EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION SERVICES - 70.210, 92.077, 190.300-190.440

This act adds emergency services boards to the definition of "political subdivision" for purposes of provisions of law allowing political subdivisions to cooperate with each other.

This act applies definitions relating to emergency telephone services to sections concerning central dispatch services and modifies the definition of "tariff rate".

Under current law, it is unlawful in certain counties for a person to misuse the emergency telephone service. This act makes the unlawful use provision apply to additional counties that have central dispatch services.

This act changes the name of the Wireless Service Provider Enhanced 911 Service Fund to the Missouri 911 Service Trust Fund and repeals provisions establishing the "Wireless Service Provider Enhanced 911 Advisory Board". Definitions relating to the trust fund and 911 service fees are modified.

This act allows a county and the cities of St. Louis and Sikeston to impose, upon approval by a majority of the voters in the county or city, a monthly fee of up to $1.50 on any communications service enabled to contact 911, except for prepaid service, in lieu of a telephone service tax or a countywide sales tax. In order to impose a fee of more than $1, however, the city or county must receive approval from the Missouri 911 Service Board. The fee is to be paid into the Missouri 911 Service Trust Fund minus two percent of the fee, which is to go to providers and one percent of the fee, which is to be paid into the state's general revenue fund to cover the cost of collecting the fee. The Department of Revenue must remit the fees it collects to the county or city on a monthly basis.

Money in the fund may be used by the governing body of the city or county for the answering and dispatching of emergency calls.

The Department of Revenue is required to maintain a centralized database for the Missouri 911 Service Board that specifies the monthly fee or 911 tax imposed by each county and city.

This act provides that proprietary information submitted under the section allowing for the fee is only subject to subpoena or lawful court order. General information may be released or published in aggregate amounts that do not identify numbers of subscribers or revenues attributable to an individual 911 communications service provider. In addition, this act provides that no 911 communications service provider, or persons acting on behalf of a provider, shall be civilly or criminally liable for certain actions regarding a public safety answering point or for acts that result from the release of subscriber information to a governmental entity except for gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct. In addition, this act provides that there is no cause of action against a provider of a communications-related service, or those acting on behalf of a provider, for providing call location information or doing a ping locate in an emergency situation that involves danger of death or serious physical injury.

Third and fourth class counties may not submit the fee to their voters unless the county has taken certain actions regarding the consolidation of services.

This act creates a prepaid wireless emergency telephone service charge, beginning January 1, 2015, on each purchase of prepaid service that is equal to 2 percent of the purchase unless the amount of service is 10 or fewer minutes or $5 or less, in which case, the seller may elect not to apply the charge.

For the month of January in 2015, the seller of prepaid service may retain 100 percent of the charges collected. Beginning February 1, 2015, the seller may retain two percent of the charges collected.

The Department of Revenue must deposit the charges into the Missouri 911 Service Trust Fund within 30 days of receipt but may retain up to one percent of the charges to reimburse itself for the costs of administering and collecting the charges.

Ten percent of the charges must be dedicated to the Missouri Regional Poison Information Center, up to $1 million a year.

The same liability protections that apply under the fee on 911-capable devices apply to sellers and providers of prepaid service and persons acting on behalf of them.

This act changes the name of the Advisory Committee for 911 Service Oversight to the Missouri 911 Service Board and reduces the membership of the board to 14 members rather than 16. This act prohibits a corporation from having more than one officer, employee, assign, agent, or other representative on the board.

The duties of the board are modified. The board must set the percentage rate of the prepaid service charge to be remitted to the charter and non-charter counties and the City of St. Louis.

Under this act, counties and the cities of Sikeston and St. Louis may apply for loans or grants from the board for the purpose of financing 911 communications service projects. This act establishes the procedures for distribution and repayment of the loans and grants.

A provision allowing the Office of Administration to establish a monthly 50 cent fee per wireless telephone number is repealed.

These provisions are similar to SB 872 (2014) and HB 653 (2013).

EMERGENCY SERVICES BOARD RECALL - 190.336

Under this act, each member of an emergency services board of directors shall be subject to recall from office by the registered voters of the election district from which he or she was elected. Proceedings for the recall are commenced by the filing of a notice of intention to circulate a recall petition.

The notice must be served personally, or by certified mail, on the board member and filed with the election authority. A separate notice is needed for each member sought to be recalled and must contain information explaining the reason for the recall. It must list at least one but not more than five proponents of the recall.

Within seven days, the board member may file a statement answering the statement of the proponents. The answer must be served on at least one proponent. The statement and answer are for the voters' informational purposes only.

A member cannot be recalled if he or she: 1) has not held office during the current term for more than 180 days; 2) has 180 days or less remaining on his or her current term; or 3) has had a recall election determined in his or her favor within the current term.

The person circulating the petition must sign an affidavit verifying certain information. A recall petition must be filed with the election authority not more than 180 days after the filing of the notice of intention. The number of signatures needed shall equal at least 25% of the number of voters who voted in the most recent gubernatorial election in the election district.

The election authority has twenty days from the date of filing the petition to determine if enough voters signed the petition. It must file a certificate showing whether there are enough signatures. If the election authority certifies the petition does not have enough signatures, it may be supplemented within ten days of the date of certificate. The election authority must then certify the supplemented petition. If it is insufficient, no further action shall be taken.

If the petition is sufficient, the election authority shall submit its certificate to the board of directors and order an election within a certain amount of time. Nominations for board membership openings shall be made by filing a statement of candidacy with the election authority.

Any time prior to forty-two days before the election, the member sought to be recalled may offer his or her resignation and the recall question shall be removed from the ballot and the office declared vacant.

This provision is identical to a provision of the truly agreed to and finally passed SB 773 (2014), HCS/SCS/SB 630 (2014), SCS/SB 623 (2014), and the truly agreed to and finally passed SS/SCS/SB 593 (2014).

FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT DIRECTOR - 321.015

Under current law, no person holding a lucrative public office or a person who is a state or political subdivision employee may serve as a director of a fire protection district. This act provides that the restriction does not apply to part-time employment of less than 35 hours per week.

Current law exempts receiving a stipend or per diem in an amount not to exceed $75 per day from being considered holding a lucrative office or employment for purposes of the restriction on fire protection district directors. This act repeals the exemption.

This provision is similar to a provision of HCS/HB 2116 (2014) and is identical to a provision of HCS/SCS/SB 824 (2014) and HCS/SCS/SB 854 (2014).

MEGHAN LUECKE