SEARCH SITE
VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL
- Code of Virginia
- Virginia Administrative Code
- Constitution of Virginia
- Charters
- Authorities
- Compacts
- Uncodified Acts
- RIS Users (account required)
SEARCHABLE DATABASES
- Bills & Resolutions
session legislation - Bill Summaries
session summaries - Reports to the General Assembly
House and Senate documents - Legislative Liaisons
State agency contacts
ACROSS SESSIONS
- Subject Index: Since 1995
- Bills & Resolutions: Since 1994
- Summaries: Since 1994
Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.
1997 SESSION
972256727Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 58.1-3813 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 58.1-3813. Local tax for enhanced emergency telephone service.
A. Notwithstanding the rate limitations imposed under § 58.1-3812, any
county, city or town which has, singly or by joint agreement, established or
will establish an enhanced 911 emergency telephone system, hereinafter referred
to as E-911, as defined herein, may impose a special tax on the consumers of
the telephone service or services provided by any corporation coming within the
provisions of Chapter 26 (§ 58.1-2600 et seq.), except
that ; however, no such taxes shall be imposed on federal,
state and local government agencies.
The governing body of any county, city or town may exempt from payment of the tax any subscriber to individual telephone service who resides in a nursing home or similar adult care facility.
Such tax shall be subject to the notification and jurisdictional provisions of § 58.1-3812.
B. The following phrases shall have the following meanings:
1. An "E-911 system" means a telephone service which utilizes a
computerized system to automatically route emergency telephone calls placed by
dialing the digits "911" to the proper public safety answering point serving
the jurisdiction from which the emergency telephone call was placed. An E-911
system includes selective routing of telephone calls, automatic telephone
number identification, and automatic location identification performed by
computers and other ancillary control center communications equipment.
2. "Public safety answering point" means a communications facility
operated on a twenty-four-hour basis which first receives E-911 calls from
persons in an E-911 service area and which may, as appropriate, directly
dispatch public safety services or extend, transfer, or relay E-911 calls to
appropriate public safety agencies.
3. "Public safety agency" means a functional division of a public
agency which provides fire-fighting, police, medical, or other emergency
services or a private entity which provides such services on a voluntary basis.
C. Prior to imposing such tax, the governing body of any city, town or county must find that an E-911 emergency telephone system as defined in subsection B of this section has been or will be installed in its respective locality and that the telephone company has central office equipment which will permit such system to be established.
D. Any such taxes imposed by this section shall be first utilized solely for the initial capital, installation and maintenance costs of the E-911 emergency telephone system. The jurisdiction shall reduce such tax when capital and installation costs have been fully recovered to the level necessary to offset recurring maintenance, repair, and system upgrade costs, and salaries or portion of salaries of dispatchers or call-takers, and of the director or coordinator of the E-911 program, paid by the locality which are directly attributable to the E-911 program only.
E. For the purpose of compensating a telephone utility for accounting for and remitting the tax levied by this section, such telephone utility shall be allowed three percent of the amount of tax due and accounted for in the form of a deduction in submitting the return and paying the amount due by it.