Kentucky’s HB-391 (http://1.usa.gov/1ffha5p), which would increase prepaid wireless fees...

Kentucky’s HB-391 (http://1.usa.gov/1ffha5p), which would increase prepaid wireless fees to help fund 911 services, would “sock” poor state residents, said Consumer Action and the Community Action Partnership in a news release (http://prn.to/1dKEKZ9) Friday. The measure would raise the prepaid fees from 70 cents per $50 of service to $1 for each $20 of service. The Kentucky League of Cities and law enforcement organizations support (http://bit.ly/1gHQuuY) the bill, saying landline and wireless fees that fund 911 services have declined as more people phase out landlines. The fee’s wireless portion hasn’t been raised since 1998. “Consumer Action and the Community Action Partnership support the work of Kentucky police officers, firefighters, and other emergency responders and E-911,” the news release from the consumer organizations said. “But a punitive tax on prepaid cell phones that would disproportionately harm Kentucky’s senior citizens (particularly those on fixed incomes), veterans, the disabled, and low-income residents seems like the wrong solution to the challenge of paying for E-911.”