CHAPTER 16. EMERGENCY TELEPHONE SYSTEM FEE
IC 36-8-16
Chapter 16. Emergency Telephone System Fee
IC 36-8-16-1
Applicability of chapter
Sec. 1. This chapter applies to all units except townships.
As added by P.L.91-1988, SEC.5.
IC 36-8-16-2
Enhanced emergency telephone system defined
Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "enhanced emergency telephone
system" means a telephone system that utilizes the three digit number
911 to send automatic number identification and automatic location
identification for reporting police, fire, medical, or other emergency
situations. The term also includes a telephone system that provides
service users in the unit with a telephone warning of an emergency
situation through a computerized warning system that uses 911
database information and technology if the emergency telephone
fund of the telephone system's political subdivision contains
sufficient funds to pay all the expenses of the 911 telephone system.
As added by P.L.91-1988, SEC.5. Amended by P.L.93-1999, SEC.1.
IC 36-8-16-3
Exchange access facility defined
Sec. 3. (a) As used in this chapter, "exchange access facility"
means the access from a particular service user's premises to a
telephone system.
(b) The term includes:
(1) an access line;
(2) a private branch exchange (PBX) trunk; and
(3) a centrex line trunk equivalent;
that is provided by the service supplier. The term also includes a
mobile telephone system access trunk, whether the trunk is provided
by a telephone company or a radio common carrier. In the case of a
service user receiving interconnected VoIP service, the term refers
to the Internet protocol compatible customer premises equipment that
enables the service user to access the interconnected VoIP service.
(c) The term does not include:
(1) a service supplier owned and operated telephone pay station
line;
(2) a wide area telecommunications service (WATS) line;
(3) a foreign exchange (FX) line; or
(4) an incoming only line.
As added by P.L.91-1988, SEC.5. Amended by P.L.137-2008, SEC.2.
IC 36-8-16-3.3
Interconnected VoIP service defined
Sec. 3.3. As used in this chapter, "interconnected VoIP service"
has the meaning set forth in 47 CFR 9.3.
As added by P.L.137-2008, SEC.3.
IC 36-8-16-3.5
PSAP defined
Sec. 3.5. As used in this chapter, "PSAP" has the meaning set
forth in IC 36-8-16.5-13.
As added by P.L.137-2008, SEC.4.
IC 36-8-16-4
Service supplier and service user defined
Sec. 4. (a) As used in this chapter, "service supplier" means a
person who provides telephone exchange service to a service user in
Indiana. The term includes a person who offers interconnected VoIP
service to a service user whose registered location (as defined in 47
CFR 9.3) is in Indiana.
(b) As used in this chapter, "service user" means a person to
whom telephone exchange service is provided.
As added by P.L.91-1988, SEC.5. Amended by P.L.137-2008, SEC.5.
IC 36-8-16-5
Ordinance to impose enhanced emergency telephone system fee
Sec. 5. (a) Subject to the limitations provided in section 6 of this
chapter, the fiscal body of a county may adopt an ordinance to
impose a monthly enhanced emergency telephone system fee for
each exchange access facility used in the county.
(b) If a county fiscal body decides to impose a countywide fee and
establish a countywide enhanced emergency telephone system, the
county shall allow all public emergency response agencies in the
county to participate in the enhanced emergency telephone system.
The fee must be sufficient to pay the cost of the installation and
operation of the enhanced emergency telephone system for all
participating agencies.
(c) If a county fiscal body does not impose a fee under subsection
(a), the legislative body of a municipality in the county may petition
the county fiscal body to adopt an ordinance to impose a fee. If the
county fiscal body does not respond to the petition within ninety (90)
days, the legislative body of the municipality may adopt an ordinance
to impose a fee for each exchange access facility used in the
municipality, subject to section 6 of this chapter. If a county, in
response to a municipality's petition, decides to impose a countywide
fee, installation of the system must begin within one hundred eighty
(180) days of the adoption of the ordinance. If installation has not
begun within that time period, the county's response is void and the
municipality may adopt an ordinance to impose a fee.
(d) If a county fiscal body decides to impose a countywide fee
after a municipality has imposed a fee, the municipality's fee
ordinance is superseded by the county ordinance and is void.
However, the fee imposed by the county must include funds
sufficient to meet the outstanding obligations of the municipality for
the enhanced 911 system.
As added by P.L.91-1988, SEC.5.
IC 36-8-16-6
Uniformity of fee; maximum amount; calculating average monthly
telephone access line charge
Sec. 6. (a) An enhanced emergency telephone system fee must be
uniform and may not vary according to the type of exchange access
facilities used in the unit.
(b) The ordinance imposing a fee under section 5 of this chapter
may not impose a fee that exceeds the following:
(1) In a county that has a consolidated city or a county that has
at least one (1) second class city, three percent (3%) of the
average monthly telephone access line charge in the unit.
(2) In a county that does not have a consolidated city or a
second class city, ten percent (10%) of the average monthly
telephone access line charge in the unit.
(c) In calculating the average monthly telephone access line
charge for purposes of this section, the unit imposing the fee shall
include the average monthly charge that:
(1) is imposed by providers of interconnected VoIP service to
service users whose registered location (as defined in 47 CFR
9.3) is in the unit; and
(2) represents the charge for the service user's access to the
interconnected VoIP service.
As added by P.L.91-1988, SEC.5. Amended by P.L.137-2008, SEC.6.
IC 36-8-16-7
Ordinance to change fee
Sec. 7. Except as provided in section 7.5 of this chapter, the fiscal
body of a unit may adopt an ordinance to change the amount of the
enhanced emergency telephone system fee that it imposed under
section 5 of this chapter. However, the new fee must comply with the
limitations provided in section 6 of this chapter. In addition, the
fiscal body of a unit may not adopt more than one (1) ordinance in
any calendar year to change the unit's fee.
As added by P.L.91-1988, SEC.5. Amended by P.L.238-1996, SEC.1;
P.L.137-2008, SEC.7.
IC 36-8-16-7.5
Prohibition against increasing fee until unit complies with
limitation on number of PSAPs in county
Sec. 7.5. (a) This section applies to a unit that imposes an
enhanced emergency telephone system fee under section 5 of this
chapter on March 15, 2008.
(b) During the period beginning March 15, 2008, and ending on
the date on which:
(1) the unit, if the unit is a county; or
(2) the county in which the unit is located, if the unit is a
municipality;
complies with IC 36-8-16.5-51(c), the unit may not adopt an
ordinance under section 7 of this chapter to increase the amount of
the enhanced emergency telephone system fee imposed by the unit
under section 5 of this chapter. Upon compliance with
IC 36-8-16.5-51(c), the unit that, under the terms of the interlocal
agreement required by IC 36-8-16.5-51(e), has the authority to
impose a fee under this chapter may adopt an ordinance under
section 7 of this chapter to increase the amount of the enhanced
emergency telephone system fee as necessary to sufficiently fund any
PSAP authorized under IC 36-8-16.5-51(c), subject to the limits set
forth in section 6 of this chapter.
As added by P.L.137-2008, SEC.8.
IC 36-8-16-8
Ordinance to rescind fee
Sec. 8. The fiscal body of a unit may adopt an ordinance to
rescind the enhanced emergency telephone system fee that it imposed
under section 5 of this chapter.
As added by P.L.91-1988, SEC.5. Amended by P.L.238-1996, SEC.2.
IC 36-8-16-9
Effective date of ordinance
Sec. 9. An ordinance adopted under section 5, 7, or 8 of this
chapter takes effect on the first day of the second month after the
month during which the ordinance is adopted.
As added by P.L.91-1988, SEC.5.
IC 36-8-16-10
Rescission of fee; effective date
Sec. 10. An enhanced emergency telephone system fee imposed
by the fiscal body of a municipality under section 5 of this chapter is
rescinded if the fiscal body of the county in which the municipality
is located adopts an ordinance under section 5 of this chapter. The
rescission takes effect at the same time that the ordinance adopted by
the fiscal body of the county takes effect.
As added by P.L.91-1988, SEC.5. Amended by P.L.238-1996, SEC.3.
IC 36-8-16-11
Service users fee; delinquent fees; enhanced emergency telephone
system fee
Sec. 11. (a) The person who uses an exchange access facility is
liable for the monthly enhanced emergency telephone system fees,
if any, imposed with respect to that facility. Each service supplier
shall, on behalf of the unit, collect the fee from those service users
to whom it provides exchange telephone service in the unit. The
service supplier shall collect the fee, for each month or part of a
month an exchange access facility is in service, as part of its normal
monthly billing process, and it may list the fee as a separate entry on
each bill. If a service supplier receives a partial payment from a
service user, the service supplier shall apply the payment against the
amount the service user owes the service supplier first.
(b) During January of each year, each service supplier that is
required to collect the fee for a particular unit shall provide the
treasurer of the county or the fiscal officer of the municipality with
a delinquent fee report. In a county having a consolidated city, each
service supplier that is required to collect the fee shall provide the
delinquent fee report to the fiscal officer of the consolidated city. On
the report, the service supplier shall list the name and address of each
service user who is two (2) or more months delinquent in paying the
fee. The service supplier shall also indicate the amount of delinquent
fees for which each person included on the list is liable.
(c) A service supplier has no obligation to take any legal action to
enforce the collection of the fees for which any service user is liable.
However, an action may be initiated by the unit that imposed the
fees.
(d) Notwithstanding section 5 of this chapter, if one (1) enhanced
emergency telephone system serves exchange access facilities in
more than one (1) county, the fiscal body of the county that provides
the system may adopt an ordinance imposing the enhanced
emergency telephone system fee on each person who uses an
exchange access facility served by the system. The fee may be
imposed under this subsection without regard to whether the service
user resides in the county providing the system.
(e) Before an enhanced emergency telephone system fee may be
imposed on a service user who resides in a county other than the
county providing the system, the fiscal body of the county providing
the system must obtain the written approval of the fiscal body of
each county in which residents will be subject to the fee. A person
who uses an exchange access facility is liable for the monthly
enhanced emergency telephone system fee imposed with respect to
the exchange access facility.
As added by P.L.91-1988, SEC.5. Amended by P.L.174-1990, SEC.1.
IC 36-8-16-12
Service supplier administrative fee for collection; remittance of
collected fees
Sec. 12. Each service supplier that collects the enhanced
emergency telephone system fee on behalf of a unit is entitled to a
three percent (3%) administrative fee as compensation for collecting
the fees. The service supplier shall remit the rest of the fees it
collects during a calendar quarter to the treasurer of the county or the
fiscal officer of the municipality within ten (10) days after the last
day of the quarter. In a county having a consolidated city, the service
supplier shall remit the rest of the fees it collects during a calendar
quarter to the fiscal officer of the consolidated city within ten (10)
days after the last day of the quarter. At the same time the collected
fees are remitted, the service supplier shall provide a fee collection
report to the auditor of the county or the fiscal officer of the
municipality. In a county having a consolidated city, the service
supplier shall provide a fee collection report to the fiscal officer of
the consolidated city at the same time the collected fees are remitted.
The service supplier shall prepare the report on a form provided by
the auditor or fiscal officer.
As added by P.L.91-1988, SEC.5.
IC 36-8-16-13
Deposit of fees into emergency telephone system fund
Sec. 13. A county treasurer or municipal fiscal officer to whom
enhanced emergency telephone system fees are remitted under
section 12 of this chapter shall deposit the fees in a separate fund.
The fund shall be known as the ____________ (insert name of
county or municipality) emergency telephone system fund. The
county treasurer or municipal fiscal officer may invest money in the
fund in the same manner that other money of the county or
municipality may be invested. The county treasurer or municipal
fiscal officer shall deposit any income earned from such an
investment in the fund.
As added by P.L.91-1988, SEC.5.
IC 36-8-16-14
Use of fees; annual report by county to municipality operating
PSAP; audits by state board of accounts; report to regulatory
flexibility committee
Sec. 14. (a) The emergency telephone system fees shall be used
only to pay for:
(1) except as provided in subsection (c), the lease, purchase, or
maintenance of enhanced emergency telephone equipment,
including necessary computer hardware, software, and data base
provisioning;
(2) the rates associated with the service suppliers' enhanced
emergency telephone system network services;
(3) the personnel expenses of the emergency telephone system;
(4) the lease, purchase, construction, or maintenance of voice
and data communications equipment, communications
infrastructure, or other information technology necessary to
provide emergency response services under authority of the unit
imposing the fee; and
(5) an emergency telephone notification system under
IC 36-8-21.
The legislative body of the unit may appropriate money in the fund
only for such an expenditure.
(b) This subsection applies to a county that:
(1) imposes a fee under section 5 of this chapter; and
(2) contains a municipality that operates a PSAP (as defined in
IC 36-8-16.5-13).
Not later than January 31 of each year, the county fiscal body shall
submit to each municipality described in subdivision (2) a report of
all expenditures described in subsection (a) paid during the
immediately preceding calendar year.
(c) The state board of accounts shall audit the expenditures of
emergency telephone system fees made during each of the following
calendar years by each unit that imposed a fee under section 5 of this
chapter during the following calendar years:
(1) The calendar year ending December 31, 2005.
(2) The calendar year ending December 31, 2006.
(3) The calendar year ending December 31, 2007.
Not later than November 1, 2008, the state board of accounts shall
report to the regulatory flexibility committee established by
IC 8-1-2.6-4 on the audits conducted under this subsection.
(d) The state board of accounts annually shall audit the
expenditures of emergency telephone system fees made during the
immediately preceding calendar year by each unit that imposes a fee
under section 5 of this chapter. The state board of accounts shall
conduct the first audits required by this subsection with respect to
expenditures of emergency telephone system fees made during the
calendar year ending December 31, 2008.
(e) In conducting the audits required under subsections (c) and
(d), the state board of accounts shall determine whether the
expenditures made by each unit are in compliance with:
(1) subsection (a); and
(2) section 15 of this chapter, as appropriate.
As added by P.L.91-1988, SEC.5. Amended by P.L.174-1990, SEC.2;
P.L.156-2002, SEC.1; P.L.55-2004, SEC.1; P.L.104-2006, SEC.1;
P.L.137-2008, SEC.9.
IC 36-8-16-15
Powers of county or municipal unit
Sec. 15. (a) A unit may contract with a service supplier over any
term negotiated between the unit and the service supplier and may
make payments from the emergency telephone system fund to
provide any payments required by the contract.
(b) A unit may negotiate and enter into a lease, contract, or other
obligation with a person for the purpose of procuring funds to make
the payments required by a contract with a service supplier.
(c) A unit may use money in the emergency telephone system
fund to make payments of debt service on any bonds or other
obligations issued to purchase, to pay any lease rentals for the lease
of, an enhanced emergency telephone system or to make payments
required under a lease, contract, or other obligation entered into
under subsection (b).
(d) A unit may pledge money in the emergency telephone system
fund to make payments permitted by subsection (a), (b), or (c) in the
manner set forth in IC 5-1-14. A unit may limit payments permitted
by subsection (a), (b), or (c) to money in the emergency telephone
system fund. The obligations of the unit to make the payments from
that fund do not constitute a debt of the unit. The contract, bond,
obligation, or lease must contain a statement to that effect if
payments are so limited.
As added by P.L.91-1988, SEC.5. Amended by P.L.2-1989, SEC.54.
IC 36-8-16-16
Customer data and 911 data base information to implement
system; use and disclosure
Sec. 16. (a) Service suppliers shall provide upon request the
necessary customer data to implement an enhanced emergency
telephone system. Customer data provided to a county or
municipality for the purpose of implementing or updating an
enhanced emergency telephone system may be used only to identify
the telephone location or service user, or both, and may not be used
or disclosed by the county or municipality, or its agents or
employees, for any other purpose unless the data is used or disclosed
under a court order. A person who violates this subsection commits
a Class A misdemeanor.
(b) In providing 911 database information as described under
section 2 of this chapter, the service supplier shall provide:
(1) the telephone number service address;
(2) the class of service; and
(3) a designation of listed, unlisted, or nonpublished;
for each service user in the county or municipality. The service
supplier shall provide this 911 database information to the county or
municipality on a quarterly basis. The service supplier may charge
a reasonable fee to the political subdivision for the administrative
costs of providing the 911 database information. The service supplier
may not be held liable in an action arising under this section.
As added by P.L.91-1988, SEC.5. Amended by P.L.93-1999, SEC.2;
P.L.14-2000, SEC.84.
IC 36-8-16-17
Unlisted telephone subscribers; inclusion in enhanced telephone
system data base
Sec. 17. (a) After May 31, 1988, a contract entered into between
a service supplier and a service user who has an unlisted or
nonpublished telephone number listing may not include a provision
that prohibits the service supplier from providing the service user's
telephone number to a unit for inclusion in an enhanced telephone
system data base. A service supplier (other than a service supplier
who before June 1, 1988, has contracted to not divulge a service
user's unlisted or nonpublished telephone number) shall provide the
unit the name, telephone number, and address of each service user of
the supplier. A unit may not release a telephone number required to
be provided under this section to any person for a purpose other than
including the number in the enhanced emergency telephone system
data base or providing the number to permit a response to a police,
fire, medical, or other emergency situation.
(b) A service supplier may amend or terminate a contract with a
service user if:
(1) the contract contains a provision that prohibits the service
supplier from providing the user's telephone number to a unit
for inclusion in an enhanced telephone system data base;
(2) the exclusion of the number from the data base would
negate the purpose of this chapter; and
(3) the service user is notified of the proposed amendment or
termination of that contract at least one hundred eighty (180)
days before the service supplier takes that action.
As added by P.L.91-1988, SEC.5.
IC 36-8-16-18
Civil actions against service supplier or telephone company
operating enhanced emergency telephone system
Sec. 18. A service supplier or a telephone company and its
employees, directors, officers, and agents are not liable for any
damages in a civil action for injuries, death, or loss to persons or
property incurred by any person as a result of any act or omission of
a service supplier or a telephone company, or of any of its
employees, directors, officers, or agents, except for willful or wanton
misconduct in connection with developing, adopting, implementing,
maintaining, providing data to, or operating an enhanced emergency
telephone system, including an emergency telephone notification
system (as defined in IC 36-8-21-1).
As added by P.L.91-1988, SEC.5. Amended by P.L.104-2006, SEC.2.
IC 36-8-16-19
Failure to collect or remit fees; offense
Sec. 19. A service supplier that intentionally fails to collect or
remit the enhanced emergency telephone system fee as required by
this chapter commits a Class A infraction.
As added by P.L.91-1988, SEC.5.