What's happening
This bill prohibits diverting funds meant for enhanced 911 systems or municipal public safety upgrades and creates a dedicated fund for such purposes.
Why it matters
Strengthens local emergency response. By ensuring that funds collected specifically for enhanced 911 systems and public safety upgrades cannot be diverted for other uses, the bill directly protects the reliability and modernization of critical emergency services that communities depend on during crises.
Increases fiscal transparency and accountability. If the legislature ever decides to divert these funds, the requirement for a detailed "diversion impact statement" means lawmakers—and the public—will be fully informed about how much money is being shifted, when, and what services will be affected, discouraging casual or hidden reallocations.
Guarantees dedicated funding for public safety improvements. The creation of a new Municipal Public Safety Upgrade Fund ensures that money meant for 911 and safety upgrades is kept separate from the state’s general fund, is used only for its intended purpose, and accumulates over time—potentially leading to better-equipped and safer communities.
Limits executive discretion over public safety funds. By explicitly prohibiting administrative actions from the executive branch to redirect these monies, the bill curtails the governor’s and budget director’s ability to unilaterally repurpose resources, instead reserving such decisions for the legislative process with public disclosure.
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Who cares
Municipal governments
The bill would create a dedicated fund, available after legislative appropriation, for enhanced 911 equipment and telephone services and other municipal public safety upgrades.
Municipal 911 system operators
The bill would prohibit executive-branch diversion of revenues dedicated to obtaining, operating and maintaining enhanced 911 systems or other municipal public safety upgrades.
State Division of the Budget
The budget director would have to provide an impact statement detailing the amount, timing and service effects of any diversion authorized by legislation.
State comptroller and Department of Taxation and Finance
They would jointly hold the new fund, with payments subject to the comptroller’s audit and warrant and unused balances retained rather than returned to the general fund.
Headline styles
Protect 911 Safety Funds
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to budget and revenue
- Referred to budget and revenue
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
5237
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 17, 2019
Introduced by Sen. AKSHAR -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Budget and Revenue
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to prohibiting the diversion of funds dedicated to operating and maintaining an enhanced 911 emergency telephone system or to municipal public safety upgrades; and to amend the tax law and the state finance law, in relation to providing funds for municipal public safety upgrades
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 184 to read as follows:
§ 184. Diversion of funds dedicated to an enhanced 911 emergency telephone system or to municipal public safety upgrades to the general fund of the state or to any other purpose, is prohibited. 1. The director of the budget shall be prohibited from diverting revenues derived from surcharges or any other taxes or fees paid by the public and collected for the purpose of paying for the costs associated with obtaining, operating and maintaining the telecommunication equipment and telephone services needed to provide an enhanced 911 emergency telephone system to serve any municipality or for any other municipal public safety upgrades into the general fund of the state or into any other fund maintained for the support of another governmental purpose. No diversion of funds can occur contrary to this section by an administrative act of the director of the budget or any other person in the executive branch.
2. If any diversion of funds occurs by passage of legislation during a regular or extraordinary session of the legislature, the director of the budget shall create and include with the budget or legislation diverting funds, a diversion impact statement which shall include the following information:
(a) the amount of the diversion from enhanced 911 emergency telephone system or municipal public safety upgrade funds;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08840-02-9
S. 5237 2
(b) the date or dates when the diversion is to occur; and
(c) a detailed estimate of the impact diversion from enhanced 911 emergency telephone system or municipal public safety upgrade funds will have on the level of enhanced 911 emergency telephone system services and maintenance and any other municipal public safety upgrades.
§ 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 of section 186-f of the tax law, as added by section 3 of part B of chapter 56 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
(a) forty-one and seven-tenths of the revenues collected and received under this section into the [state general] municipal public safety upgrade fund established pursuant to section ninety-eight-d of the state finance law; and
§ 3. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 98-d to read as follows:
§ 98-d. Municipal public safety upgrade fund. 1. There is hereby established in the joint custody of the commissioner of taxation and finance and the comptroller a fund to be known as the "municipal public safety upgrade fund".
2. The fund shall consist of (a) all monies deposited into the fund pursuant to section one hundred eighty-six-f of the tax law; (b) all monies appropriated for its purpose; (c) all monies transferred to such fund pursuant to any other law; and (d) all monies deposited pursuant to any other law to be paid into or credited to the fund.
3. Monies of the fund, following appropriation by the legislature, shall be made available to municipalities only for (a) the costs associated with obtaining, operating and maintaining the telecommunication equipment and telephone services needed to provide an enhanced 911 emergency telephone system to serve such municipalities; and (b) costs associated with any other public safety upgrades by a municipality.
4. All payments of monies from the municipal public safety upgrade fund shall be made on the audit and warrant of the comptroller. At the end of each year any monies remaining in the fund shall be retained in the fund and shall not revert to the general fund. The interest and income earned on monies in the fund, after deducting any applicable charges, shall be credited to the fund.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to prohibiting the diversion of funds dedicated to operating and maintain- ing an enhanced 911 emergency telephone system or to municipal public safety upgrades; and to amend the tax law and the state finance law, in relation to providing funds for municipal public safety upgrades
Purpose or general idea of bill
To prohibit the diversion of funds dedicated to operating and maintain- ing an enhanced 911 emergency telephone system.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 states that the director of the budget cannot divert revenue collected by municipalities using surcharges, taxes, or fees imposed on the public for the purposes of obtaining, operating, and maintaining the necessary services and equipment for an enhanced 911 emergency telephone system or for municipal county upgrades. This includes the diversion of these funds through administrative action by the budget director, or any other person in the Executive Branch, to the general fund of the state or any other program. In the event that funds are diverted through the passage of legislation during any legislative session, the budget direc- tor is required to create a diversion impact statement and include it with either the budget or legislation diverting funds.
Section 2 amends the tax section 1864, paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 by replacing the state general fund with the municipal public safety upgrade fund.
Section 3 creates a new section 98-d. of the state finance law, enacting the municipal public safety upgrade fund, which consists of any funds deposited to, appropriated for, and transferred into the fund, including any future legislation to fund this program. Municipalities will only receive money from the fund for the purpose of covering the expense associated with obtaining, operating, and maintaining either the neces- sary services and equipment for an enhanced 911 emergency telephone system or for municipal county public safety upgrades. These payments to municipalities are to be made in accordance with the .audit and warrant of the comptroller. At the end of each year, any leftover money, along with any occurred interest will be re-deposited to the municipal public upgrade fund.
Section 4 states the effective date.
Justification
According to a 2018 report by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), New York State collects approximately $180 million annually through the mandatory 911 surcharge but diverts 41% of that revenue into the general fund instead of reinvesting it in enhanced 911 system upgrades. The FCC also found that New York is only one of six states to divert 911 funds for purposes other than 911.
This legislation would prohibit funds that are intended for use on 911 emergency telephone systems or municipal public safety upgrades from being diverted to the state's general fund. This will ensure that coun- ties have the resources they need for up-to-date system upgrades that will keep all New Yorkers safe.
Legislative history
New bill
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
Immediately
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.