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. (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Direct seller," "prepaid consumer," "prepaid mobile telephony
services," "prepaid MTS provider," "prepaid MTS surcharge," and
"Public Utilities Commission surcharges," have the same meaning as
defined in Section 42004 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(2) "Reimbursement fee" means a charge imposed by the commission
pursuant to Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 401).
(3) "Universal service surcharge" means any charge imposed by the
commission to support programs funded through one of the state's
universal service funds created pursuant to Chapter 1.5 (commencing
with Section 270).
(b) The commission shall annually, on or before October 1 of each
year, commencing October 1, 2015, compute a reimbursement fee as a
percentage of the sales price for prepaid mobile telephony services,
to be effective on January 1 of the following year and to be
collected and remitted pursuant to the Prepaid Mobile Telephony
Services Surcharge Collection Act (Part 21 (commencing with Section
42001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code). On or before
October 8 of each year, commencing October 8, 2015, the commission
shall post notice of the reimbursement fee on its Internet Web site
and notify both the Office of Emergency Services and the State Board
of Equalization of this information as well as the computation method
used to determine the reimbursement fee.
(c) The commission shall annually, on or before October 1 of each
year, commencing October 1, 2015, compute the individual and
cumulative amounts of the telecommunications universal service
surcharges as a percentage of the sales price for prepaid mobile
telephony services, to be effective on January 1 of the following
year and to be collected and remitted pursuant to the Prepaid Mobile
Telephony Services Surcharge Collection Act (Part 21 (commencing with
Section 42001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code). On
or before October 8 of each year, commencing October 8, 2015, the
commission shall post notice of the individual percentages and the
cumulative surcharge on its Internet Web site and notify both the
Office of Emergency Services and the State Board of Equalization of
this information as well as the computation method used to determine
the cumulative surcharge.
(d) (1) Except for that portion of the prepaid MTS surcharge that
is the Public Utilities Commission surcharges, computed pursuant to
subdivisions (b) and (c), this section neither restricts the
commission's authority to adjust reimbursement fees or universal
service surcharges nor requires that they only be adjusted once
annually.
(2) In annually computing reimbursement fees and universal service
surcharges to be collected and remitted to the commission pursuant
to this section, the commission shall adjust the fees and surcharges
to account for any past overcollection or undercollection of fees or
surcharges from prepaid consumers resulting from a reduction or
increase in the surcharges made subsequent to December 31 of the
previous year.
(3) If both upward and downward adjustments are made to
reimbursement fees and universal service surcharges subsequent to
December 31, the commission may adjust how collections are deposited
into the reimbursement and universal service accounts so that
overcollections or undercollections are minimized.
(4) It is the intent of the Legislature that reimbursement fees
and universal service surcharges be applied, as much as possible, in
a competitively neutral manner that does not favor either prepaid or
postpaid payment for mobile telephony services, and that, over time,
collections of state charges from prepaid and postpaid consumers
balance out so that neither pay a disproportionate amount.
(5) At least 30 days prior to adopting any adjustment to a
reimbursement fee or universal service surcharge to be collected and
remitted to the commission on both postpaid and prepaid intrastate
service, the commission shall prepare a resolution or other public
document proposing the fee or surcharge adjustment and explaining the
calculation of the fee or surcharge. The commission shall make the
resolution or other public document available to the public and on
the commission's Internet Web site and it shall include all of the
following:
(A) The prior year revenues from the fee or surcharge, including,
but not limited to, revenues from prepaid service.
(B) Projected expenses and revenues from all sources, including,
but not limited to, prepaid service, for the purposes of the fee or
surcharge.
(C) The rationale for adjustment to the reimbursement fee or
universal service surcharge, including, but not limited to, all
impacts from prepaid MTS surcharge collection.
(e) The commission shall have enforcement authority to ensure the
proper remittances over retail transactions of a prepaid MTS provider
pursuant to the Prepaid Mobile Telephony Services Surcharge
Collection Act (Part 21 (commencing with Section 42001) of Division 2
of the Revenue and Taxation Code).
(f) (1) A prepaid MTS provider shall remit to the commission the
fee established for telephone corporations pursuant to subdivision
(a) of Section 431 on the intrastate portion of the revenues received
for prepaid mobile telephony service through December 31, 2015.
(2) A prepaid MTS provider shall remit to the commission the
telecommunications universal service surcharges established for
telephone corporations on the intrastate portion of the revenues
received for prepaid mobile telephony service through December 31,
2015.
(g) (1) This section does not relieve a prepaid MTS provider or
direct seller of their continuing obligation to report prepaid mobile
telephony service revenues to the commission in a manner prescribed
by the commission.
(2) When reporting prepaid mobile telephony service revenues to
the commission, a prepaid MTS provider or direct seller shall report
the intrastate revenue portion subject to the reimbursement fee and
the telecommunications universal service surcharges, as well as total
state mobile telephony service revenue.
(3) Reports made pursuant to this subdivision are subject to
Section 583 and any related orders of the commission.
(h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends
that date.