Alaska phone customers would pay monthly fees for crisis services

Phone companies would separately list the fee on bills, collect it, and send collections to the state. The fee would cover landline service in Alaska and wireless customers with Alaska billing addresses. Only one fee would apply to each wireless number or landline. For each timely payment to the state, companies could keep the greater of 1 percent of collections or $150 for collection costs. Companies would send collections to the state within 60 days after the collection month ends. The text names July 1, 2025, as the effective date, but the bill remains pending.

The Department of Administration would deposit fee revenue into a separately tracked fund within the state's general fund. The Department of Health could receive money for 988, crisis care, and related prevention and support work. The fund could also receive donations, interest, and money approved by lawmakers. Lawmakers would have to approve spending; the fund would not guarantee money for crisis services. The money would not be legally reserved only for these purposes. The text names July 1, 2025, as the fund's effective date, but the bill remains pending.

Phone companies would include unpaid crisis fees when seeking unpaid customer debts and report identifiable unpaid fee balances to the state annually. Annual reports would include unpaid amounts and the names and addresses of customers whose balances the company can identify as unpaid crisis fees. Companies would not have to sue customers or cover uncollected fees. Partial bill payments would be split proportionally between phone charges and the crisis fee. The state could require an annual audit of fee records at its own expense. The text names July 1, 2025, as the effective date for these rules, but the bill remains pending.