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S00548 Summary:

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S00548 Floor Votes:

S00548 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
            S. 548                                                   A. 1517
 
                               2009-2010 Regular Sessions
 
                SENATE - ASSEMBLY
 
                                       (Prefiled)
 
                                     January 7, 2009
                                       ___________
 
        IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. BRESLIN -- read twice and ordered print-
          ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Govern-
          ment
 
        IN  ASSEMBLY  --  Introduced  by  M.  of  A. CANESTRARI -- read once and

          referred to the Committee on Local Governments
 
        AN ACT to amend the county law, in relation to establishing  a  wireless
          surcharge for Albany county
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. The county law is amended by adding a new section 308-w  to
     2  read as follows:
     3    §  308-w.  Establishment  of  county  of Albany wireless surcharge. 1.
     4  Notwithstanding the provisions of any law to the contrary, the county of
     5  Albany, acting through its local  county  legislative  body,  is  hereby
     6  authorized  and empowered to adopt, amend or repeal local laws to impose
     7  a surcharge in an amount not to exceed thirty cents per month  on  wire-

     8  less communications service in the county of Albany. The surcharge shall
     9  be imposed on each wireless communications device and shall be reflected
    10  and  made  payable on bills rendered for wireless communications service
    11  that is provided to a customer whose place of primary use is within  the
    12  county.  For  purposes  of this section, the term "place of primary use"
    13  shall mean the street  address  that  is  representative  of  where  the
    14  customer's  use of the wireless communications service primarily occurs,
    15  which address must be: (a) residential street  address  or  the  primary
    16  business  street  address  of  the customer; and (b) within the licensed
    17  service area of the wireless communications service supplier.

    18    2. Any local law adopted pursuant to  this  section  shall  state  the
    19  amount  of  the  surcharge  and  the date on which the wireless communi-
    20  cations service supplier shall begin to add such surcharge to the  bill-
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02707-01-9
        S. 548                              2                            A. 1517
 
     1  ings  of  its  customers.  Any  wireless communications service supplier
     2  within the county of Albany which has imposed a  surcharge  pursuant  to
     3  the  provisions  of  this section shall be given a minimum of forty-five

     4  days  written  notice  prior  to  the  date  it  shall begin to add such
     5  surcharge to the billings of its customers or prior to any  modification
     6  to or change in the surcharge amount.
     7    3. (a) Each wireless communications service supplier serving the coun-
     8  ty  of  Albany  shall  act  as collection agent for the county and shall
     9  remit the funds collected pursuant to  a  surcharge  imposed  under  the
    10  provisions  of this section to the chief fiscal officer of the county of
    11  Albany every month. Such funds shall be remitted no  later  than  thirty
    12  days after the last business day of the month.
    13    (b) Each wireless communications service supplier shall be entitled to
    14  retain,  as an administrative fee, an amount equal to two percent of its

    15  collections of a surcharge imposed under the provisions of this section.
    16    (c) Any surcharge required to be  collected  by  a  wireless  communi-
    17  cations  service supplier shall be added to and stated separately in its
    18  billings to customers.
    19    (d) Each wireless communications service customer who  is  subject  to
    20  the  provisions  of this section shall be liable to the county of Albany
    21  for the surcharge until it has been paid to the county of Albany  except
    22  that payment to a wireless communications service supplier is sufficient
    23  to relieve the customer from further liability for such surcharge.
    24    (e)  No  wireless  communications  service supplier shall have a legal
    25  obligation to enforce the collection of any surcharge imposed under  the

    26  provisions  of  this section, provided, however, that whenever the wire-
    27  less communications service supplier remits the funds collected  to  the
    28  county  of  Albany,  it shall also provide the county of Albany with the
    29  name and address of any customer refusing or failing to pay a  surcharge
    30  imposed  under the provisions of this section and shall state the amount
    31  of such surcharge remaining unpaid.
    32    (f) Each  wireless  communications  service  supplier  shall  annually
    33  provide  to  the county of Albany an accounting of the surcharge amounts
    34  billed and collected.
    35    4. All surcharge monies remitted to the county of Albany by a wireless
    36  communications service supplier shall be  expended  only  upon  authori-

    37  zation  of  the  local  county  legislative body and only for payment of
    38  eligible wireless 911 service costs as defined in subdivision sixteen of
    39  section three hundred twenty-five of this chapter. The county of  Albany
    40  shall  separately account for and keep adequate books and records of the
    41  amount and source of all such monies and of the  amount  and  object  or
    42  purpose  of all expenditures thereof. If, at the end of any fiscal year,
    43  the total amount of all such monies exceeds  the  amount  necessary  for
    44  payment  of  the  above mentioned costs in such fiscal year, such excess
    45  shall be reserved and carried over for the payment of those costs in the
    46  following fiscal year.
    47    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.