31-4819. ENHANCED EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS GRANT FEE. (1) On and after July 1, 2013, there shall be an enhanced emergency communications grant fee established by virtue of authority granted by this chapter. The fee shall be twenty-five cents (25¢) per month per access or interconnected VoIP service line.

(a) Such fee shall be authorized by resolution of a majority vote of the board of commissioners of a countywide system or by the governing board of a 911 service area.

(b) Such fee shall be remitted to the Idaho emergency communications fund provided in section 31-4818(1), Idaho Code, on a quarterly basis by county, city or consolidated emergency communications systems. Annually, at the discretion of the commission, a budget shall be prepared allocating a portion of the available grant funds for administration of the grant program. The remaining grant funds shall be dedicated for and shall be authorized for disbursement as grants to eligible entities that are operating consolidated emergency communications systems for use to achieve the purposes of this chapter. Grant funds shall coincide with the strategic goals as identified by the commission in its annual report to the legislature. Grant funds may also be budgeted for and utilized for the establishment of next generation consolidated emergency systems (NG911) within the state.

(2) The commission, on an annual basis, shall prepare a budget allocating the grant funds available to eligible entities and the portion of the funds necessary for the continuous operation of the commission to achieve the purposes of this chapter.

(3) To be eligible for grant funds under this chapter, a county or 911 service area must be collecting the emergency communications fee in accordance with section 31-4804, Idaho Code, in the full amount authorized and must also be collecting the enhanced emergency communications grant fee in the full amount authorized in this subsection.

(4) If a county or 911 service area has authorized the collection of the enhanced emergency communications grant fee pursuant to this chapter, such county or 911 service area shall retain the full amount of the emergency communications fee that was set by the board of commissioners or governing board pursuant to section 31-4803, Idaho Code. The county or 911 service area is then also exempt from remitting to the Idaho public safety communications commission one percent (1%) of the total emergency communications fee received by the county or 911 service area as required in section 31-4818(3), Idaho Code. The remaining funds from the enhanced emergency communications grant fee collected shall then be remitted by the county or 911 service area to the Idaho public safety communications commission.

History:

[31-4819, added 2008, ch. 379, sec. 2, p. 1049; am. 2013, ch. 260, sec. 1, p. 636; am. 2014, ch. 97, sec. 21, p. 285; am. 2016, ch. 127, sec. 8, p. 372.]