AN ACT to amend and reenact section 57-40.6-04 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to assessed communication service fees.
Summary
HB 1096 amends North Dakota Century Code section 57-40.6-04 governing the collection of assessed communications service fees, which are associated with 911-related communications funding. The bill changes the maximum amount an assessed communications service provider may retain for administration and certain 911 database management charges from 5 percent to 2.5 percent of the fee collected.
The bill also keeps the existing timing rule for remitting fee proceeds: providers must pay collected amounts within 30 days after collection from subscribers or customers, but providers with fewer than ten subscribers or customers in a jurisdiction may remit quarterly instead. In practical terms, the measure narrows the amount providers may keep from the fee while preserving the current collection and remittance structure.
Impact
HB 1096 directly amends the state statute governing assessed communications service fee collection procedures. Its main legal effect is to reduce the administrative retention cap for communications service providers, limiting how much of the collected fee may be withheld for collection costs and 911 database management. The bill does not change who is subject to the fee or the basic remittance schedule, but it affects the financial handling of 911 fee revenues and the amount ultimately forwarded for public safety communications purposes.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have received broad bipartisan support and little visible opposition. It passed the House unanimously, 89-0, and the Senate by a strong margin, 43-2, suggesting general agreement with the policy change. The lack of committee transcript material also indicates there was no recorded major controversy in the available materials.
Contention
The only apparent point of contention is the reduction in the retention cap from 5 percent to 2.5 percent. Communications service providers may view the lower cap as reducing reimbursement for administrative and database-management costs, while supporters likely see it as ensuring more of the assessed fee reaches 911-related purposes. The recorded votes show that any disagreement was limited, with only two dissenting votes in the Senate and none in the House.