Request By:
Lennie Shepperson
Director
Danville/Boyle County Disaster and Emergency Services
Boyle County Courthouse
Danville, Kentucky 40422
Opinion
Opinion By: Frederic J. Cowan, Attorney General; Thomas R. Emerson, Assistant Attorney General
Your recent letter requests an opinion concerning the "use of enhanced 9-1-1 funds as allowed in KRS 65.760."
KRS 65.750 through KRS 65.760 deal with "Emergency telephone service. " Copies of those provisions are enclosed for your information.
KRS 65.750 defines 911 emergency telephone service as follows:
As used in KRS 65.755 and 65.760, '911 emergency telephone service' means a telephone service which provides the user of the public telephone system the ability to reach local emergency service agencies on a twenty-four (24) hour basis by dialing the digits 9-1-1. Such a service is capable, at minimum, of transmitting requests for law enforcement, firefighting, and emergency medical and ambulance services to a public safety agency or other provider that provides the requested service at the place where the call originates. A 911 emergency telephone service may also provide for other emergency services.
The above-quoted statute has not been construed in a reported judicial decision and, thus, ultimately a court of law will have the final say on the matter. It would appear that the service involved transmits requests for various emergency services to the appropriate agencies. The service involved is a telephone service which enables users of public telephones to reach emergency services on a 24 hour basis by dialing the digits 9-1-1.
KRS 65.760 restricts the use of the funds received from the levy of the special tax, license or fee against local exchange telephone subscribers, to be served by the 911 service, on an individual exchange line basis, for the purposes of providing the 911 emergency service. "All revenues from a tax or fee expressly levied to fund 911 emergency services shall be expended solely for this purpose."
Therefore, the funds received as a result of the implementation of KRS 65.750 through KRS 65.760 may only be utilized in connection with the establishment and maintenance of a 911 emergency telephone system. Such funds, under the existing statutes, could not be used to acquire and install new police radio equipment and fax machines or to renovate the county emergency operations center or for any purpose not directly involved with the 911 emergency telephone service.