AUGUSTA – The Legislature’s Utilities Committee is recommending that the monthly fee on phone bills assessed to fund the E-911 system be reduced as the overall number of phones in the state – and a surplus in the E-911 fund – continues to grow.

“I am not here to tell you this is a good bill,” Rep. Peter Rines, D-Wiscasset, said Wednesday. “I am here to tell you this is a great bill. It not only is a reduction of 5 cents and shows the people of Maine we are looking after their pennies, it also comes on the heels of our consolidation program we have been working on for five years.”

Mainers pay 50 cents a month per land-line phone or cell phone. Businesses pay the fee on the first 25 lines or numbers they use. The money pays for the operation of the statewide system, with most of it going to the Verizon (soon to be FairPoint) infrastructure that supports the emergency dispatch centers.

The measure drew broad support from both the communications companies that collect the fee and Maine’s public advocate.

The bill as introduced would reduce the fee by a nickel, but panel members are considering a far more significant decrease, expressing some anger at the Appropriations Committee for taking $2.6 million from the fund to help balance the state budget.

“I was in the Appropriations room that night,” said Rep. Herb Adams, D-Portland. “Both Republicans and Democrats standing around me talked about our slush fund and how we weren’t really using the money so they could take it.”

Rep. Ken Fletcher, R-Winslow, agreed and said his rough calculation showed the fee could be totally suspended for nearly a year and there would still be enough money to operate the 911 system. He said he was not suggesting that as an option, but that lawmakers should reduce the fee by more than a nickel so there is not a large surplus fund that could be raided next year.

“I think we could go down to 35 cents and still have a surplus to handle any unexpected costs,” he said.

Sen. Doug Smith, R-Dover Foxcroft, agreed that the panel should consider a rate reduction greater than Rines proposed, but cautioned it should be based on estimates of what is needed in the fund to handle any unexpected costs.

“I think we can arrive at an amount that will result in us not seeing these large accumulations that may go elsewhere,” he said.

Adams was not as sure. He said no matter what level of surplus is maintained, there will likely be efforts to use it to help balance future budgets.

“I think we really have to realize we can never keep other people’s hands off that fund,” he said. “But I think we can reach a golden mean that will reduce that likelihood.”

Sen. Phil Bartlett, D-Gorham, co-chairman of the panel, said the committee clearly wants to reduce the fee further so the surplus is less in future years.

“We want a reasoned, thoughtful process – what would be a reasonable number to cut it back to and what is a reasonable reserve,” he said.

But after discussing what rate might be appropriate with staff members, the committee tabled the bill until the staff could prepare estimates based on various rates and assumptions.

The panel said one reason the fund has consistently had significant surpluses is the surge in cell phone use.

Statistics compiled by the Federal Communications Commission show a dramatic shift in Maine, as in most of the country, from land lines to cell phones. In 2001, there were a little more than 801,000 land lines in the state and fewer than 400,000 cell phones.

Statistics for 2007 show a decrease in land lines to fewer than 650,000. During the same period of time, the number of cell phones increased dramatically to 882,000, which includes mobile devices that can transmit data as well as voice communication.

“The increase in new technologies has resulted in more revenue than when this was first established,” Bartlett said.

Adams pointed out that not only are there more phones in the state today, but also the cost of the 911 services has been reduced by consolidation of dispatch centers in the past few years.