CTIA Urges Court to Find Ky. 911 Law Preempted by Federal Law

CTIA urged a federal court to grant it summary judgment in the wireless association’s challenge to a Kentucky 911 law. The statute is preempted by federal law, said CTIA’s motion Friday at the U.S. District Court for Eastern Kentucky. "By uniquely shifting the burden of Kentucky’s 911 emergency services fee directly onto Lifeline providers, the Kentucky statute conflicts with the universal service objectives and purposes of Sections 151, 254 and 1510 of the Communications Act, as well as FCC decisions implementing that Act." For exclusively free Lifeline service providers, “compliance with state and federal law is simply impossible, which provides further grounds for preemption,” it said. By targeting Lifeline carriers for different treatment, the Kentucky law also violates the Constitution's equal protection and takings clauses and due process, said CTIA. A trial on CTIA’s legal fight with the Kentucky 911 Service Board (case 3:2020-cv-00043) is set for Jan. 30. The case is back in district court after the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals last year declined to rehear judges’ ruling that the lower court erred in concluding the 2018 federal Wireless Telecom Tax and Fee Collection Fairness Act conflicts with and preempts the Kentucky 911 law (see 2201280059). The 2020 state law made Lifeline providers directly liable for 911 fees and barred them from passing the charge to users.