| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to communications services; amending s. |
| 3 | 202.29, F.S.; authorizing dealers to report a credit for |
| 4 | bad debt by netting the credit against the tax due; |
| 5 | authorizing dealers to use a proportionate allocation |
| 6 | method or other reasonable method in determining amount of |
| 7 | bad debt attributable to the state or local jurisdiction; |
| 8 | amending s. 365.172, F.S.; extending the date to begin |
| 9 | collecting the prepaid wireless E911 fee; providing for |
| 10 | retroactive operation of the amendment to s. 202.29, F.S.; |
| 11 | specifying that the amendment to s. 202.29, F.S., is |
| 12 | remedial in nature and not a basis for certain refunds of |
| 13 | tax; providing an effective date. |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Section 1. Subsection (4) is added to section 202.29, |
| 18 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 19 | 202.29 Bad debts.-- |
| 20 | (4)(a) A dealer may report the credit for bad debt allowed |
| 21 | under this section by netting such credit against the tax due to |
| 22 | the state pursuant to s. 202.12 or to a local jurisdiction |
| 23 | pursuant to s. 202.19, but such netting may not reduce the |
| 24 | amount due to the state or to any local jurisdiction below zero. |
| 25 | (b) For purposes of determining the amount of bad debt |
| 26 | that is attributable to the state or to a local jurisdiction, a |
| 27 | dealer may employ a proportionate allocation method based on |
| 28 | current gross taxes due or another reasonable allocation method |
| 29 | approved by the department. |
| 30 | Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (8) of section |
| 31 | 365.172, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 32 | 365.172 Emergency communications number "E911."-- |
| 33 | (8) E911 FEE.-- |
| 34 | (a) Each voice communications services provider shall |
| 35 | collect the fee described in this subsection. Each provider, as |
| 36 | part of its monthly billing process, shall bill the fee as |
| 37 | follows. The fee shall not be assessed on any pay telephone in |
| 38 | the state. |
| 39 | 1. Each local exchange carrier shall bill the fee to the |
| 40 | local exchange subscribers on a service-identifier basis, up to |
| 41 | a maximum of 25 access lines per account bill rendered. |
| 42 | 2. Except in the case of prepaid wireless service, each |
| 43 | wireless provider shall bill the fee to a subscriber on a per- |
| 44 | service-identifier basis for service identifiers whose primary |
| 45 | place of use is within this state. Before July 1, 2011 2009, the |
| 46 | fee shall not be assessed on or collected from a provider with |
| 47 | respect to an end user's service if that end user's service is a |
| 48 | prepaid calling arrangement that is subject to s. 212.05(1)(e). |
| 49 | a. The board shall conduct a study to determine whether it |
| 50 | is feasible to collect E911 fees from the sale of prepaid |
| 51 | wireless service. If, based on the findings of the study, the |
| 52 | board determines that a fee should not be collected from the |
| 53 | sale of prepaid wireless service, it shall report its findings |
| 54 | and recommendation to the Governor, the President of the Senate, |
| 55 | and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by December 31, |
| 56 | 2008. If the board determines that a fee should be collected |
| 57 | from the sale of prepaid wireless service, the board shall |
| 58 | collect the fee beginning July 1, 2011 2009. |
| 59 | b. For purposes of this section, the term: |
| 60 | (I) "Prepaid wireless service" means the right to access |
| 61 | telecommunications services that must be paid for in advance and |
| 62 | is sold in predetermined units or dollars enabling the |
| 63 | originator to make calls such that the number of units or |
| 64 | dollars declines with use in a known amount. |
| 65 | (II) "Prepaid wireless service providers" includes those |
| 66 | persons who sell prepaid wireless service regardless of its |
| 67 | form, either as a retailer or reseller. |
| 68 | c. The study must include an evaluation of methods by |
| 69 | which E911 fees may be collected from end users and purchasers |
| 70 | of prepaid wireless service on an equitable, efficient, |
| 71 | competitively neutral, and nondiscriminatory basis and must |
| 72 | consider whether the collection of fees on prepaid wireless |
| 73 | service would constitute an efficient use of public funds given |
| 74 | the technological and practical considerations of collecting the |
| 75 | fee based on the varying methodologies prepaid wireless service |
| 76 | providers and their agents use in marketing prepaid wireless |
| 77 | service. |
| 78 | d. The study must include a review and evaluation of the |
| 79 | collection of E911 fees on prepaid wireless service at the point |
| 80 | of sale within the state. This evaluation must be consistent |
| 81 | with the collection principles of end user charges such as those |
| 82 | in s. 212.05(1)(e). |
| 83 | e. No later than 90 days after this section becomes law, |
| 84 | the board shall require all prepaid wireless service providers, |
| 85 | including resellers, to provide the board with information that |
| 86 | the board determines is necessary to discharge its duties under |
| 87 | this section, including information necessary for its |
| 88 | recommendation, such as total retail and reseller prepaid |
| 89 | wireless service sales. |
| 90 | f. All subscriber information provided by a prepaid |
| 91 | wireless service provider in response to a request from the |
| 92 | board while conducting this study is subject to s. 365.174. |
| 93 | g. The study shall be conducted by an entity competent and |
| 94 | knowledgeable in matters of state taxation policy if the board |
| 95 | does not possess that expertise. The study must be paid from the |
| 96 | moneys distributed to the board for administrative purposes |
| 97 | under s. 365.173(2)(f) but may not exceed $250,000. |
| 98 | 3. All voice communications services providers not |
| 99 | addressed under subparagraphs 1. and 2. shall bill the fee on a |
| 100 | per-service-identifier basis for service identifiers whose |
| 101 | primary place of use is within the state up to a maximum of 25 |
| 102 | service identifiers for each account bill rendered. |
| 103 |
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| 104 | The provider may list the fee as a separate entry on each bill, |
| 105 | in which case the fee must be identified as a fee for E911 |
| 106 | services. A provider shall remit the fee to the board only if |
| 107 | the fee is paid by the subscriber. If a provider receives a |
| 108 | partial payment for a monthly bill from a subscriber, the amount |
| 109 | received shall first be applied to the payment due the provider |
| 110 | for providing voice communications service. |
| 111 | Section 3. The amendment to s. 202.29, Florida Statutes, |
| 112 | made by this act shall operate retroactively to July 1, 2000; |
| 113 | however, the retroactive operation of such amendment is remedial |
| 114 | in nature, does not create a right to a refund, and does not |
| 115 | require a refund by any governmental entity of any tax, penalty, |
| 116 | or interest remitted to the Department of Revenue before July 1, |
| 117 | 2009. |
| 118 | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |