By Naishtat                                           H.B. No. 2345
         77R6560 JJT-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the specialized telecommunications assistance program.
 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-4           SECTION 1. Section 56.152, Utilities Code, is amended to read
 1-5     as follows:
 1-6           Sec. 56.152.  ELIGIBILITY. The Texas Commission for the Deaf
 1-7     and Hard of Hearing by rule shall prescribe eligibility standards
 1-8     for individuals, including deaf individuals and individuals who
 1-9     have an impairment of hearing or speech, to receive an assistance
1-10     voucher under the program.  To be eligible, an individual must be a
1-11     resident of this state [who has access to a telephone line in the
1-12     individual's home or place of business].
1-13           SECTION 2. Sections 56.153(a), (d), (e), and (f), Utilities
1-14     Code, are amended to read as follows:
1-15           (a)  The Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
1-16     shall determine a reasonable price for a [basic] specialized
1-17     telecommunications device or [basic] specialized services to
1-18     provide telephone network access from a home or business and
1-19     distribute to each eligible applicant a voucher that guarantees
1-20     payment of that amount to a distributor of new specialized
1-21     telecommunications devices described by Section 56.151 or to a
1-22     provider of services described by that section.  The Texas
1-23     Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing may issue a voucher for
1-24     a service only if the service is less expensive than a device
 2-1     eligible for a voucher under the program to meet the same need.
 2-2           (d)  An individual who has exchanged a voucher for a
 2-3     specialized telecommunications device is not eligible to receive
 2-4     another voucher before the fifth [seventh] anniversary of the date
 2-5     the individual exchanged the previously issued voucher unless,
 2-6     before that date, the recipient develops a need for a different
 2-7     type of telecommunications device or service under the program
 2-8     because the recipient's disability changes or the recipient
 2-9     acquires another disability.
2-10           (e)  An individual is not eligible for a voucher if the Texas
2-11     Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing has issued a voucher to
2-12     another individual in the individual's household for a device or
2-13     service [to serve the same telephone line].
2-14           (f)  The Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
2-15     shall[:]
2-16                 [(1)  process each application for a voucher to]
2-17     determine eligibility of each person who files an application for a
2-18     voucher and issue [the applicant; and]
2-19                 [(2)  give] each eligible applicant an appropriate [a]
2-20     voucher [on payment of a $35 fee].
2-21           SECTION 3. Subchapter E, Chapter 56, Utilities Code, is
2-22     amended by adding Section 56.156 to read as follows:
2-23           Sec. 56.156.  PROMOTION OF PROGRAM. The commission may
2-24     promote the program established under this subchapter by means of
2-25     participation in events, advertisements, pamphlets, brochures,
2-26     forms, pins, or other promotional items or efforts that provide
2-27     contact information for persons interested in applying for a
 3-1     voucher under the program.
 3-2           SECTION 4. Section 55.203, Utilities Code, is amended by
 3-3     adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
 3-4           (g)  The rules adopted under Subsection (d) shall provide
 3-5     that a publisher must list prominently the contact information for
 3-6     the specialized telecommunications assistance program established
 3-7     under Subchapter E, Chapter 56.
 3-8           SECTION 5. The Public Utility Commission of Texas shall:
 3-9                 (1)  as soon as is practicable after the effective date
3-10     of this Act, adopt rules under Subchapter E, Chapter 56, Utilities
3-11     Code, as amended by this Act, to conform the specialized
3-12     telecommunications assistance program established under that
3-13     subchapter to the changes in law made by this Act; and
3-14                 (2)  adopt rules under Section 55.203(g), Utilities
3-15     Code, as added by this Act, promptly and make them apply to
3-16     directories published on or after January 1, 2002.
3-17           SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.