Press Releases

Binghamton, NY – U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro (NY-19) today called on Jessica Rosenworcel, Chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to end New York State’s corrupt practice of diverting 911 fees from local emergency call centers, crisis intervention services, and other emergency safety operations. Rep. Molinaro sent led this effort with U.S. Reps. Chris Smith (NJ-4), Mike Lawler (NY-17), Nick Langworthy (NY-23), Brandon Williams (NY-22), and Anthony D'Esposito (NY-4). 

In New York, cell phone bills have a $1.20 fee imposed on each contract cell phone device. These fees are intended to support local emergency operations. Instead, the FCC has uncovered that New York State diverts these funds and uses them for other non-emergency uses. As a result, cash strapped emergency operators are unable to make necessary upgrades, hire or retain personnel, or integrate crisis intervention and mental health services into their emergency dispatch systems. This diversion also makes states ineligible for federal grants, such as NextGen 911, which support emergency dispatchers.

In a letter, Rep. Molinaro urged the FCC to implement a rule to end this corrupt practice and create a national standard for how 911 fees should be reinvested in emergency service and local government operations.

Rep. Molinaro said, “The FCC has the power to prevent New York State from stealing 911 fees from local emergency operators. They need to use it. This is a corrupt practice that is taking needed dollars from emergency responders and placing them into in the coffers of Albany bureaucrats. It’s insulting to taxpayers and jeopardizes community safety.”

Alex Rau, Sullivan County 911 & EMS Coordinator said, “I applaud Congressman Molinaro on his support of this critical issue which affects the safety of every New Yorker.  The basis of a 911 surcharge is to support the provision of 911 services to the public, ensuring that when they dial 9-1-1 the service is ready to respond to their needs. The fact that NYS is diverting these surcharge funds already meant to fund 911 services for other non-public safety uses, only further saddles tax payers of NYS as local municipal budgets are forced to raise those operating expenses on the backs of the tax payers yet again.”

Matthew Chase, Executive Director of the National Association of Counties said, “911 funding is critical to the safety and well-being of county residents. The Federal Communication Commission has identified 911 fee diversion as a major impediment to public safety, negatively impacting access to reliable emergency assistance. We must appropriately re-invest 911 fees into the systems our residents depend on. Counties thank Representative Molinaro for his leadership, and we look forward to working with our bipartisan congressional partners to support essential 911 emergency operations.”

The full text of the letter can be found here:

Dear Chairwoman Rosenworcel:

As you know, the Federal Communication Commission created the Ending 911 Fee Diversion Now Strike Force to study the problem of 911 fee diversion and how the federal government “can most expeditiously end diversion by states and taxing jurisdiction of 911 fees or changes. ” Currently, several states use 911 fees collected from consumers on their phone bills for non-911 purposes, including New York, Nevada, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. As you are aware, at the conclusion of the 911 Strike Force, the three independent working groups arrived at identical conclusions – 911 fee diversion negatively impacts public safety operations and limits local emergency response services from making the necessary investments to save and protect lives.

This is a top issue for local emergency response services. In New York, cell phone bills have a $1.20 fee imposed on each contract cell phone device. In 2021, the state collected over $247 million for the Public Safety Surcharge while counties only saw $75 million broken down into two formula-based grants. In the absence of direct support from 911 fees to support local public safety answering point operations, counties and other local entities must turn to their general fund revenue for support and often exhaust available resources.

Moreover, this diversion issue makes states ineligible for grants, such as NextGen 911, to bolster their own 911 operations. We have heard from EMS directors and community leaders across our districts about the ongoing challenges of hiring and retaining qualified public safety professionals. These funds are also vital for counties to integrate crisis intervention and mental health services into their emergency dispatch systems. They need to have the resources to make necessary safety upgrades to the 911 system so they can continue serving their communities and fund modernization activities that will improve the delivery of 911 services. The 911 fee diversion issue is negatively impacting emergency service operations and overall fiscal sustainability for counties, particularly in rural communities.

As the Ending 911 Fee Diversion Now Strike Force found, several states experience the issue of fee diversion. These states continue to report consistent fee diversion activities, for issues ranging from aging statutes that do not account for the generational shift from landline to mobile fee assessments, to the lack of a set-aside in 911 fee collection that would re-invest dollars back into public safety answering point operations for things like facility upgrades, computer aided dispatch, mapping technology, and more.

Given these conclusions, we ask the FCC to reevaluate the Ending 911 Fee Diversion Now Strike Force results and establish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to put an end to this unjust practice done by the states we represent.  Additionally, the FCC should establish a national standard for a set-aside in 911 fee collection to be reinvested in public safety answering point operators and local government public safety budgets. Commonsense enforcement mechanisms, outlined in the Strike Force, should follow an escalation path focused on resolving fee diversion. Such steps will allow for a measured and balanced approach to solving this critical issue.

We appreciate the efforts and overall mission of the Ending 911 Fee Diversion Now Strike Force and look forward to working with the FCC to solve this critical issue.