CSSB 97(L&C): "An Act relating to enhanced 911 emergency reporting systems; and providing for an effective date."
00CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 97(L&C) 01 "An Act relating to enhanced 911 emergency reporting systems; and providing for 02 an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. (a) The legislature finds that 05 (1) the elderly, the young, and victims of crime are often at risk, unable to 06 assist themselves, and are frequently unable to explain directions to the location of an 07 emergency situation; 08 (2) the basic 911 telephone emergency number is currently available in some 09 communities in the state, but an enhanced 911 system is currently available to only a limited 10 number of Alaskans; 11 (3) an enhanced 911 telephone emergency system provides 12 (A) expansion of the benefits of the basic 911 emergency telephone 13 number; 14 (B) faster response time, which minimizes the loss of life and property;
01 (C) automatic routing to the appropriate emergency response unit; 02 (D) immediate visual display of the location and telephone number of 03 the caller; and 04 (E) curtailment of abuses of the emergency system by documenting 05 callers; 06 (4) more communities in the state could make efficient use of the enhanced 07 911 telephone emergency system if the communities had adequate funding available. 08 (b) It is the purpose of this legislation to 09 (1) establish broad protections for acquiring, establishing, operating, and 10 maintaining enhanced 911 systems; 11 (2) establish methods for the payment of costs associated with those activities; 12 and 13 (3) enable the development, installation, and operation of enhanced 911 14 emergency reporting systems to be operated under local governmental management and 15 control. 16 * Sec. 2. AS 09.25.120 is amended to read: 17 Sec. 09.25.120. PUBLIC RECORDS; EXCEPTIONS; CERTIFIED COPIES. 18 (a) Every person has a right to inspect a public record in the state, including public 19 records in recorders' offices except 20 (1) records of vital statistics and adoption proceedings, which shall be 21 treated in the manner required by AS 18.50; 22 (2) records pertaining to juveniles; 23 (3) medical and related public health records; 24 (4) records required to be kept confidential by a federal law or 25 regulation or by state law; 26 (5) to the extent the records are required to be kept confidential under 27 20 U.S.C. 1232g and the regulations adopted under 20 U.S.C. 1232g in order to secure 28 or retain federal assistance; 29 (6) records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but 30 only to the extent that the production of the law enforcement records or information 31 (A) could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement
01 proceedings; [,] 02 (B) would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an 03 impartial adjudication; [,] 04 (C) could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted 05 invasion of the personal privacy of a suspect, defendant, victim, or witness; [,] 06 (D) could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a 07 confidential source; [,] 08 (E) would disclose confidential techniques and procedures for 09 law enforcement investigations or prosecutions; [,] 10 (F) would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations 11 or prosecutions if the disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk 12 circumvention of the law; [,] or 13 (G) could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or 14 physical safety of an individual; or 15 (7) records or information provided in the course of an enhanced 16 911 call including a recording of the call. 17 (b) Every public officer having the custody of records not included in the 18 exceptions set out in (a) of this section shall permit the inspection, and give on 19 demand and on payment of the fees under AS 09.25.110 - 09.25.115 a certified copy 20 of the record, and the copy shall in all cases be evidence of the original. 21 (c) Recorders shall 22 (1) permit memoranda, transcripts, and copies of the public records in 23 their offices to be made by photography or otherwise for the purpose of examining 24 titles to real estate described in the public records, making abstracts of title or 25 guaranteeing or insuring the titles of the real estate, or building and maintaining title 26 and abstract plants; and 27 (2) [SHALL] furnish proper and reasonable facilities to persons having 28 lawful occasion for access to the public records for those purposes, subject to 29 reasonable rules and regulations, in conformity to the direction of the court, as are 30 necessary for the protection of the records and to prevent interference with the regular 31 discharge of the duties of the recorders and their employees.
01 * Sec. 3. AS 09.65.070(d) is amended to read: 02 (d) No action for damages may be brought against a municipality or any of its 03 agents, officers, or employees if the claim 04 (1) is based on a failure of the municipality, or its agents, officers, or 05 employees, when the municipality is neither owner nor lessee of the property involved, 06 (A) to inspect property for a violation of any statute, regulation 07 or ordinance, or a hazard to health or safety; 08 (B) to discover a violation of any statute, regulation, or 09 ordinance, or a hazard to health or safety if an inspection of property is made; 10 or 11 (C) to abate a violation of any statute, regulation or ordinance, 12 or a hazard to health or safety discovered on property inspected; 13 (2) is based upon the exercise or performance or the failure to exercise 14 or perform a discretionary function or duty by a municipality or its agents, officers, 15 or employees, whether or not the discretion involved is abused; 16 (3) is based upon the grant, issuance, refusal, suspension, delay or 17 denial of a license, permit, appeal, approval, exception, variance, or other entitlement, 18 or a rezoning; 19 (4) is based on the exercise or performance during the course of 20 gratuitous extension of municipal services on an extraterritorial basis; or 21 (5) is based upon the exercise or performance of a duty or function 22 upon the request of, or by the terms of an agreement or contract with, the state to meet 23 emergency public safety requirements; 24 (6) is based on the exercise or performance of a duty in connection 25 with an enhanced 911 emergency system. 26 * Sec. 4. AS 29.10.200 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 27 (51) AS 29.35.131 (enhanced 911 system). 28 * Sec. 5. AS 29.35 is amended by adding new sections to read: 29 Sec. 29.35.131. 911 SURCHARGE. (a) A municipality may, by resolution 30 or ordinance, elect to provide an enhanced 911 system at public safety answering 31 points, may purchase or lease the enhanced 911 equipment or service required to
01 establish or maintain an enhanced 911 system at public safety answering points from 02 a local exchange telephone company or other qualified vendor, and may impose a 911 03 surcharge, in an amount to be determined by the municipality, on all local exchange 04 access lines in the area to be served by the enhanced 911 system. For a municipality 05 with a population of 100,000 or more, the surcharge may not exceed 50 cents per 06 month per local exchange access line. For a municipality with fewer than 100,000 07 people, the surcharge may not exceed 75 cents per month per local exchange access 08 line. The area served by a system may be all of a city, all of a unified municipality, 09 or all or part of the area within a borough. The governing body of a municipality shall 10 review the 911 surcharge annually to determine whether the current level of the 11 surcharge is adequate, excessive, or insufficient to meet anticipated enhanced 911 12 system needs. The municipality may only use the surcharge for the enhanced 911 13 system. 14 (b) A local exchange telephone company providing service in a municipality 15 that has imposed a 911 surcharge shall bill and collect the surcharge from customers 16 in the designated 911 service area. A local exchange telephone customer may not be 17 subject to more than one 911 surcharge on a local exchange access line. A customer 18 that has more than 100 local exchange access lines from a local exchange telephone 19 company in the municipality is liable for the 911 surcharge only on 100 local exchange 20 access lines. 21 (c) A local exchange telephone company shall include the 911 surcharge, 22 stated separately and included in the total amount owed, in the bills delivered to its 23 customers. The Alaska Public Utilities Commission may not consider the 911 24 surcharge as revenue of the local exchange telephone company and has no jurisdiction 25 over an enhanced 911 system. A local exchange service customer is liable for 26 payment of the 911 surcharge in the amounts billed by the local exchange telephone 27 company until the amounts have been paid to the telephone company. 28 (d) A local exchange telephone company that has collected the 911 surcharge 29 shall remit the amounts collected to the municipality no later than 60 days after the 30 end of the month in which the amount was collected. From each remittance made in 31 a timely manner under this subsection, the local exchange telephone company is
01 entitled to deduct and retain the greater of one percent of the collected amount or $150 02 as the cost of administration for collecting the 911 surcharge. 03 (e) A local exchange telephone company is not obligated to take legal action 04 to enforce collection of the 911 surcharge. However, if a local exchange telephone 05 company is attempting to collect an unpaid debt from a local exchange service 06 customer, the telephone company shall also attempt to collect any unpaid 911 07 surcharge that the customer owes. If a customer pays a portion of a bill that includes 08 a 911 surcharge, the amount paid shall be prorated between the telephone company and 09 the 911 surcharge. The company shall annually provide the municipality with a list 10 of the amounts due for the nonpayment of 911 emergency surcharges, together with 11 the names and addresses of those customers who carry a balance that can be 12 determined by the company to be for the nonpayment of the 911 emergency 13 surcharges. The local exchange telephone company is not liable for uncollected 14 amounts. 15 (f) The municipality may, at its own expense, require an annual audit of a 16 local exchange telephone company's books and records concerning the collection and 17 remittance of the 911 surcharge. 18 (g) A village, as defined in AS 09.65.070(e), or a public corporation 19 established by a municipality has the powers granted to a municipality under this 20 section. 21 (h) This section applies to home rule and general law municipalities. 22 Sec. 29.35.133. IMMUNITY. (a) The establishment, funding, use, operation, 23 or maintenance of enhanced 911 systems and all activities associated with those actions 24 are specifically found to be within the ambit of AS 09.50.250(1) and 25 AS 09.65.070(d)(6). Except for intentional acts of misconduct or gross negligence, a 26 service supplier, local exchange telephone company, or mobile telephone company, 27 including a cellular service company, and their employees and agents, are also immune 28 from liability that might otherwise be incurred in the course of installing, training, 29 maintaining, or providing enhanced 911 systems or transmitting or receiving calls on 30 the system. 31 (b) An individual, telephone company, or employee of a telephone company
01 who operates or maintains an emergency 911 service is not liable for civil damages 02 as a result of an act, omission, failure of service, or incorrect information done or 03 given in good faith. 04 (c) In this section, "service supplier" means a person that provides or offers 05 to provide telecommunications equipment or services necessary for the establishment, 06 maintenance, or operation of an enhanced 911 system. 07 Sec. 29.35.135. WAIVER OF PRIVACY BY LOCAL EXCHANGE 08 TELEPHONE COMPANY SUBSCRIBERS. Local exchange telephone company 09 subscribers waive the privacy afforded by unlisted or unpublished telephone numbers 10 to the extent that the name and address associated with the telephone number may be 11 furnished to the enhanced 911 system for call routing or for automatic retrieval of 12 location information in response to a call initiated to the system. 13 Sec. 29.35.137. DEFINITIONS. In AS 29.35.131 - 29.35.137, 14 (1) "911 service area" or "enhanced 911 service area" means the area 15 within a municipality's jurisdiction that has been designated to receive enhanced 911 16 service; the designation of an area to receive an enhanced 911 system under 17 AS 42.30.420(a) does not designate the area as a "service area" for purposes of art. X, 18 sec. 5, Constitution of the State of Alaska; 19 (2) "enhanced 911 equipment" means the equipment dedicated to the 20 operation of, or use in, the establishment, operation, or maintenance of an enhanced 21 911 system, including customer premises equipment, automatic number identification 22 or automatic location identification controllers and display units, printers, cathode ray 23 tubes, recorders, software, and other essential communication equipment required by 24 the system; 25 (3) "enhanced 911 system" or "system" means a telephone system 26 consisting of network, database, and enhanced 911 equipment that uses the single three 27 digit number, 911, for reporting a police, fire, medical, or other emergency situation, 28 and that enables the users of a public telephone system to reach a public safety 29 answering point to report emergencies by dialing 911; an enhanced 911 system 30 includes the personnel required to acquire, install, operate, and maintain the system; 31 (4) "local exchange access line" means a telephone line that connects
01 a local exchange service customer to the local exchange telephone company switching 02 office and has the capability of reaching local public safety agencies, but does not 03 include a line used by a carrier to provide interexchange services; 04 (5) "local exchange service" means the transmission of two-way 05 interactive switched voice communications furnished by a local exchange telephone 06 company within a local exchange area, including access to enhanced 911 systems; in 07 this paragraph, "local exchange area" means a geographic area encompassing one or 08 more political subdivisions as described in maps, tariffs, or rate schedules filed with 09 the Alaska Public Utilities Commission, where local exchange rates apply; 10 (6) "local exchange telephone company" means a telephone utility 11 certificated by the Alaska Public Utilities Commission to provide local exchange 12 service; 13 (7) "municipality" has the meaning given in AS 29.71.800 and includes 14 a public corporation established by a municipality and a village as that term is defined 15 in AS 09.65.070(e); 16 (8) "public safety answering point" means a 24-hour local jurisdiction 17 communications facility that receives 911 service calls and directly dispatches 18 emergency response services or that relays calls to the appropriate public or private 19 safety agency. 20 * Sec. 6. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).