KRS 65.7635: Duty of commercial mobile radio service providers to act as collection

agents for postpaid service charges for fund -- Procedure for collection of

service charges before and after January 1, 2017.

(1) Each CMRS provider shall act as a collection age nt of the CMRS postpaid service

charge for the CMRS fund. From its customers, the provider shall, as part of the

provider's billing process, collect the CMRS postpaid service charges levied upon

CMRS connections under KRS 65.7629(3) from each CMRS connecti on to whom

the billing provider provides CMRS. Each billing provider shall list the CMRS

postpaid service charge as a separate entry on each bill which includes a CMRS

postpaid service charge. If a CMRS provider receives a partial payment for a

monthly bil l from a CMRS customer, the provider shall first apply the payment

against the amount the CMRS customer owes the CMRS provider. For CMRS

customers who purchase CMRS services on a prepaid basis, the CMRS service

charge shall be determined according to one ( 1) of the following methodologies as

elected by the CMRS provider, until January 1, 2017, at which time the CMRS

prepaid service charge imposed under KRS 65.7634 and collected under KRS

142.100 to 142.135 shall take effect and paragraphs (a) and (b) of thi s subsection

shall no longer be in force:

(a) The CMRS provider shall collect, on a monthly basis, the CMRS service

charge specified in KRS 65.7629(3) from each active customer whose account

balance is equal to or greater than the amount of service charge; or

(b) The CMRS provider shall divide its total earned prepaid wireless telephone

revenue received with respect to its prepaid customers in the Commonwealth

within the monthly 911 emergency service reporting period by fifty dollars

($50), multiply the quo tient by the service charge amount, and pay the

resulting amount to the board.

(2) A CMRS provider has no obligation to take any legal action to enforce the

collection of the CMRS postpaid service charges for which any CMRS customer is

billed. Collection a ctions to enforce the collection of the CMRS postpaid service

charge against any CMRS customer may, however, be initiated by the state, on

behalf of the board, in the Circuit Court of the county where the bill for CMRS

service is regularly delivered, and the reasonable costs and attorneys' fees which are

incurred in connection with any such collection action may be awarded by the court

to the prevailing party in the action.

(3) State and local taxes shall not apply to a separately stated CMRS postpaid servi ce

charge.

(4) To reimburse itself for the cost of collecting and remitting the CMRS postpaid

service charge, each CMRS provider may deduct and retain from the CMRS

postpaid service charges it collects during each calendar month an amount not to

exceed one and one-half percent (1.5%) of the gross aggregate amount of CMRS

postpaid service charges it collected that month.

(5) All CMRS postpaid service charges imposed under KRS 65.7621 to 65.7643

collected by each CMRS provider, less the administrative fee des cribed in

subsection (4) of this section, are due and payable to the board monthly and shall be

remitted on or before thirty (30) days after the end of the calendar month. Collection

actions may be initiated by the state, on behalf of the board, in the Fra nklin Circuit

Court or any other court of competent jurisdiction, and the reasonable costs and

attorneys' fees which are incurred in connection with any such collection action may

be awarded by the court to the prevailing party in the action.