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Business Taxes Law Guide—Revision 2024
Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Act
Revenue and Taxation Code
Division 2. Other Taxes
Part 20. Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Act
Chapter 2. The Surcharges.
Article 2. Adjustment of Surcharge Amounts
Section 41030
Text of Section Operative Through December 31, 2014
41030. Determination of rate. (a) The Office of Emergency Services shall determine annually, on or before October 1, to be effective on January 1 of the following year, a surcharge rate pursuant to subdivision (b) that it estimates will produce sufficient revenue to fund the current fiscal year's 911 costs.
(b) (1) The surcharge rate shall be determined by dividing the costs (including incremental costs) the Office of Emergency Services estimates for the current fiscal year of 911 costs approved pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 53100) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code, less the available balance in the State Emergency Telephone Number Account in the General Fund, by its estimate of the charges for intrastate telephone communications services and VoIP service to which the surcharge will apply for the period of January 1, to December 31, inclusive, of the next succeeding calendar year, but in no event shall the surcharge rate in any year be greater than three-quarters of 1 percent or less than one-half of 1 percent.
(2) Commencing with the calculation made October 1, 2015, to be effective January 1, 2016, the surcharge shall be determined by dividing the costs (including incremental costs) the Office of Emergency Services estimates for the current fiscal year of 911 costs approved pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 53100) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code, less the available balance in the State Emergency Telephone Number Account in the General Fund, by its estimate of the charges for intrastate telephone communications services, the intrastate portion of prepaid mobile telephony services, and VoIP service to which the surcharge will apply for the period of January 1 to December 31, inclusive, of the next succeeding calendar year, but in no event shall the surcharge rate in any year be greater than three-quarters of 1 percent or less than one-half of 1 percent. In making its computation of the charges that are applicable to the intrastate portion of prepaid mobile telephony services, the Office of Emergency Services shall use the computation method developed by the Public Utilities Commission and reported to the Office of Emergency Services pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 319 of the Public Utilities Code.
(c) When determining the surcharge rates pursuant to this section, the office shall include the costs it expects to incur to plan, test, implement, and operate Next Generation 911 technology and services, including text to 911 service.
(d) The Office of Emergency Services shall notify the board of the surcharge amount collected pursuant to this part and the surcharge amount applicable to prepaid mobile telephony services by October 15 of each year.
(e) At least 30 days prior to determining the surcharge pursuant to subdivision (a), the Office of Emergency Services shall prepare a summary of the calculation of the proposed surcharge and make it available to the public and on its Internet Web site. The summary shall contain all of the following:
(1) The prior year revenues to fund 911 costs, including, but not limited to, revenues from prepaid service.
(2) Projected expenses and revenues from all sources, including, but not limited to, prepaid service to fund 911 costs.
(3) The rationale for adjustment to the surcharge determined pursuant to subdivision (b), including, but not limited to, all impacts from the surcharge collected pursuant to Part 21 (commencing with Section 42001).
(f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.
History—Stats. 1978, Ch. 352, effective July 4, 1978, in the first sentence substituted "1979–80" for "1978–79". Stats. 1979, Ch. 906, effective September 22, 1979, changed "1979–80" to "1982–83". Stats. 1980, Ch. 1035, operative January 1, 1981, completely reworded the section. Stats. 2007, Ch. 342 (AB 1748), in effect January 1, 2008, substituted "October" for "September" and substituted "January 1 to December 31" for "November 1 of the current calendar year to October 31". Stats. 2008, Ch. 17 (SB 1040), in effect May 21, 2008, added "and VoIP service" after "intrastate telephone communications services" and added ", inclusive," after "December 31". Stats. 2010, Ch. 404 (AB 2408), in effect January 1, 2011, substituted "California Technology Agency" for "Department of General Services" throughout the section. Stats. 2013, Ch. 28 (SB 71), in effect June 27, 2013, substituted "Office of Emergency Services" for "California Technology Agency" throughout the section. Stats. 2014, Ch. 885 (AB 1717), in effect September 30, 2014, designated first and second sentences as subdivision (a) and subdivision (b)(1), respectively; added "to be effective on January 1 of the following year," after "October 1," and added "pursuant to subdivision (b)" after "surcharge rate" in subdivision (a); substituted "costs" for "plans" after "fiscal year of 911", replaced "Section 53115 of the Government Code" with "Article 6 (commencing with Section 53100) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code", added a comma after "January 1", substituted "the" for "such" after "no event shall", and substituted "or" for "nor" after "three-quarters of 1 percent" in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b); added paragraph (2) to subdivision (b); added subdivisions (c), (d), (e), and (f). 2019, Ch. 54 (SB 96), repealed by its own provisions effective July 1, 2019.
Text of Section Operative January 1, 2015, Through June 30, 2019
41030. Determination of rate. (a) The Office of Emergency Services shall determine annually, on or before October 1, to be effective on January 1 of the following year, a surcharge rate pursuant to subdivision (b) that it estimates will produce sufficient revenue to fund the current fiscal year's 911 costs.
(b) (1) The surcharge rate shall be determined by dividing the costs (including incremental costs) the Office of Emergency Services estimates for the current fiscal year of 911 costs approved pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 53100) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code, less the available balance in the State Emergency Telephone Number Account in the General Fund, by its estimate of the charges for intrastate telephone communications services and VoIP service to which the surcharge will apply for the period of January 1, 2015, to December 31, inclusive, of the next succeeding calendar year, but in no event shall the surcharge rate in any year be greater than three-quarters of 1 percent nor less than one-half of 1 percent.
(2) Commencing with the calculation made October 1, 2015, to be effective January 1, 2016, the surcharge shall be determined by dividing the costs (including incremental costs) the Office of Emergency Services estimates for the current fiscal year of 911 costs approved pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 53100) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code, less the available balance in the State Emergency Telephone Number Account in the General Fund, by its estimate of the charges for intrastate telephone communications services, the intrastate portion of prepaid mobile telephony services, and VoIP service to which the surcharge will apply for the period of January 1 to December 31, inclusive, of the next succeeding calendar year, but in no event shall the surcharge rate in any year be greater than three-quarters of 1 percent or less than one-half of 1 percent. In making its computation of the charges that are applicable to the intrastate portion of prepaid mobile telephony services, the Office of Emergency Services shall use the computation method developed by the Public Utilities Commission and reported to the Office of Emergency Services pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 319 of the Public Utilities Code.
(c) When determining the surcharge rates pursuant to this section, the office shall include the costs it expects to incur to plan, test, implement, and operate Next Generation 911 technology and services, including text to 911 service, consistent with the plan and timeline required by Section 53121 of the Government Code.
(d) The office shall notify the board of the surcharge rate imposed under this part, determined pursuant to this section on or before October 1 of each year, and the surcharge rate applicable to prepaid mobile telephony services determined pursuant to this section for purposes of the prepaid MTS surcharge calculated under Part 21 (commencing with Section 42001) on or before October 15 of each year.
(e) At least 30 days prior to determining the surcharge pursuant to subdivision (a), the Office of Emergency Services shall prepare a summary of the calculation of the proposed surcharge and make it available to the public, the Legislature, the 911 Advisory Board, and on its Internet Web site. The summary shall contain all of the following:
(1) The prior year revenues to fund 911 costs, including, but not limited to, revenues from prepaid service.
(2) Projected expenses and revenues from all sources, including, but not limited to, prepaid service to fund 911 costs.
(3) The rationale for adjustment to the surcharge determined pursuant to subdivision (b), including, but not limited to, all impacts from the surcharge collected pursuant to Part 21 (commencing with Section 42001).
(f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.
History—Stats. 2014, Ch. 926 (SB 1211), in effect January 1, 2015. Stats. 2015, Ch. 25 (SB 84), in effect June 24, 2015, added "imposed under this part," after "board of the surcharge rate", added "on or before October 1 of each year," after "pursuant to this section", deleted "by" after "mobile telephony services", and added "determined pursuant to this section … under Part 21 (commencing with Section 42001) on or before" to subdivision (d). 2019, Ch. 54 (SB 96), repealed by its own provisions effective July 1, 2019.
Note: The amendments in Stats. 2014, Ch. 926 (SB 1211) succeeded the version as amended (September 30, 2014) by SEC. 5 of Stats. 2014, Ch. 885 (AB 1717).
Text of Section Operative July 1, 2019, Through September 28, 2022
41030. Determination of amount. (a) The Office of Emergency Services shall determine annually, on or before October 1, to be effective on January 1 of the following year, a surcharge amount pursuant to subdivision (b) that it estimates will produce sufficient revenue to fund the current fiscal year’s 911 costs.
(b) For determinations made that are applicable to the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2020, and each calendar year thereafter, the surcharge amount shall be determined annually by dividing the costs, including incremental costs, the Office of Emergency Services estimates for the current fiscal year of 911 costs approved pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 53100) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code, less the available balance in the State Emergency Telephone Number Account in the General Fund, by its estimate of the number of access lines to which the surcharge will apply per month for the period of January 1 to December 31, inclusive, of the next succeeding calendar year, but in no event shall the surcharge amount in any month be greater than eighty cents ($0.80) per access line per month.
(c) When determining the surcharge amount pursuant to this section, the office shall include the costs it expects to incur to plan, test, implement, and operate Next Generation 911 technology and services, including text to 911 service, and alerts and warnings, consistent with the plan and timeline required by Section 53121 of the Government Code.
(d) (1) Service suppliers shall report the total number of access lines to the Office of Emergency Services, on or before August 1, for the previous period of January 1 to December 31, inclusive.
(2) The total number of access lines required to be reported in paragraph (1) shall include all lines from the categories of wireline communication service line, wireless communication service line, prepaid mobile telephony service line, and VoIP service line. The number of access line figures shall be reported individually for these categories.
(3) Notwithstanding any other law, the Office of Emergency Services, within 45 days of receiving a request from the department, shall provide the department the name and address of each service supplier, each service supplier’s total number of access lines, as provided in paragraph (2) for the prior calendar year, and any other information the department deems necessary to conduct its responsibilities under this part.
(e) The office shall perform a validation of the number of access lines using subscription data or other comparable data collected by appropriate federal or state agencies. This subscription data or other comparable data shall be used to validate the access line data required to be reported by service suppliers in subdivision (d).
(f) (1) The office shall notify the department of the surcharge amount imposed under this part, determined pursuant to this section on or before October 1 of each year.
(2) The surcharge imposed on the purchase of prepaid mobile telephony services shall be equal to the amount set forth in subdivision (b) for each retail transaction in this state.
(g) (1) At least 30 days prior to determining the surcharge pursuant to subdivision (a), the Office of Emergency Services shall prepare a summary of the calculation of the proposed surcharge and make it available to the public, the Legislature, the 911 Advisory Board, and on its internet website.
(2) For determinations made on or before October 1, 2019, the summary shall contain all of the following:
(A) The prior year revenues to fund 911 costs, including, but not limited to, revenues from prepaid service.
(B) Projected expenses and revenues from all sources, including, but not limited to, prepaid service to fund 911 costs.
(C) The rationale for adjustment to the surcharge determined pursuant to subdivision (b), including, but not limited to, all impacts from the surcharge collected pursuant to Part 21 (commencing with Section 42001).
(h) For purposes of this section, for the determination made by the office on or before October 1, 2019, that is applicable for the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2020, and ending on December 31, 2020, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) "Service supplier" shall mean a person supplying an access line to a service user in this state.
(2) "Service user" means any person that subscribes for the right to utilize an access line in this state who is required to pay a surcharge under the provisions of this part.
History—Added by Stats. 2019, Ch. 54 (SB 96), in effect July 1, 2019. Stats. 2021, Ch. 432 (SB 824), in effect January 1, 2022, added paragraph (3) to subdivision (d).
Text of Section Operative September 29, 2022
41030. Determination of amounts. (a) The Office of Emergency Services shall determine annually, on or before October 1, to be effective on January 1 of the following year, surcharge amounts pursuant to subdivision (b) that it estimates will produce sufficient revenue to fund the current fiscal year’s 911 and 988 costs.
(b) The surcharge amounts shall be determined annually by dividing the costs, including incremental costs, the Office of Emergency Services estimates for the current fiscal year of the following:
(1) The 911 costs approved pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 53100) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code, less the available balance in the State Emergency Telephone Number Account in the General Fund, by its estimate of the number of access lines to which the surcharge will apply per month for the period of January 1 to December 31, inclusive, of the next succeeding calendar year, but in no event shall the surcharge amount in any month be greater than eighty cents ($0.80) per access line per month.
(2) For the 2023 and 2024 calendar years, the 988 surcharge shall be set at eight cents ($0.08) per access line per month.
(3) For determinations that are made applicable to the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2025, and each calendar year thereafter, the 988 surcharge shall be determined by dividing the 988 costs approved pursuant to Article 6.3 (commencing with Section 53123.1) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code, less the available balance in the 988 State Suicide and Behavioral Health Crisis Services Fund, by the Office of Emergency Services’ estimate of the number of access lines to which the surcharge will apply per month for the period of January 1 to December 31, inclusive, of the next succeeding calendar year, but in no event shall the surcharge amount in any month be greater than thirty cents ($0.30) per access line per month.
(c) When determining the 911 surcharge amount pursuant to this section, the office shall include the costs it expects to incur to plan, test, implement, and operate Next Generation 911 technology and services, including text to 911 service, and alerts and warnings, consistent with the plan and timeline required by Section 53121 of the Government Code.
(d) (1) Service suppliers shall report the total number of access lines to the Office of Emergency Services, on or before August 1, for the previous period of January 1 to December 31, inclusive.
(2) The total number of access lines required to be reported in paragraph (1) shall include all lines from the categories of wireline communication service line, wireless communication service line, prepaid mobile telephony service line, and VoIP service line. The number of access line figures shall be reported individually for these categories.
(3) Notwithstanding any other law, the Office of Emergency Services, within 45 days of receiving a request from the department, shall provide the department the name and address of each service supplier, each service supplier’s total number of access lines, as provided in paragraph (2) for the prior calendar year, and any other information the department deems necessary to conduct its responsibilities under this part.
(e) The office shall perform a validation of the number of access lines using subscription data or other comparable data collected by appropriate federal or state agencies. This subscription data or other comparable data shall be used to validate the access line data required to be reported by service suppliers in subdivision (d).
(f) (1) The office shall notify the department of the surcharge amount imposed under this part, determined pursuant to this section on or before October 1 of each year.
(2) The surcharge imposed on the purchase of prepaid mobile telephony services shall be equal to the amount set forth in subdivision (b) for each retail transaction in this state.
(g) (1) At least 30 days prior to determining the surcharge pursuant to subdivision (a), the Office of Emergency Services shall prepare a summary of the calculation of the proposed surcharge amounts and make it available to the public, the Legislature, the California Health and Human Services Agency and relevant departments, and on its internet website.
(2) For determinations made on or before October 1, 2019, the summary shall contain all of the following:
(A) The prior year revenues to fund 911 costs, including, but not limited to, revenues from prepaid service.
(B) Projected expenses and revenues from all sources, including, but not limited to, prepaid service to fund 911 costs.
(C) The rationale for adjustment to the surcharges determined pursuant to subdivision (b).
(h) For purposes of this section, for the determination made by the office on or before October 1, 2019, that is applicable for the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2020, and ending on December 31, 2020, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) "Service supplier" shall mean a person supplying an access line to a service user in this state.
(2) "Service user" means any person that subscribes for the right to utilize an access line in this state who is required to pay a surcharge under the provisions of this part.
History—Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 747 (AB 988), in effect September 29, 2022. Stats. 2023, Ch. 511 (SB 889), in effect January 1, 2024, substituted "amounts" for "amount" after "proposed surcharge" in paragraph (1) of subdivision (g).