By: Barrientos S.B. No. 1441
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to expanding the specialized telecommunications devices
1-2 assistance program.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 56.021, Utilities Code, is amended to
1-5 read as follows:
1-6 Sec. 56.021. UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND ESTABLISHED. The
1-7 commission shall adopt and enforce rules requiring local exchange
1-8 companies to establish a universal service fund to:
1-9 (1) assist local exchange companies in providing basic
1-10 local telecommunications service at reasonable rates in high cost
1-11 rural areas;
1-12 (2) reimburse local exchange companies for revenue
1-13 lost by providing tel-assistance service under Subchapter C;
1-14 (3) reimburse the telecommunications carrier that
1-15 provides the statewide telecommunications relay access service
1-16 under Subchapter D;
1-17 (4) finance the specialized telecommunications
1-18 [device] assistance program established under Subchapter E; and
1-19 (5) reimburse the department, the Texas Commission for
1-20 the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and the commission for costs incurred
1-21 in implementing this chapter and Chapter 57.
1-22 SECTION 2. Subsection (a), Section 56.110, Utilities Code,
1-23 is amended to read as follows:
1-24 (a) An advisory committee to assist the commission in
2-1 administering this subchapter is composed of the following persons
2-2 appointed by the commission:
2-3 (1) two persons with disabilities that impair the
2-4 ability to effectively access the telephone network other than
2-5 disabilities described by Subdivisions (2)-(7);
2-6 (2) one deaf person recommended by the Texas Deaf
2-7 Caucus;
2-8 (3) [(2)] one deaf person recommended by the Texas
2-9 Association of the Deaf;
2-10 (4) [(3)] one person with a hearing impairment
2-11 recommended by Self-Help for the Hard of Hearing;
2-12 (5) [(4)] one person with a hearing impairment
2-13 recommended by the American Association of Retired Persons;
2-14 (6) [(5)] one deaf and blind person recommended by the
2-15 Texas Deaf/Blind Association;
2-16 (7) [(6)] one person with a speech impairment and one
2-17 person with a speech and hearing impairment recommended by the
2-18 Coalition of Texans with Disabilities;
2-19 (8) [(7)] two representatives of telecommunications
2-20 utilities, one representing a nonlocal exchange utility and one
2-21 representing a local exchange company, chosen from a list of
2-22 candidates provided by the Texas Telephone Association;
2-23 (9) [(8)] two persons, at least one of whom is deaf,
2-24 with experience in providing relay services recommended by the
2-25 Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing; and
2-26 (10) [(9)] two public members recommended by
3-1 organizations representing consumers of telecommunications
3-2 services.
3-3 SECTION 3. Section 56.111, Utilities Code, is amended to
3-4 read as follows:
3-5 Sec. 56.111. ADVISORY COMMITTEE DUTIES. The advisory
3-6 committee shall:
3-7 (1) monitor the establishment, administration, and
3-8 promotion of the statewide telecommunications relay access service;
3-9 (2) advise the commission in pursuing a service that
3-10 meets the needs of persons with an impairment of hearing or speech
3-11 in communicating with other telecommunications services users; and
3-12 (3) advise the commission and the Texas Commission for
3-13 the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, at the request of either commission,
3-14 regarding any issue related to the specialized telecommunications
3-15 [device] assistance program established under Subchapter E,
3-16 including:
3-17 (A) devices or services suitable to meet the
3-18 needs of persons with disabilities [the hearing-impaired and
3-19 speech-impaired] in communicating with other users of
3-20 telecommunications services; and
3-21 (B) oversight and administration of the program.
3-22 SECTION 4. The heading to Subchapter E, Chapter 56,
3-23 Utilities Code, is amended to read as follows:
3-24 SUBCHAPTER E. SPECIALIZED TELECOMMUNICATIONS [DEVICE]
3-25 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
3-26 SECTION 5. Sections 56.151 through 56.154, Utilities Code,
4-1 are amended to read as follows:
4-2 Sec. 56.151. SPECIALIZED TELECOMMUNICATIONS [DEVICE]
4-3 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. The commission and the Texas Commission for
4-4 the Deaf and Hard of Hearing by rule shall establish a specialized
4-5 telecommunications assistance program to provide financial
4-6 assistance to [certain] individuals with disabilities that impair
4-7 the individuals' ability to effectively access the telephone
4-8 network [who are deaf or have an impairment of hearing or speech]
4-9 to enable the individuals to purchase specialized equipment or
4-10 services to provide telephone network access that is functionally
4-11 equivalent to that enjoyed by individuals without disabilities [an
4-12 impairment of hearing or speech]. The agencies may adopt joint
4-13 rules that identify devices and services eligible for vouchers
4-14 under the program.
4-15 Sec. 56.152. ELIGIBILITY. The Texas Commission for the Deaf
4-16 and Hard of Hearing by rule shall prescribe eligibility standards
4-17 for individuals, including deaf individuals and individuals who
4-18 have an impairment of hearing or speech, to receive an assistance
4-19 voucher under the program. To be eligible, an individual must be a
4-20 resident of this state who has access to a telephone line in the
4-21 individual's home or place of business.
4-22 Sec. 56.153. VOUCHERS. (a) The Texas Commission for the
4-23 Deaf and Hard of Hearing shall determine a reasonable price for a
4-24 basic specialized telecommunications device or basic specialized
4-25 services to provide telephone network access from a home or
4-26 business [for the deaf (TDD or TTY)] and distribute to each
5-1 eligible applicant a voucher that guarantees payment of that amount
5-2 to a distributor of new specialized telecommunications devices
5-3 described by Section 56.151 or to a provider of services described
5-4 by that section.
5-5 (b) A voucher must have the value printed on its face. The
5-6 individual exchanging a voucher for the purchase of a specialized
5-7 telecommunications device or service is responsible for payment of
5-8 the difference between the voucher's value and the price of the
5-9 device or service.
5-10 (c) The commission and the Texas Commission for the Deaf and
5-11 Hard of Hearing by rule shall provide that a distributor of devices
5-12 or a provider of services will receive not more than the full price
5-13 of the device or service [a specialized telecommunications device]
5-14 if the recipient of a voucher exchanges the voucher for a device or
5-15 service that the distributor or provider sells for less than the
5-16 voucher's value.
5-17 (d) An individual who has exchanged a voucher for a
5-18 specialized telecommunications device is not eligible to receive
5-19 another voucher before the seventh anniversary of the date the
5-20 individual exchanged the previously issued voucher unless, before
5-21 that date, the recipient develops a need for a different type of
5-22 telecommunications device or service under the program because the
5-23 recipient's disability changes or the recipient acquires another
5-24 disability.
5-25 (e) An individual is not eligible for a voucher if the Texas
5-26 Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing has issued a voucher to
6-1 another individual in the individual's household for a device or
6-2 service to serve the same telephone line.
6-3 (f) [(e)] The Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of
6-4 Hearing shall:
6-5 (1) process each application for a voucher to
6-6 determine eligibility of the applicant; and
6-7 (2) give each eligible applicant a voucher on payment
6-8 of a $35 fee.
6-9 (g) [(f)] The Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of
6-10 Hearing shall maintain a record regarding each individual who
6-11 receives a voucher under the program.
6-12 (h) [(g)] The Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of
6-13 Hearing shall deposit money collected under the program to the
6-14 credit of the universal service fund.
6-15 Sec. 56.154. COMMISSION DUTIES. (a) Not later than the
6-16 45th day after the date the commission receives a voucher a
6-17 telecommunications device distributor presents for payment or a
6-18 voucher a telecommunications service provider presents for payment,
6-19 the commission shall pay to the distributor or service provider the
6-20 lesser of the value of a voucher properly exchanged for a
6-21 specialized telecommunications device or service or the full price
6-22 of the device or service for which a voucher recipient exchanges
6-23 the voucher. The payments must be made from the universal service
6-24 fund.
6-25 (b) The commission may investigate whether the presentation
6-26 of a voucher for payment represents a valid transaction for a
7-1 telecommunications device or service under the program. The Texas
7-2 Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing shall cooperate with
7-3 and assist the commission in an investigation under this
7-4 subsection.
7-5 (c) Notwithstanding Section 56.153(a), the commission may:
7-6 (1) delay payment of a voucher to a distributor of
7-7 devices or a service provider if there is a dispute regarding the
7-8 amount or propriety of the payment or whether the device or service
7-9 is appropriate or adequate to meet the needs of the person to whom
7-10 the Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing issued the
7-11 voucher until the dispute is resolved;
7-12 (2) provide that payment of the voucher is conditioned
7-13 on the return of the payment if the device is returned to the
7-14 distributor or if the service is not used by the person to whom the
7-15 voucher was issued; and
7-16 (3) provide an alternative dispute resolution process
7-17 for resolving a dispute regarding a subject described by
7-18 Subdivision (1) or (2).
7-19 SECTION 6. Subsection (a), Section 56.155, Utilities Code,
7-20 is amended to read as follows:
7-21 (a) The commission shall allow a telecommunications utility
7-22 to recover the universal service fund assessment related to the
7-23 specialized telecommunications [device] assistance program through
7-24 a surcharge added to the utility's customers' bills.
7-25 SECTION 7. (a) In accordance with Subsection (c), Section
7-26 311.031, Government Code, which gives effect to a substantive
8-1 amendment enacted by the same legislature that codifies the
8-2 amended statute, the text of Section 56.021, Subsection (a),
8-3 Section 56.110, Sections 56.111, 56.151, 56.152, 56.153, and
8-4 56.154, and Subsection (a), Section 56.155, Utilities Code, as set
8-5 out in Sections 1 through 6 of this Act, gives effect to changes
8-6 made by Chapter 149, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular
8-7 Session, 1997.
8-8 (b) To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails over
8-9 another Act of the 76th Legislature, Regular Session, 1999,
8-10 relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
8-11 codes.
8-12 SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
8-13 SECTION 9. The importance of this legislation and the
8-14 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
8-15 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
8-16 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
8-17 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.