National Weather Service—Georgia 911 Charge, B-301126, October 22, 2003

B-301126 Oct 22, 2003 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights DIGEST The federal government is constitutionally immune from paying the Georgia 911 charge because it is a vendee tax. We conclude that the Georgia emergency telephone 911 charge is a vendee tax that may not be assessed against the federal government under the U.S. Local governments are authorized to adopt resolutions imposing a monthly 911 "charge" on users of local telephone services situated in areas of the state that are served or would be served by the local government's emergency 911 system. /1/ Ga. The 911 charge is assessed on each "exchange access facility. " which is defined as the access from a particular telephone subscriber's premises to the telephone system of a service supplier. View Decision National Weather Service-Georgia 911 Charge, B-301126, October 22, 2003 DIGEST DECISION The Chief of the Financial Management Division for the Mountain Administrative Support Center of the Department of Commerce has requested an advance decision under 31 U.S.C. Sec. 3529 on the propriety of paying the emergency 911 telephone charge assessed against National Weather Service telephone lines by its service provider on behalf of several counties in the State of Georgia under the Georgia Emergency Telephone Number "911" Service Act of 1977, as amended, Ga. Code Ann. Secs. 46-5-120 to 139 (Michie 1992 & Supp. 2003). Although the National Weather Service has informed the telephone service supplier of the federal government's constitutional immunity from the Georgia 911 charge based on our prior 911 tax decisions, the supplier has nevertheless refused to remove these assessments. For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that the Georgia emergency telephone 911 charge is a vendee tax that may not be assessed against the federal government under the U.S. Constitution unless expressly authorized by Congress. Georgia law already bars application of the 911 charge to federal entities such as the National Weather Service. Ga. Code Ann. Secs. 46-5-134(a)(1), (2)(C). Accordingly, the National Weather Service should not pay and may disregard those portions of the service provider's invoices that assess 911 charges. BACKGROUND Like many other states, Georgia has established an emergency "911" telephone service system intended to "[p]rovide citizens with rapid, direct access to public safety agencies by dialing telephone number '911' with the objective of reducing the response time to situations requiring law enforcement, fire, medical, rescue, and other emergency services." Ga. Code Ann. Sec. 46-5-121(a). Under the Georgia Emergency Telephone Number '911' Service Act of 1977, as amended, local governments are authorized to adopt resolutions imposing a monthly 911 "charge" on users of local telephone services situated in areas of the state that are served or would be served by the local government's emergency 911 system. /1/ Ga. Code Ann. Sec. 46-5-133. The 911 charge is assessed on each "exchange access facility," which is defined as the access from a particular telephone subscriber's premises to the telephone system of a service supplier; in other words, the 911 charge is assessed on each telephone line. Ga. Code Ann. Secs. 46-5-133, -134(a), -122(4). See generally Ga. Code Ann. Sec. 46-5-122. The Georgia statute explicitly holds every telephone subscriber in the area served by the emergency 911 system liable for the 911 charge, which may not exceed $1.50 per line. Ga. Code Ann. Secs. 46-5-134(b), -134(a)(1). Each service supplier must, on behalf of the local government, collect the 911 charge from those telephone subscribers to whom it provides telephone service in the area served by the emergency 911 system and must list the 911 charge separately on each invoice. /2/ Ga Code Ann. Sec. 46-5-134(a)(1). Service suppliers are entitled to three percent of the gross 911 charges collected as an administrative fee. Ga. Code Ann. Sec. 46-5-134(d)(1). The balance of the 911 charges must be remitted quarterly to the local government for deposit into an "Emergency Telephone System Fund," a separate, restricted revenue fund which the local government is required to maintain. Id. Money from this fund is available only to pay for, inter alia, the lease, purchase, or maintenance of emergency telephone equipment, the cost of leasing or purchasing a building used as a public safety answering point and the actual cost of salaries, including benefits, of employees hired by the local government solely for the operation and maintenance of the emergency 911 system. Ga. Code Ann. Sec. 46-5-134(e). Significantly, the Georgia statute mandates that "all exchange access facilities billed to the federal, state, or local governments shall be exempt from the 911 charge." Ga. Code Ann. Sec. 46-5-134(a)(1). See also Ga. Code Ann. Sec.