O'Rielly Threatens to Withhold Recovery Funds if Puerto Rico Doesn't End 911 Fee Diversion

Puerto Rico may risk additional USF funding for rebuilding communications infrastructure if the territory keeps diverting 911 fee revenue to unrelated purposes, FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said in a Tuesday letter to Gov. Ricardo Rosselló Nevares (New Progressive Party). The FCC is weighing sending more support to the hurricane-slammed territory (see 1804230065). “As a steward of such ratepayer collected funding, I would find it difficult to support such a move without strong assurances that Puerto Rico is prepared to put an end to fee diversion practices once and for all," O'Rielly said. "Without this guarantee, the Commission is putting precious USF support at risk for being wasted or diverted.” Puerto Rico, which prepared but failed to send information on time to the FCC about 2016 diversion due to “clerical error,” diverted $243,100 of the 911 revenue, Rosselló said in a March 7 letter to O’Rielly. Diversion was legal under Article 19 of Act No. 66-2014, which required all savings in areas including 911 fees must be transferred to the Workforce and Economic Development Promotion Fund under Puerto Rico Trade and Export Co., Rosselló said. To prevent future failures to file with the FCC, the Puerto Rico 911 Office will create a compliance guide for all state and federal request forms, he said. O’Rielly appreciates Puerto Rico eventually filing the information but said it’s “extremely disturbing” the territory diverted. “Of all places, I do not think I need to remind you how important 9-1-1 services can be during critical times,” O’Rielly wrote. “If a surplus of 9-1-1 fees is amassed and revenue is not needed for these purposes, fees should not be collected from the consumer, especially given the devastation and personal losses your residents have endured over the last year.” O’Rielly asked Rosselló for “any concrete plans” to end the fund movement: If it's required by law, “are you prepared to help take steps to amend this act to ensure that all savings should be returned to the ratepayer or invested in network upgrades rather than diverted to a separate fund?” O’Rielly asked if Rosselló alternatively has authority to bypass the law’s diverting requirements. Hurricanes Irma and Maria last year tested Puerto Rico 911 systems and showed need for upgrades (see 1801030008).