HBA-JEK H.B. 2345 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2345 By: Naishtat Human Services 3/25/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing operates a specialized telecommunications device assistance program (program) to provide vouchers for specialized telecommunications equipment to individuals who have a disability that interferes with their ability to access the telephone network. Participation in the program has been lower than expected, but improvements in the program and the promotion of the program might increase telecommunication access for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech impairment. House Bill 2345 modifies provisions regarding the program and removes the $35 fee that is required for an individual to receive a voucher. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Public Utility Commission of Texas in SECTION 5 of this bill. ANALYSIS House Bill 2345 amends the Utilities Code to remove the stipulation that an individual must have access to a telephone line in the individual's home or place of business to be eligible for an assistance voucher under the specialized telecommunication assistance program for the deaf and hard of hearing (program). The bill authorizes the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) to promote the program and provides that rules adopted by the PUC must require private for-profit publishers of residential telephone directories to prominently list the program's contact information. The bill requires the PUC to adopt the new rules promptly and make them apply to directories published on or after January 1, 2002. The bill removes the provision that requires a recipient of a voucher to pay a $35 fee, and provides that an individual who has exchanged a voucher for a specialized telecommunications device is not eligible to receive another voucher before the fifth rather than the seventh anniversary of the date of the exchange. The bill also provides that an individual is not eligible for a voucher if the Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing has issued a voucher to another individual in the same household for a device or service, regardless of whether or not the individuals share the same telephone line. The bill requires the PUC, as soon as practicable after September 1, 2001, to adopt rules to conform the program to the changes in law made by this bill. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.