Senate committee hears debate on lowering phone provider retention of 9‑1‑1 surcharge

Representative Todd Porter introduced House Bill 1096 to the Senate Finance and Taxation Committee, saying the bill would change how much of the local 9‑1‑1 surcharge phone companies may retain for administration. Porter described the evolution of the 9‑1‑1 surcharge from an early landline-era charge to a modern program largely funded by mobile-device surcharges and said the fiscal structure has not kept pace with technology.

The bill as introduced in the House would have limited originating service providers’ (OSPs’) administrative retention to 1 percent of the fee collected. At committee testimony in the Senate, stakeholders described a negotiated compromise of 2.5 percent that was acceptable to many carriers. Danelle Preski of the North Dakota Association of Counties (speaking for the North Dakota 9‑1‑1 Association) said, “We stand in support of this bill, and today we're at we're asking for you to consider changing it back to its original form, as it was introduced.” Jason Horning of NDACO, who manages the association’s new centralized fee collection program, told senators, “the total amount, based on what the counties are assessing, is approximately $18,000,000 in total 9 0 1 fee revenue.”

Supporters including NDACO argued the reduction would return a larger share of surcharge dollars to 9‑1‑1 centers and county radio programs. Horning described the fee flow: a portion of the per‑line surcharge funds the statewide interoperable radio network (roughly 50¢ of the surcharge), 10¢ funds a next‑generation 9‑1‑1 program, and the remainder is remitted to counties for local 9‑1‑1 operations and State Radio payments. Horning estimated that at the then‑current 5 percent retention rate OSPs retain roughly $850,000 to $900,000 annually for administration.

Representatives of small, rural carriers and broadband providers said a straight reduction to 1 percent would sharply reduce the modest administrative support they presently receive. Carissa Swenson of the Broadband Association of North Dakota said her members currently receive “about 100,000 per year total” to cover data and administrative work and said her group negotiated a middle ground of 2.5 percent. Midco likewise said it supported the 2.5 percent compromise while noting additional work is required to supply accurate line counts.

Senators questioned how collections are allocated across counties and how cell‑phone billing affects allocation. Horning described the remittance process: OSPs report line counts by county and remit funds to the Association of Counties, which distributes funds back to counties based on county rates and line counts. He said wireless carriers determine a customer’s “primary place of use” under mobile sourcing rules; that primary place of use is used to allocate the surcharge for wireless lines. Horning and others also described statutory oversight: the Emergency Services Communications Coordinating Committee (ESC3) is required to publish biennial reports on fees and allowable uses and to account for county expenditures.

No formal committee vote was taken; the Senate committee closed the hearing and left the bill “laying” for further consideration.

Ending: The committee heard diverse stakeholder views—counties and 9‑1‑1 centers pressed for more money to sustain next‑generation dispatch services, while carriers sought to preserve modest administrative reimbursements. Senators said they needed time to review the fiscal details and the new central collection data before acting.