By Anne Cullen

Law360 (April 6, 2020, 5:25 PM EDT) -- After House Democrats revealed that their latest coronavirus relief bill earmarks $12 billion to upgrade state 911 systems, Federal Communications Commission member Michael O'Rielly proposed denying any of that money to New York and other states that have been using 911 fees for other purposes.

The Republican commissioner wrote to Commerce Committee leaders in the House and the Senate last week pressing lawmakers to keep New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Nevada from receiving any federal money aimed at getting next-generation 911 systems online. 

Officials in those states consistently use emergency service fees collected from consumers' phone bills to support functions unrelated to 911 call centers, dispatchers or supporting technology, O'Rielly said. As federal law prohibits the government from funding fee diverters' 911 systems, O'Rielly said lawmakers should stick to this policy amid their efforts to advance their latest COVID-19 rescue package

"To do otherwise would facilitate these states' diversionary practices and directly harm efforts, such as mine, to protect consumers from paying 9-1-1 fees on their phone bills that ultimately are used for other, unrelated purposes," O'Rielly said.

House Democrats unveiled their plan for a fourth-phase coronavirus rescue package on Wednesday, proposing $86 billion for broadband infrastructure and $12 billion to support next-generation 911 services. The cash allocated for upgrading the nation's outdated 911 system would allow people to text first responders and send photos, video or audio messages for context during emergencies.

O'Rielly fired off his letter the following day that included a list of states he says should be omitted. "It is unfair to artificially contribute to the strain that is being put on these professionals and their answering systems by continuing to enable state 9-1-1 fee diversions," he said.

According to a 911 fee report that the FCC released in December, New Jersey used a chunk of the $123 million emergency service fees it collected in 2018 to support the state police budget and search and rescue services instead of 911 call systems.

Nevada funneled some of its 911 fees to purchasing body cameras for officers, the report said, while Rhode Island acknowledged that the majority of the $15.6 million it collected in 2018 was deposited into the state's general fund.

While the FCC says New York has diverted 911 fees every year for the past decade — and reportedly diverted nearly half the $200 million it collected in 2018 — the agency said the Empire State had consistently refused to offer more detailed reports on its expenditures.

New York insists that the surcharge it collects on consumers' cellular bills doesn't fall under the commission's 911 fee provisions because it is used for a wider set of goals. And a spokesperson for New York's budget office railed on O'Rielly's effort to keep New York from receiving any funding to upgrade its 911 services, telling Law360 in an email that "now is not the time to be playing politics."

"New York's cellular surcharge is used to upgrade public safety communication systems and support emergency services operations, statewide, including through the provision of interoperable communications grants," said Freeman Klopott of the New York State Division of the Budget. "These programs are providing critical funding to help first responders at all levels of government communicate faster and respond sooner."

Representatives for the FCC, the Commerce Committee leaders, and New Jersey, Rhode Island and Nevada did not respond to requests for comment on Monday. 

--Additional reporting by Kelcee Griffis and Nadia Dreid. Editing by Peter Rozovsky.

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