JEFFERSON CITY, MO (AP) --
A few Missouri lawmakers are backing legislation to let cities and counties charge a 75-cent tax on cellphone service if local voters approve.
The measure pending before a House committee would let local governments add the charge to cellphone users' monthly bills to pay for 911 call-center operations.
Emergency officials say increasing numbers of cellphone users are burdening their dispatch systems - without paying for the
systems' upkeep. Those centers have been funded by a tax on landlines, but as more people transition to cellphones, that tax
revenue is steadily falling.
Cellphone companies say they support funding the 911 system, but they say it would be difficult to collect the tax on a county-by-county basis. They say the tax rate should be set by a statewide vote.
Cellphone tax bill is HB645
Legislature: http://www.moga.mo.gov
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