Emergency Communications Authority; increase in the percentage of all 9-1-1 charges to be remitted to the Peace Officers' Annuity and Benefit Fund; increase

The source of funds for the Peace Officers' Annuity and Benefit Fund changed from a public safety support surcharge on telephone services to 1.5% of county funds derived from insurance premium taxes.

A new provision was added to ensure that funds appropriated to the Peace Officers' Annuity and Benefit Fund do not lapse as required by the state constitution.

The bill grants the fund's board new authority to increase the monthly benefit multiplier for peace officers.

All definitions related to telephone services, such as 'Call', 'Exchange access facility', and 'Prepaid wireless service', were removed as they are no longer relevant to the new tax-based funding structure.

The legislative focus shifted from telecommunications regulation to the management of county tax revenues and insurance premium taxes.

The bill was rewritten to replace specific 9-1-1 fee increases with a new 'public safety support surcharge' designed to fund the Peace Officers' Annuity and Benefit Fund.

New definitions were added for key terms including 'public safety support surcharge,' 'exchange access facility,' 'mobile telecommunications service,' and 'prepaid wireless service' to clarify the bill's application.

Specific dollar amounts for 9-1-1 charges and detailed retention percentages for the Emergency Communications Authority were removed from the text.

The legislative purpose statement was updated to reflect the new focus on dedicating surcharge funds to the police benefit fund rather than general 9-1-1 system improvements.