier Emergency Fund and the Wireless Carrier
    Reimbursement Fund.
        (2) Whether the Commission's administrative costs
    charged to the funds are adequately documented and are
    reasonable.
        (3) Whether the Commission's procedures for making
    grants and providing reimbursements in accordance with the
    Act are adequate.
        (4) The status of the implementation of wireless 9-1-1
    and E9-1-1 services in Illinois.
    The Commission, the Department of State Police, and any
other entity or person that may have information relevant to
the audit shall cooperate fully and promptly with the Office of
the Auditor General in conducting the audit. The Auditor
General shall commence the audit as soon as possible and
distribute the report upon completion in accordance with
Section 3-14 of the Illinois State Auditing Act.
(Source: P.A. 97-463, eff. 1-1-12; 98-634, eff. 6-6-14.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.