Cell phone tax issue gets little attention

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Conventional wisdom says that if you want Missouri voters to approve a tax increase, you have to make a strong case. It further says that if the electorate hasn't heard much about a proposal prior to walking into the voting both, they are going to vote "no."

Considering those rules of Missouri voter behavior, supporters of Proposition A, a tax on cellular phone users to improve 911 service, have much work to do to win passage of the measure on Aug. 6.

The proposal would impose a charge of up to 50 cents per month on every cellular phone and raise an estimated $15.8 million a year. The money would be distributed among wireless service providers and county 911 call centers for the purchase of equipment that would route 911 calls made from cellular phones to the nearest call center and give the caller's location to dispatchers.

Unlike Proposition B, a transportation tax proposal that voters will also decide Aug. 6, Proposition A has garnered little attention. The General Assembly extensively debated the transportation measure this spring before voting to put it on the ballot and groups of opponents and supporters have mobilized to campaign on the issue.

By contrast, Gov. Bob Holden quietly ordered voter consideration of Proposition A under a 1998 law that allowed the proposal on the ballot up to two times. A handful of groups have lined up on both sides of the issue, but the campaigns are strictly grassroots.

Bill Pippins, Stoddard County's 911 administrator, said the recent explosion in cellular phone use has exposed gaping holes in the existing 911 system. Proposition A, he said, would help close those holes.

"People dial 911 and expect service, that is not always the case at the time with cell phones," Pippins said.

Even if the call goes to the closest dispatcher, there is no way of determining the caller's location.

If someone calls 911 from a land line in an emergency but is unable to offer additional information, units can be sent to the location of the call. However, Pippins said, if someone rolls their car, calls 911 on cellular phone and then passes out before giving a location, emergency responders have no way of finding that person.

Pippins is vice president of the Missouri Chapter of the National Emergency Numbers Association, or MoNENA, a group of 911 officials that has endorsed Proposition A.

Getting richer

MoNENA has prepared a funding analysis it says provides an estimate of how much each county would get to upgrade their systems. Among 19 Southeast Missouri counties, Cape Girardeau County would get the most revenue, almost $113,000 a year, while Carter County would get the least, about $28,000 annually.

However, the Mid-America Regional Council, a group representing county and municipal governments in the Kansas City-area, opposes the measure and says MoNENA's assumptions about funding distribution are faulty.

Saralyn Doty, the council's 911 administrator, said the distribution formula is vaguely defined in Proposition A and will be set by the state's Office of Administration only after the election.

"We don't think it is fair and accurate to say a certain rural county would get so much money," Doty said.

The group further dislikes the fact that nearly $4 million a year in tax revenue would go to cellular phone companies. Doty said the companies should pay for equipment upgrades on their own, passing the costs on to customers if they must.

Pippins acknowledges that the Federal Communications Commission doesn't require states to reimburse companies for the costs of upgrading their technology, which the FCC has mandated the companies do. However, Pippins said providing the companies assistance would speed up the process.

Proposition A will be Missouri voters' second chance to impose the fee. They rejected the measure in April 1999, with 57.5 percent voting against it.

Doty said the 1998 law that put both the 1999 measure and the current effort on the ballot is outdated.

"This is an old piece of legislation," Doty said. "We need to develop something new."

However, Pippins said Missouri is already lagging behind other states in moving toward comprehensive 911 service.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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