Panel backs extension of local prepaid mobile surcharge through 2031

Assemblymember Rogers presented AB 330 to the Senate Committee on Tax and Revenue, asking the panel to extend the sunset of the local prepaid mobile telephone services collection law to Jan. 1, 2031. The committee voted to pass the bill to the Committee on Appropriations.

"It extends the sunset of a local prepaid mobile telephone services collection act to 01/01/2031," Rogers said, summarizing the bill’s effect. He told the committee the law requires certain retailers to collect an 80-cent surcharge on prepaid wireless purchases and remit the amounts to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration for distribution to participating local governments.

Ben Trimble of the League of California Cities told the committee the revenue supports services such as public safety and road repair and warned that, without the extension, more than 100 cities that rely on the local utility user tax from prepaid wireless sales could lose the revenue stream when the current authorization expires. Amy Jenkins of MuniServices, a sponsor of the bill, said AB 330 "maintains an effective collection tool with no new fees, no rate changes, and no cost to the state." Several cities and counties, including El Cerrito, Redwood City, Santa Monica, Burbank, Glendale, Chula Vista and Alameda County, submitted statements of support.

Committee members did not record opposition testimony. The secretary recorded a committee vote that ultimately sent AB 330 to the Committee on Appropriations by recorded ayes (final recorded vote 4-0). The committee indicated the extension is intended to preserve a locally imposed revenue source that some cities use for public safety and other local services.