"An Act relating to enhanced 911 surcharges and to emergency services dispatch systems of municipalities, certain villages, and public corporations established by municipalities."

Enhanced 9-1-1 technology is sweeping the nation. This enhanced emergency service provides a faster, more efficient means of rescue to the citizens of Alaska. Enhanced 9-1-1 immediately provides the dispatcher with the identity and physical location of a caller. Bottom line: Enhanced 9-1-1 can save lives.

Municipalities have no way to fully cover the costs of this essential dispatch service. Currently AS 29.35 gives a municipality the ability to cover the cost of the Enhanced 9-1-1 equipment through a surcharge of only sixty-five cents. This does not cover the cost of the dispatch or the labor. The burden of the cost for this service is borne by local property taxes and state revenues.

This bill will shift some of the costs to the users of this service and provide substantial relief to stretched municipal budgets. Municipalities will have the option to charge phone users through a surcharge on their phone bill. Local governments are more capable of responding to the specific needs of their community. These adjustments will be a great stride toward the goal of local control for city and borough governments.

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