States Must Stop Raiding 9-1-1 Fees

It is unconscionable that some states divert fees collected for legitimate and needed 9-1-1 communications capabilities to unrelated purposes, threatening the public's safety for short-term budget relief. After almost fifteen years of working on the problem, we are no closer to resolving it. I suggest that the appropriate policymakers must implement new measures to end this practice once and for all. This may require uncomfortable conversations with states or taking forceful actions, but the current mechanism of shame and hope isn't working.

Here are three non-mutually exclusive ideas for the FCC to increase the pressure and force states to end this despicable practice:

• Interstate Services Prohibition: The FCC maintains sole jurisdiction over interstate communications services and, as such, we retain the right to bar diverting states from imposing 9-1-1 fees on the interstate calls.
• Prohibit Collection and Remittance by Providers: For diverting states, the collection of funds above what will be spent directly on 9-1-1 services is by definition misleading to consumers. The FCC can prevent any providers from collecting such funds or requiring them to remit the funds to diverting states. As part of this effort, the FCC could also define what are inappropriate uses of 9-1-1 funds and ensure providers are held harmless in the process.
• Commission Advisory Committees: The ability to serve on Commission Advisory Committees is a privilege, not a right. As such, the FCC can and should exclude any person from a diverting state from participating on an advisory committee, and this can be done without losing valuable advice.