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.
(f) "Prepaid wireless communications seller" means a person making a retail sale of prepaid wireless communications service.
(g) "Prepaid wireless communications service" means a prepaid mobile calling service as defined in paragraph twenty-two of subdivision (b) of section eleven hundred one of this chapter.
2. Public safety communications surcharge. (a) (1) 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.
(2) A surcharge is imposed on the retail sale of each prepaid wireless communications service, whether or not any tangible personal property is sold therewith, at the rate of ninety cents per retail sale. A sale of a prepaid wireless communications service occurs in this state if the sale takes place at a seller's business location in the state. If the sale does not take place at the seller's place of business, it shall be conclusively determined to take place at the purchaser's shipping address or, if there is no item shipped, at the purchaser's billing address, or, if the seller does not have that address, at such address as approved by the commissioner that reasonably reflects the customer's location at the time of the sale of the prepaid wireless communications service.
(b) The surcharges must be reported and paid to the commissioner on a quarterly basis on or before the twentieth 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 surcharges must be added as a separate line item to bills furnished by a wireless communications service supplier to its customers, or must be added as a separate line item to a sales slip, invoice, receipt, or other statement of the price, if any, that is furnished by a prepaid wireless communications seller to a purchaser, and must be identified as the "public safety communications surcharge".
(d) Each wireless communications service supplier and prepaid wireless communications seller is entitled to retain, as an administrative fee, an amount equal to three percent of fifty-eight and three-tenths percent of the total collections of the surcharges imposed by this section, provided that the supplier or seller files any required return and remits the surcharge due to the commissioner on or before its due date.
3. Exemption. Lifeline consumers shall be exempt from the surcharges imposed by this section.
4. Applicable provisions. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the surcharges imposed under this section shall be administered and collected by the commissioner in a like manner as the taxes imposed by article twenty-eight of this chapter. All the provisions of article twenty-eight of this chapter, including the provisions relating to definitions, exemptions, returns, personal liability for the tax, collection of tax from the customer, payment of tax, and the administration of the taxes imposed by such article, shall apply to the surcharges imposed under the authority of this section so far as those provisions can be made applicable to the surcharges imposed by this section, with such modifications as may be necessary in order to adapt the language of those provisions to the surcharges imposed by this section. Those provisions shall apply with the same force and effect as if the language of those provisions had been set forth in full in this section, except to the extent that any of those provisions is either inconsistent with a provision of this section or is not relevant to the surcharge imposed by this section. For purposes of this section, any reference in this chapter to a tax or the taxes imposed by article twenty-eight of this chapter shall be deemed also to refer to the surcharges imposed by this section unless a different meaning is clearly required.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivision:
(1) the exemptions provided for in section eleven hundred sixteen of this chapter, other than the exemptions in paragraphs one, two and three of subdivision (a) of that section, shall not apply to the surcharges imposed by this section.
(2) the credit provided in subdivision (f) of section eleven hundred thirty-seven of this chapter shall not apply to 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 statewide public safety communications 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; provided, however, that such sums shall not be deposited for state fiscal years two thousand eleven--two thousand twelve, two thousand twelve--two thousand thirteen, two thousand fourteen--two thousand fifteen, two thousand fifteen--two thousand sixteen, two thousand sixteen--two thousand seventeen and two thousand seventeen--two thousand eighteen;
(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 has qualified 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.
(g) The sum of ten million dollars annually shall be used for the provision of grants to counties for costs related to the operations of public safety dispatch centers, to be distributed pursuant to a plan developed by the commissioner of homeland security and emergency services and approved by the director of the budget. Such plan may consider such factors as population density and emergency call volume.
Last modified: February 3, 2019