Gives the Board discretion as to the allocation of reimbursements from the wireless enhanced 911 fund between the Public Safety Answering Points and wireless carriers.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. Section 138-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[§138-5] Recovery from the fund. (a) After January 1, 2005, every public safety answering point shall be eligible to seek [reimbursement] recovery from the fund [solely] to pay for the reasonable costs to lease, purchase, or maintain all necessary equipment, including computer hardware, software, and database provisioning, required by the public safety answering point to provide technical functionality for the wireless enhanced 911 service pursuant to the Federal Communications Commission order. [All other expenses] Expenses necessary to operate the public safety answering point, including but not limited to those expenses related to overhead, staffing, and other day-to-day operational expenses, shall continue to be paid through the general funding of the respective counties. The board may determine by policy that certain expenses necessary to the provision of wireless enhanced 911 services by the public safety answering points may be recovered from the fund.

(b) After January 1, 2005, each wireless provider may request [reimbursement] recovery from the fund [of] wireless enhanced 911 commercial mobile radio service costs incurred; provided that the costs:

In no event shall a wireless provider [be reimbursed for] recover any amount above its actual wireless enhanced 911 commercial mobile radio service costs that are allowed to be recovered under section 138-4(d).

(c) After the expenses of the board are paid, the [public safety answering points shall be allocated two thirds of the remaining balance of the fund. The remaining one-third shall be available for wireless provider cost recovery.] board shall determine the allocation of the remaining balance of the fund between the public safety answering points and wireless providers. The board shall determine the [reimbursement] amounts recovered for the public safety answering points, based on the limitations set forth in section 138-5(a). The [reimbursement level] amount recovered for each wireless provider shall be limited:

SECTION 2. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2006.