Policy Statement of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), National Association of State 9-1-1 Administrators (NASNA) and 9-1-1 Industry Alliance (9IA) Opposing State Raiding of 9-1-1 Funds July 7, 2009

 

Thousands of lives are saved every day thanks to America’s 9-1-1 system. Decades of government leadership and steady technological progress have given citizens a reliable 9-1-1 system they can trust. In return, citizens trust their state and local governments to responsibly manage the funds collected to pay for 9-1-1 systems.  Unfortunately, some state and local governments have seen 9-1-1 revenues ­– funds raised through fees assessed on telecommunications bills specifically for 9-1-1 – as a revenue source available to be diverted from 9-1-1 and emergency service delivery for use in other programs, to balance budgets, and/or to provide budget flexibility to fund other non-9-1-1 budget priorities. Commercial telecommunications companies are held to “truth-in-billing” requirements to properly disclose the purposes of fees assessed on their customers. Unfortunately, some state and local governments do not have to meet similar “truth-in-billing” requirements on their 9-1-1 fund expenditures, and increasingly some state governments are being less than honest with their constituents about the purposes of the 9-1-1 fees they impose.