HB 1199 -- 911 Emergency Services

Sponsor:  Engler

This bill allows any county or St. Louis City to levy a tax for
enhanced 911 services, if approved by the voters.  The governing
body must choose between two methods of tax assessment:  (1)  an
extension of the wire line tax for 911 services to wireless
services at the same rate; or (2)  a flat tax of 50 cents per
line per month.

Twenty percent of the taxes collected on wireless service will be
deposited into the 911 Emergency Services Fund which is created.
This percentage will be decreased to 10% when at least 60% of the
counties with 75% of the population have passed a tax on wireless
services.  The percentage will be eliminated two years after 100%
of the counties have passed a tax on wireless services.  Moneys
in the fund will be used for matching grants for the purpose of
implementing a comprehensive statewide 911 system.  These grants
will be administered by the Office of Administration in
consultation with the Department of Public Safety.

Grants will only be given to counties and St. Louis City if they
pass the tax; however, the county or city must match at least 25%
of the grant with local funds.  The county or city cannot receive
grants for more than three years in a row.  Grants cannot be in
excess of 5% of the total funds available.  Grants may be made on
a collective basis to counties entering inter-county agreements
to provide services.

The bill clarifies that taxes generated by either the wired line
or wireless line tax may only be used for emergency telephone
services.  The bill also authorizes the State Auditor to perform
audits to ensure moneys are being used in this manner.

The bill expands the scope of the Advisory Committee for 911
Service Oversight to include oversight of implementation of
enhanced 911 services.  The advisory committee is also instructed
to advise the Department of Public Safety and the Office of
Administration regarding the matching grants from the 911
Emergency Services Fund.

Most provisions of the current statewide enhanced 911 tax are
repealed by the bill.

Missouri House of Representatives
92nd General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated September 23, 2004 at 11:14 am