House keeps 911 fee intact, shifts reporting to calendar year to aid PSAPs

The South Dakota House on March 3 passed Senate Bill 37, a bill that alters 911 reporting and preserves a line-item fee that supports local public-safety answering points.

Representative Bathke, presenting the bill, said two primary changes were included: switching the reporting period used by PSAPs and the Department of Public Safety from the state's fiscal year to the calendar year and eliminating a scheduled sunset on a $2 surcharge that helps fund 911 centers. "By switching to the calendar year, it'll bring them into compliance with their FCC reports," Bathke said, and urged colleagues to support preserving the fee, which had been scheduled to sunset in 2026.

Bathke said the state has 28 PSAPs, down from 42 as centers merged, and that the busiest rural centers, including those in Winter and Mobridge, face rising costs they cannot absorb. He described the fee as contributing only a fraction of the centers’ costs but necessary to keep them operational.

Representative Emery, speaking in support from floor experience working with PSAPs, urged approval to maintain funding for centers that respond to emergency calls.

Because the bill deposits the fee into a continuously appropriated fund, final passage required a two-thirds vote. The clerk reported the vote as 69 ayes and 1 excused, and the House declared the bill passed by the required supermajority.

The floor discussion focused on operational pressures for rural PSAPs, FCC reporting alignment and the revenue implications of removing the sunset provision on the surcharge that appears on phone bills.

Senate Bill 37 now proceeds following final passage to the usual enrollment and transmittal to the governor.