O'Rielly Slams Unresponsive States on 911 Fee Usage
Commissioner Mike O’Rielly admonished states that didn't tell the FCC if they diverted state 911 fee revenue for unrelated purposes. The FCC released its latest 911 fee report earlier this month (see 1802080062). “Failure by a state or territory to…
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appropriately respond forces the Commission to provide an incomplete picture of 9-1-1 diversion activities,” O’Rielly said in a Tuesday letter to governors of Guam, Missouri, Montana, New York, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands. Officials from those states and territories failed to respond to the FCC’s request, he said. O’Rielly asked the governors to explain their lack of response, say if they diverted fees and describe how much money was diverted and for what purpose. “At the very least … you should have been aware of the impending failure to respond,” the commissioner wrote. “This suggests that addressing your 9-1-1 system or NG 9-1-1 capabilities is not as high of a priority for your state or territory as it should be.” That’s “beyond disappointing,” with lack of response suggesting that fee diversion occurred, he said. The states and territories didn't comment right away.