(The Center Square) – The state House approved a boosted phone surcharge for 911 services, even though the proposal’s tie to inflation sparked division among lawmakers who all agree the state’s emergency services system needs more money.
House Bill 1304 increases the monthly fee assessed on phone bills from $1.65 to $1.97, to adjust every year after with the consumer price index until the provision sunsets in 2029. Doing so would generate an additional $30.4 million for the state’s emergency services fund in 2024, according to the bill’s fiscal note.
The money could help ease a funding crisis that’s pushed local emergency medical services to the brink of insolvency. Years of financial neglect from the state – as well as surging health care costs, opioid overdoses, stagnant wages, and worker burnout – have only worsened the crisis, The Center Square previously reported.
“Right now our 911 system is operating off of 1970s and 1980s technology,” said bill sponsor Rep. Jared Solomon, D-Philadelphia. “The beauty of this bill is we use the best technology. We allow for counties to coordinate in a seamless way. We allow for pinpoint accuracy, and, by the way, we do it without increasing fees on taxpayers until at least 2028.”
Critics say the bill’s savings claims are disingenuous and will, thanks to inflation, evaporate before the legislation sunsets in 2029.
“Benchmarking taxes to inflation is a dangerous precedent that should be rejected by this body,” said Rep. Seth Grove, R-York. “What this bill does is remove the General Assembly from the revenue process. If a tax needs to be raised, the General Assembly should not turn that responsibility over to the CPI.”
The lower chamber approved the measure 121-82. It now heads to the Senate for consideration.
