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Movement in Missouri on Wireless 9-1-1 Funding

March 12, 2008

Three bills have been introduced in the Missouri legislature concerning the issue of funding 9-1-1 through new revenue streams. The most promising of these is House Bill 1712. The bill allows counties to implement a sales tax, with voter approval, on communication devices. House Bill 1712 has been referred to the House committee for Crime Prevention and Public Safety.

Members of the Missouri House of Representative’s Interim Committee to Evaluate the 9-1-1 System held hearings in Jefferson City and around the state to hear concerns about the state’s 9-1-1 system during the summer and fall of 2007. Mid-America Regional Council representatives and emergency communications officials from the Kansas City testified in several of these hearings.

In 2007, 53 percent of all 9-1-1 calls in the Kansas City region came from wireless devices, and some communities experience much higher rates. However, in Missouri, currently no funds are collected from any non-landline devices to support 9-1-1. This makes Missouri the only state in the nation that does not collect any funds from wireless devices for 9-1-1 services. These funds are needed throughout the state to maintain emergency communication services that can adapt with changing technologies and, in some cases, establish 9-1-1 in rural areas where no service has been offered to date.