Sec. 771.078. CONTRACTS FOR SERVICES

(a) The commission shall contract with regional planning commissions for the provision of 9-1-1 service. The commission by rule shall adopt standard provisions for the contracts.

(b) In making contracts under this section, the commission shall ensure that each regional planning commission receives money for 9-1-1 service in two separately computed amounts as provided by this subsection. The commission must provide each regional planning commission with:

(1) an amount of money equal to the total of the revenue from the emergency service fees collected under Section 771.071 that is deposited in the treasury and appropriated to the commission multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the amount of those fees collected from the region and the denominator of which is the total amount of those fees collected in this state; and

(2) an amount of money equal to the total of the revenue from the emergency service fee for wireless telecommunications connections under Section 771.0711 that is deposited in the treasury and appropriated to the commission multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the population of the region and the denominator of which is the population of this state.

(c) Contracts under this section must provide for:

(1) the reporting of financial information regarding administrative expenses by regional planning commissions in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

(2) the reporting of information regarding the current performance, efficiency, and degree of implementation of emergency communications services in each regional planning commission's service area;

(3) the collection of efficiency data on the operation of 9-1-1 answering points;

(4) standards for the use of answering points and the creation of new answering points;

(5) quarterly disbursements of money due under the contract, except as provided by Subdivision (6);

(6) the commission to withhold disbursement to a regional planning commission that does not follow a standard imposed by the contract, a commission rule, or a statute; and

(7) a means for the commission to give an advance on a quarterly distribution under the contract to a regional planning commission that has a financial emergency.

(d) Not more than 10 percent of the money received by a regional planning commission under Subsection (b) may be used for the regional planning commission's indirect costs. In this subsection, "indirect costs" means costs that are not directly attributable to a single action of a commission. The governor shall use the federal Office of Management and Budget circulars A-87 and A-122 or use any rules relating to the determination of indirect costs adopted under Chapter 783, Government Code, in administering this section.

(e) The commission may allocate surcharges under Section 771.072(d) by means of a contract under this section.

(f) Promptly after the commission receives a request from a regional planning commission, the commission shall provide the regional planning commission with adequate documentation and financial records of the amount of money collected in that region or of an amount of money allocated to the regional planning commission in accordance with this section.

Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1405, Sec. 30, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.