186-F - Public safety communications surcharge.
§ 186-f. Public safety communications surcharge. 1. Definitions. As used in this section, where not otherwise specifically defined and unless a different meaning is clearly required: (a) "Place of primary use" has the same meaning as that term is defined in paragraph twenty-six of subdivision (b) of section eleven hundred one of this chapter. (b) "Wireless communications customer" means mobile telecommunications customer as defined in subparagraph (i) of paragraph twenty-seven of subdivision (b) of section eleven hundred one of this chapter, who contracts for or is the end user of wireless communications service. (c) "Wireless communications device" means any equipment used to access a wireless communications service. (d) "Wireless communications service" means all commercial mobile services, as that term is defined in section 332(d) of title 47 of the United States Code, as amended from time to time, including, but not limited to, all broadband personal communications services, wireless radio telephone services, geographic area specialized and enhanced specialized mobile radio services, and incumbent-wide area specialized mobile radio licensees, which offer real time, two-way voice or data service that is interconnected with the public switched telephone network or otherwise provides access to emergency communications services. (e) "Wireless communications service supplier" means a home service provider as defined in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph twenty-seven of subdivision (b) of section eleven hundred one of this chapter, provided that the home service provider provides wireless communications service and has one or more wireless communications customers in New York state. 2. Public safety communications surcharge. (a) A surcharge on wireless communications service provided to a wireless communications customer with a place of primary use in this state is imposed at the rate of one dollar and twenty cents per month on each wireless communications device in service during any part of each month. The surcharge must be reflected and made payable on bills rendered to the wireless communications customer for wireless communication service. (b) Each wireless communications service supplier providing wireless communications service in New York state must act as a collection agent for the state for the collection of the surcharge. The wireless communications service supplier has no legal obligation to enforce the collection of the surcharge from its customers. However, each wireless communications service supplier must collect and retain the name and address of any wireless communications customer with a place of primary use in this state that refuses or fails to pay the surcharge, as well as the cumulative amount of the surcharge remaining unpaid, and must provide this information to the commissioner at the time and according to the procedures the commissioner may provide. The surcharge must be reported and paid to the commissioner on a quarterly basis on or before the fifteenth day of the month following each quarterly period ending on the last day of February, May, August and November, respectively. The payments must be accompanied by a return in the form and containing the information the commissioner may prescribe. (c) The surcharge must be added as a separate line item to bills furnished by a wireless communications service supplier to its customers, and must be identified as the "public safety communications surcharge". Each wireless communications customer who is subject to the provisions of this section remains liable to the state for the surcharge due under this section until it has been paid to the state, except that payment to a wireless communications service supplier is sufficient to relieve the customer from further liability for the surcharge.(d) Each wireless communications service supplier is entitled to retain, as an administrative fee, an amount equal to two percent of fifty-eight and three-tenths percent of the total collections of the surcharge imposed by this section, provided that the supplier files any required return and remits the surcharge due to the commissioner on or before its due date. 3. Applicability of article twenty-seven. For purposes of article twenty-seven of this chapter as applied to this section by section two hundred seven-b of this article, the term "taxpayer" in article twenty-seven refers to a wireless communications service supplier subject to this section or a wireless communications customer subject to this section, as the case may be, and the term "tax" in article twenty-seven refers to the surcharge imposed by this section. 4. Exemptions. The state of New York and any of its agencies, instrumentalities and political subdivisions are exempt from the surcharge imposed by this section. 5. Deposits of surcharge monies collected and received. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, all surcharge monies collected and received by the commissioner under this section must be deposited daily to the credit of the comptroller with those responsible banks, banking houses or trust companies the comptroller may designate. Those deposits must be kept separate and apart from all other monies in the possession of the comptroller. The comptroller must require adequate security from all such depositories. Of the total revenue collected or received under this section, the comptroller must retain in the comptroller's hands an amount determined by the commissioner to be necessary for refunds under this section, out of which the comptroller will pay any refunds to which taxpayers are entitled under the provisions of this section. The comptroller, after reserving the amount to pay refunds, must, on or before the tenth day of each month, pay all surcharge monies collected and received under this section and remaining to the comptroller's credit as follows: (a) forty-one and seven-tenths of the revenues collected and received under this section into the state general fund; and (b) after deducting the amount paid under paragraph (a) of this subdivision and the amount retained by wireless communications suppliers pursuant to paragraph (d) of subdivision two of this section, the balance of the revenues collected under this section into the New York state wireless telephone emergency service account of the miscellaneous special revenue fund, created pursuant to section ninety-seven-qq of the state finance law. 6. Distribution. The monies collected from the surcharge imposed by this section must be distributed to include the following: (a) The sum of twenty-five million five hundred thousand dollars must be allocated to the state police pursuant to appropriation by the legislature annually; (b) The sum of one million five hundred thousand dollars must be deposited into the New York state emergency services revolving loan fund annually; (c) Up to the sum of seventy-five million dollars annually may be used for the provision of grants or reimbursements to counties for the development, consolidation, or operation of public safety communications systems or networks designed to support statewide interoperable communications for first responders, to be distributed pursuant to standards and guidelines issued by the state. Annual grants may consider costs borne by a municipality related to the issuance of local public safety communications bonds pursuant to section twenty-four hundred thirty-two of the public authorities law, when the municipality hasqualified as an approved participant in a statewide interoperable communications system under the standards and guidelines issued by the state, and maintains compliance with such standards and guidelines. The grant amount will be prescribed pursuant to an agreement with the municipality, and may not exceed thirty percent of the annual cost borne by the municipality in relation to such bonds; (d) To provide the costs of debt service for bonds and notes issued to finance expedited deployment funding pursuant to the provisions of section three hundred thirty-three of the county law and section sixteen hundred eighty-nine-h of the public authorities law; and (e) services and expenses that support the operations and mission of the division of homeland security and emergency services as appropriated by the legislature.