EMERGENCIES;

You asked for a comparison of telephone surcharges that Connecticut and other states use to support 911 emergency services.

In Connecticut and most other states, a fixed charge on telephone bills is used to support 911 services. Connecticut and most other states impose the charge on wireless as well as wireline telephones. In many states, but not Connecticut, the charge varies by county or municipality. Table 1 provides the surcharge or mechanism for determining it by state’s of August 2002.

In a few states, 911 services are funded by a mechanism other than a flat charge on telephone bills. In California, the charge is based on the access fees paid by telephone customers. In New Jersey, they are funded by appropriations rather than a charge on telephone bills. In Vermont, there is not a separate charge for 911 services; instead the services receive part of the money received from the universal service charge, which funds several other programs as well. In Indiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Oklahoma, there is a flat charge on wireless telephones and an alternative funding mechanism for wireline telephones.

Of the states that have flat charges, Connecticut has one of the lowest (27 cents per month per line) in the country. Only Kentucky has a lower statewide charge for wireline telephones; Iowa and Michigan have some jurisdictions with lower charges. Unlike Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Wyoming do not impose a charge on wireless telephones; Washington’s rate is slightly lower than Connecticut’s. In the remaining 38 states, the charge on wireless telephones is higher than Connecticut’s, with most charging 50 cents to $ 1 dollar per month.

Table 1: 911 Charges As of August 2002

Table 1 -(Continued)-

Source: Nat’l Emergency Number Association

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