(HB 1039)
Disposition of funds collected on local exchange service lines,
cellular telephones, and radio pager devices revised.
Section
1.
That
§
49-31-51
be amended to read as follows:
49-31-51.
There is hereby imposed an access fee of fifteen cents per local exchange service line
per month, fifteen cents per cellular telephone per month in accordance with the provisions
provided in subdivision 34-45-1(7), and fifteen cents per radio pager device per month to pay for
the program established in § 49-31-47. The access fee shall be paid by each local exchange
subscriber to a local exchange service, or by each cellular telephone or radio pager service
subscriber to the service provider, unless the subscriber is otherwise exempt from taxation. The
access fee shall be reported as a separate line or service and collected on the regular monthly bill
by each local exchange telecommunications company or other service provider operating in this
state. On or before the last day of the month following each two-month period, every
telecommunications company providing local exchange service or other service provided specified
in this section shall remit to the Department of Revenue and Regulation on forms furnished by the
department the amount of the access fee collected for that two- month period. The secretary of
revenue and regulation may grant an extension of not more than five days for filing a remittance.
The Department of Revenue and Regulation shall deposit ninety percent of the money received
under §§ 49-31-47 to 49-31-56, inclusive, into the telecommunication fund for the deaf and ten
percent in the telecommunication fund for other disabilities.
The balance in each fund in excess
of an average of three months operating expenditures from the previous state fiscal year may be
used by the Department of Human Services to purchase telecommunication assistive devices,
communication aids and devices, home modifications and assistive devices, and infrastructure and
operational expenses to enhance communication capacity for persons with disabilities and
operational expenses for interpreter certification and services for the deaf.
Section
2.
The provisions of this Act are repealed on July 1, 2007.