MACo Associate Director Kevin Kinnally testified before the House Health & Government Operations Committee to support HB 6 – Public Safety – 9-1-1 Fees – Audits. This bill is cross-filed with SB 61 and establishes the necessary framework to ensure that 9-1-1 fees are collected and remitted in accordance with state law. Last week MACo testified before the Senate committee to support SB 61, and today submitted the same support for the House bill.

From the MACo Testimony:

Telecommunications providers collect and remit monthly the state 9-1-1 fee and the county charge to the Comptroller for deposit into the 9-1-1 Trust Fund. Counties rely on the state fee revenues to fund capital enhancements to county 9-1-1 systems. The county charge revenues are distributed quarterly to each jurisdiction in order to fund county 9-1-1 operational costs.

HB 6 requires telecommunications providers to keep records of 9-1-1 fees collected and remitted for at least four years. The Comptroller, in consultation with the Emergency Number Systems Board (ENSB), will adopt procedures for auditing the collection and remittance of state and local 9-1-1 fees. Additionally, the bill requires the Comptroller to develop and distribute training materials to all providers detailing Maryland’s 9-1-1 fee structure, and any associated auditing procedures.

Follow MACo’s advocacy efforts during the 2020 legislative session on MACo’s Legislative Tracking Database.