If states charge consumers taxes for 911, then every tax dollar collected ought to be directed to 911-related services. Yet, as I explained in a January 2019 blog post, some states divert large amounts of 911 tax dollars to completely unrelated matters. That blog reviewed the FCC's 10th Annual Report on State 911 Taxes, which identified individual states that spent some $285 million in 911 tax dollars on non-911 purposes in 2017.
On September 9, FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly sent a letter to Montana's Governor Steve Bullock in which he stated that, according to 2018 filings, "Montana's operating statute allows such diversion, permitting the Montana Legislature transfer for functions unrelated to 9-1-1 communications and the corresponding answer centers." Commissioner O'Rielly requested that Gov. Bullock "initiate a process to reverse this blatant misappropriation of funds and provide a firm commitment that such practice will not occur again."Montana was identified in the FCC's 10th Annual Report for diverting about $2 million in 911 tax dollars to other things. Other states listed in the report diverted even more. Commissioner O'Rielly is right about what's wrong with deliberately misusing 911 tax revenues. Continuing to call public attention to states' misuse of those revenues is one important means of addressing the problem. But repeated warnings should not be allowed to continue unheeded. As I mentioned in my blog post, the Commission should be prepared to follow through on report warnings that states diverting 911 tax revenues may be ineligible for matching federal grant awards.
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