A bill in the Kansas Legislature that would charge wireless telephone users in the state fees to fund improvements in county 9-1-1 systems passed the House.

The fee would add 50 cents a month to wireless telephone bills, The Kansas City Star reported. The funds would be used to enact e9-1-1 services across the state to make it easier to locate someone making an emergency call on a wireless phone.

The vote was 80-40 and came a day after House lawmakers debated the measure. The Senate passed a version a year ago and now must decide whether to accept the House version or seek a compromise.

Any compromise would first be submitted to the full House and Senate for approval. It then would go to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ desk.

E9-1-1 is a service that allows emergency dispatchers to pinpoint the location and phone number of a person without the caller having to say a word. Such service already is available to callers using land-line phones, who currently pay 75 cents a month to finance dispatch operations.

Under the bill – HSS SB153 – the new fee would be collected starting July 1, with 25 cents remaining in a wireless phone customer’s home county and 25 cents going to rural counties with relatively few wireless phone users.

The Senate’s version would impose a 75-cent monthly fee on wireless bills, with the extra 25 cents going to wireless service providers. No such provision is included in the House version.