Supreme Court of Georgia
Bellsouth Telecommunications, LLC v. Cobb County
February 18, 2019824 S.E.2d 233
Summary
The court held that the statutory 911 charge is a tax as a matter of law because it is mandatory, is not tied to a payer's use of emergency services or contribution to their cost, and provides no special benefit to those who pay it. Because tax collection through judicial action requires specific legislative authorization, the Counties could not use the 911 Act or general tort statutes to recover allegedly uncollected charges from the telephone companies. The court reversed and remanded with instructions to dismiss the damages claims.