Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a) This
Section applies to a 9-1-1 Authority that receives monies from the Fund and fails to
file the 9-1-1 system financial reports required:
1) by Section 27 of the Wireless Emergency
Telephone Safety Act [50 ILCS 751/27 ] through
December 31, 2015, applicable to reports due October 1, 2015; or
2) beginning January 1, 2016, by ETSA Section
40.
b) A 9-1-1 Authority that
fails to file the reports required by subsection (a) is referred to in the remainder
of this Section as a "noncompliant provider".
c) Department Review of Financial Statements
1) The financial statements required under
subsection (a) shall be reviewed to determine whether a 9-1-1 Authority that
receives funds from the Wireless Service Emergency Fund has:
A) filed an amount equal to the average monthly
wireline and VoIP surcharge revenue attributable to the most recent 12-month period
that is erroneous;
B) failed to file the
9-1-1 system financial reports as required by law; or
C) filed a report that is not in a form
and manner prescribed by the Illinois Commerce Commission's Manager of
Accounting [50 ILCS
751/27(b) ], in the case of reports due
October 1, 2015, or has filed a report that is not in a form and manner
prescribed by the Department [50
ILCS 750/40(b) ], in the case of reports
due October 1, 2016 and after.
2) The Department shall contact each allegedly
noncompliant provider in writing and request a response regarding its noncompliance
with the Act.
d) The
noncompliant provider shall have 30 days to respond in writing. Upon receipt of the
response, the Department shall prepare and present the Administrator with a verified
report concerning the allegedly noncompliant provider. When the noncompliant
provider has failed to file the required form or has not filed it in the form and
manner prescribed by law, the Department shall withhold monthly surcharge
disbursements as follows:
1) If the verified
report establishes that the noncompliant provider has not filed a report at all, the
monthly surcharge disbursements otherwise payable to the allegedly noncompliant
provider under ETSA Section 30 shall be suspended and withheld until the Department
determines that the noncompliant provider is substantially in compliance with the
statute and in the form and manner prescribed by applicable law, or until the
surcharge disbursements have been withheld for 12 months or more and provided to
compliant providers, as provided in subsection (e); or
2) If the verified report states that the
noncompliant provider has made an effort to file a report, but the report is not
substantially in the form and manner prescribed by law, the monthly surcharge
disbursements otherwise payable to the allegedly noncompliant provider under ETSA
Section 30 shall be suspended beginning 30 days after the date of the verified
report and withheld until the Department determines that the noncompliant provider
is substantially in compliance with the statute and has filed the report in the form
and manner prescribed by applicable law, or until the surcharge disbursements have
been withheld for 12 months or more and provided to compliant providers, as provided
in subsection (e).
e) When
the noncompliant provider has filed an amount equal to the average monthly wireline
and VoIP surcharge revenue attributable to the most recent 12-month period that the
Department finds to be erroneous, the Department will first request that the
noncompliant provider agree to amend the report. If the noncompliant provider will
not amend the report within 30 days after notice from the Department, the Department
will suspend further surcharge disbursements under ETSA Section 30(b)(2)(A)(i) of
disputed amounts and file a petition with the Commission seeking to adjust the
number by order under Article X of the Public Utilities Act, so that the monthly
amount paid accurately reflects one-twelfth of the aggregate wireline and VoIP
surcharge revenue properly attributable to the most recent 12-month period
reported.
f) If a noncompliant provider
disputes the validity of the suspension of surcharge disbursements, the noncompliant
provider may petition the Administrator for a hearing to appeal the
suspension.
g) When the Administrator
receives a petition for appeal, or a verified staff report concerning a noncompliant
provider whose surcharge disbursements have been suspended for 12 months or more,
the Administrator shall determine whether a hearing is necessary. If the
Administrator determines a hearing is necessary, the following shall apply:
1) The Administrator shall determine the date,
time and location of any hearing and shall make reasonable efforts to hold the
hearing at a date, time and location convenient to all parties.
2) The Administrator shall appoint an
administrative law judge (ALJ) to preside over the hearing.
A) Any testimony requested or permitted shall be
under oath or affirmation, which will be administered by the ALJ.
B) Hearings shall be open to the public; however,
only those members of the public who have filed a witness slip and have been
acknowledged will be permitted to speak during the hearing.
3) The procedures for admissibility of evidence
shall be as described in Section 10-40 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act
[5 ILCS
100/10-40 ] and as ordered by the presiding ALJ.
4) A transcript of the recorded hearing shall be
provided to the applicant upon written request.
A)
The cost of transcription shall be the responsibility of the applicant.
B) Fees shall not exceed the actual cost for the
preparation of the transcript.
C) The
record need not be transcribed unless the Board receives a written request and fee
from the applicant in accordance with this Section.
5) Regardless of whether a hearing is called, all
disputes shall be resolved by a final order of the Administrator.
h) The payment of any monthly
proportional grant to a 9-1-1 Authority shall not constitute acknowledgment that
ETSB or the qualified governmental entity has filed a 9-1-1 system financial report
as required under ETSA Section 40, or has filed a report that is in a form and
manner prescribed by the Department.
i)
Any proceeding initiated by the Commission before January 1, 2016, under 83 Ill.
Adm. Code
729.610
and Section 27 of the Wireless Emergency Telephone Safety Act [50 ILCS 751/27],
shall continue to completion under those provisions after January 1, 2016, as
provided in ETSA Section 75(c).