§ 47-3901. Definitions.

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 47-3901.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 13-172 in subsec. (2)(B) inserted "; or, beginning on April 30, 1998, 2-way land mobile radio used for taxicabs fare dispatch and for communication between taxicab drivers and their base".

D.C. Law 13-305 rewrote par. (10) and added par. (14).

Prior to amendment, par. (10) read:

"(10) 'Toll telecommunication company' means, but is not limited to, each person or lessee of a person who provides for the transmission or reception, within the District, of any form of toll telecommunication service for a consideration."

D.C. Law 13-313, in par. (2)(B), deleted "; or, beginning on April 30, 1998, 2-way land mobile radio used for taxicab fare dispatch and for communication between taxicab drivers and their base" following "personal communications service"; and rewrote par. (2)(C) which had read:

(2)"(C) 'Commercial mobile service' does not include equipment sales, rental, maintenance, repair, or charges associated with wireless telecommunication equipment."

D.C. Law 14-215 rewrote the section which had read as follows:

"§ 47-3901. Definitions.

"For the purposes of this chapter, the term:

"(1) 'Billing address' means the physical location where the bill of the subscriber of the telecommunication service is mailed. If a bill for wireless telecommunication service is mailed to a subscriber by electronic mail such as E-mail or through the Internet to a web site for District-based wireless telecommunication service, 'billing address' means the location in the District where the subscriber receives the bill by electronic mail or through the Internet.

"(2) 'Commercial mobile service' means, but is not limited to:

"(A) Cellular mobile telecommunication services, digital services, specialized mobile radio services, paging services, dispatch communication services, or any service involving the transmission or reception of messages or information by means of a wireless telecommunication service and related features (e.g., voice mail, activation fees, etc.) for which there is:

"(i) A charge that varies in amount with the distance or elapsed transmission time of each individual communication; or

"(ii) An activation charge or recurring charge that is in an amount that entitles a subscriber to commercial mobile service; and

"(B) Radio communication service provided to a subscriber for a fee and which is carried on between mobile stations or receivers and land stations, and by mobile stations communicating among themselves, including both 1-way and 2-way radio communication services; mobile service which provides a regularly interacting group of base, mobile, portable, and associated control and relay stations (whether licensed on an individual, cooperative, or multiple basis) for private 1-way or 2-way land mobile radio communications by eligible users over designated areas of operation; or any service for which a license is required in a personal communications service.

"(C) 'Commercial mobile service' shall not include: (i) equipment sales, rental, maintenance, repair, or charges associated with wireless telecommunication equipment; or (ii) beginning on May 1, 1997, 2-way land mobile radio used for taxicabs fare dispatch and for communication between taxicab drivers and their base.

"(3) 'District' means the District of Columbia.

"(4) 'District-based wireless telecommunication service' means commercial mobile service where the primary use is in the District. A commercial mobile service provider shall remit the tax to the District based on any reasonable method, including, without limitation, the subscriber's billing address, service address, or telephone number within the District.

"(5) 'Gross charge' means all charges and fees paid for the act or privilege of originating or receiving in the District, toll telecommunication service or District-based wireless telecommunication service, valued in money whether paid in money or otherwise, including cash, credits, services, and property of every kind or nature and shall be determined, without any deduction on account of the cost of the telecommunication service, the cost of materials used, labor or service costs, or any other expenses.

"(6) 'Mayor' means the Mayor of the District of Columbia.

"(7) 'Person' means an individual, firm, partnership, society, club, association, joint-stock company, domestic or foreign corporation, estate, receiver, trustee, assignee, referee, or a fiduciary or other representative, whether or not appointed by a court, or any combination of individuals acting as a unit.

"(8) 'Radio communication' or 'communication by radio' means the transmission by radio of writing, signs, signals, pictures, and sound of all kinds.

"(9) 'Subscriber' means the ultimate consumer of District-based wireless telecommunication services regardless of whether the person has executed a written contract for wireless telecommunication services.

"(10) 'Toll telecommunication company' means each person or lessee of a person, including a commercial local exchange carrier, who provides for the transmission or reception, within the District, of any form of toll telecommunication service for a consideration.

"(11) 'Toll telecommunication service' means the transmission or reception of any sound, vision, or speech communication for which there is a toll charge that varies in amount with the distance or elapsed transmission time of each individual communication or the transmission or reception of any sound, vision, or speech communication that entitles a person, upon the payment of a periodic charge that is determined as a flat amount or upon the basis of a total elapsed transmission time, to an unlimited number of communications to or from all or a substantial portion of persons who have telephone or radiotelephone stations in a specified area outside the local telephone system area in which the station that provides the service is located.

"(12) 'Wireless telecommunication company' means any person providing commercial mobile services, including a person or lessee of a person who provides for, or resells, the transmission or reception of any form of commercial mobile services for a fee directly to the public or such classes of eligible users as to be effectively available to the public.

"(13) 'Wireless telecommunication equipment' means personal tangible property used by a subscriber to transmit or receive District-based wireless telecommunication services.

"(14) 'Commercial local exchange carrier' means any person that is engaged in the provision of deregulated local telephone exchange service or exchange access as defined in § 34-2001(8)."

Temporary Addition of Section

For temporary (225 day) addition of section, see § 2 of Toll Telecommunications Service Tax Temporary Act of 1989 (D.C. Law 8-4, May 23, 1989, law notification 36 DCR 4154).

Emergency Act Amendments

For temporary (90-day) amendment of section, see § 2302(b) of the Fiscal Year 2001 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2000 (D.C. Act 13-376, July 24, 2000, 47 DCR 6574).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2302(b) of the Fiscal Year 2001 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2000 (D.C. Act 13- 438, October 20, 2000, 47 DCR 8740).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(b) of Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Conformity Emergency Act of 2002 (D.C. Act 14-442, July 23, 2002, 49 DCR 7835).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(b) of Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Conformity Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2002 (D.C. Act 14-509, October 23, 2002, 49 DCR 10240).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(b) of Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Conformity Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2003 (D.C. Act 15-5, January 22, 2003, 50 DCR 1446).

Legislative History of Laws

Law 8-26, the "Toll Telecommunications Service Tax Act of 1989," was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 8-166, which was referred to the Committee on Finance and Revenue. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on May 30, 1989 and June 13, 1989, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on June 27, 1989, it was assigned Act No. 8-48 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review.

Law 12-100, the "Commercial Mobile Telecommunication Service Tax Clarification Amendment Act of 1998," was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 12-425, which was referred to the Committee on Finance and Revenue. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on December 4, 1997, and January 6, 1998, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on January 27, 1998, it was assigned Act No. 12-276 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review. D.C. Law 12- 100 became effective on April 30, 1998.

Law 13-172, the "Fiscal Year 2001 Budget Support Act of 2000," was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 13-679, which was referred to the Committee of the Whole. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on May 15, 2000, and June 6, 2000, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on June 26, 2000, it was assigned Act No. 13-175 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review. D.C. Law 13-172 became effective on October 19, 2000.

For Law 13-305, see notes under § 47-901.

For Law 13-313, see notes under § 47-2005.

Law 14-215, the "Mobile Telecommunications sourcing Conformity Act of 2002", was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 14-700, which was referred to the Committee on Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.  The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on July 2, 2002, and September 17, 2002, respectively.   Signed by the Mayor on October 3, 2002, it was assigned Act No. 14-463 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review.  D.C. Law 14- 215 became effective on March 25, 2003.

Delegation of Authority

Delegation of authority pursuant to D.C. Law 7-204, the "Frigid Temperature Protection Amendment Act of 1988", see Mayor's Order 89-123, June 2, 1989.

Delegation of authority under D.C. Law 8-26, the "Toll Telecommunication Service Tax Act of 1989.", see Mayor's Order 91-175, October 24, 1991.

Delegation of authority pursuant to D.C. Law 9-157, the "Tissue Transplantation Distribution Amendment Act of 1992", see Mayor's Order 93-61, May 12, 1993.

Miscellaneous Notes

Definitions applicable: The definitions in § 1-202 apply to terms appearing in the 1973 amendment to this section.

Applicability of Law 14-215: Section 3 of D.C. Law 14-215 provides:

"This act shall apply to charges for mobile telecommunications services reflected on customer bills issued after August 1, 2002."