911 vendor compensation debate: bill would cut telco retention from 5% to 1%; committee pauses for more information

House Bill 1096 would change the vendor compensation rate that telecommunications providers may retain when collecting local 9‑1‑1 fees, cutting the statutory retention from 5% to 1%.

Representative Todd Porter, sponsor, opened the hearing by describing the bill as an update to a fee structure established when landlines predominated. He said advances in 9‑1‑1 administration and a new centralized collection program run by the North Dakota Association of Counties have reduced the administrative burden on carriers and counties. “The program now takes receipt of all 911 fee revenue from telcos and deposits the appropriate amounts per county into each of the funds,” Jason Horning of the Association of Counties told the committee, describing the new process as…