"An Act relating to enhanced 911 systems and enhanced 911 surcharges imposed by a municipality, public municipal corporation, or village. "

Current Alaska statute allows municipalities to fund 911 services via a surcharge on their telephone billing statements. That surcharge is capped at 50 cents for municipalities with populations of 100,000 or more and 75 cents for populations of fewer than 100,000 (AS 29.35.131 Section (a) ). This surcharge applies to both wireless telephone numbers and local exchange access lines for wireline telephones.

Basic 911 (B911) is the delivery of emergency 911 calls to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). A "Basic 911 system" does not provide for options or enhanced systems that can track or locate callers. New technology is providing for more efficient and timely ways to handle and operate 911 calls.

An "Enhanced-911 system" is capable of directing 911 calls to appropriate PSAPs by selective routing based on the geographical location from which the call originated. It provides the capability for Automatic Number Identification (ANI) and Automatic Location Identification (ALI). Both of these features are imperative to respond to 911 calls as quickly as possible. Enhanced 911, particularly when applied to both wireless and wireline calls, has the potential to save lives.

Municipalities cannot afford to fully implement E-911 services with the caps that are presently in statute. The current revenue shortfall in municipalities ranges from over $4 million (in Anchorage and Fairbanks) to just over $500,000 (in Kodiak).

Senate Bill 100 includes 4 main changes to current statute. It increases the surcharge caps from 50 and 75 cents to a statewide cap of $1.50. It removes statute that bases caps on the population of a municipality. It also allows a municipality to increase the E-911 surcharge above and beyond the $1.50 cap with a majority vote of those in the effected service area. And finally, SB 100 requires surcharges be levied on wireless telephone numbers and local exchange access lines for wireline telephones equally.

SB 100 enables municipalities to fund E-911 and thus, to provide residents with a superior emergency response service. It improves public safety and brings life-saving technology to the residents of Alaska.

I urge your support of SB 100.

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