1-1 By: Naishtat (Senate Sponsor - Fraser) H.B. No. 2345
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House April 23, 2001;
1-3 April 24, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
1-4 Business and Commerce; May 3, 2001, reported adversely, with
1-5 favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays
1-6 0; May 3, 2001, sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 2345 By: Fraser
1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-9 AN ACT
1-10 relating to the specialized telecommunications assistance program.
1-11 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12 SECTION 1. Section 56.151, Utilities Code, is amended to read
1-13 as follows:
1-14 Sec. 56.151. SPECIALIZED TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANCE
1-15 PROGRAM. The commission and the Texas Commission for the Deaf and
1-16 Hard of Hearing by rule shall establish a specialized
1-17 telecommunications assistance program to provide financial
1-18 assistance to individuals with disabilities that impair the
1-19 individuals' ability to effectively access the telephone network to
1-20 assist [enable] the individuals with the [to] purchase of basic
1-21 specialized equipment or services to provide the individuals with
1-22 telephone network access that is functionally equivalent to that
1-23 enjoyed by individuals without disabilities. The agencies may
1-24 adopt joint rules that identify devices and services eligible for
1-25 vouchers under the program.
1-26 SECTION 2. Section 56.152, Utilities Code, is amended to read
1-27 as follows:
1-28 Sec. 56.152. ELIGIBILITY. The Texas Commission for the Deaf
1-29 and Hard of Hearing by rule shall prescribe eligibility standards
1-30 for individuals, including deaf individuals and individuals who
1-31 have an impairment of hearing or speech, to receive an assistance
1-32 voucher under the program. To be eligible, an individual must be a
1-33 resident of this state with a disability that impairs the
1-34 individual's ability to effectively access the telephone network
1-35 [who has access to a telephone line in the individual's home or
1-36 place of business].
1-37 SECTION 3. Sections 56.153(a), (d), (e), and (f), Utilities
1-38 Code, are amended to read as follows:
1-39 (a) The Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
1-40 shall determine a reasonable price for a basic specialized
1-41 telecommunications device that permits, or basic specialized
1-42 services that permit, [to provide] telephone network access [from a
1-43 home or business] and distribute to each eligible applicant a
1-44 voucher that guarantees payment of that amount to a distributor of
1-45 new specialized telecommunications devices described by Section
1-46 56.151 or to a provider of services described by that section. The
1-47 Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing may issue a
1-48 voucher for a service only if the service is less expensive than a
1-49 device eligible for a voucher under the program to meet the same
1-50 need.
1-51 (d) An individual who has exchanged a voucher for a
1-52 specialized telecommunications device is not eligible to receive
1-53 another voucher before the fifth [seventh] anniversary of the date
1-54 the individual exchanged the previously issued voucher unless,
1-55 before that date, the recipient develops a need for a different
1-56 type of telecommunications device or service under the program
1-57 because the recipient's disability changes or the recipient
1-58 acquires another disability.
1-59 (e) Except as provided by rules adopted under this
1-60 subsection, an [An] individual is not eligible for a voucher if the
1-61 Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing has issued a
1-62 voucher for a device or service to another individual with the same
1-63 type of disability in the individual's household. The Texas
1-64 Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing by rule may provide for
2-1 financially independent individuals who reside in a congregate
2-2 setting to be eligible for a voucher regardless of whether another
2-3 individual living in that setting has received a voucher [for a
2-4 device or service to serve the same telephone line].
2-5 (f) The Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
2-6 shall[:]
2-7 [(1) process each application for a voucher to]
2-8 determine eligibility of each person who files an application for a
2-9 voucher and issue [the applicant; and]
2-10 [(2) give] each eligible applicant an appropriate [a]
2-11 voucher [on payment of a $35 fee].
2-12 SECTION 4. Subchapter E, Chapter 56, Utilities Code, is
2-13 amended by adding Section 56.156 to read as follows:
2-14 Sec. 56.156. PROMOTION OF PROGRAM. The Texas Commission for
2-15 the Deaf and Hard of Hearing may promote the program established
2-16 under this subchapter by means of participation in events,
2-17 advertisements, pamphlets, brochures, forms, pins, or other
2-18 promotional items or efforts that provide contact information for
2-19 persons interested in applying for a voucher under the program.
2-20 SECTION 5. Section 55.203, Utilities Code, is amended by
2-21 adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
2-22 (g) The rules adopted under Subsection (d) must provide that
2-23 a telecommunications utility that publishes and distributes to the
2-24 public a residential or business telephone directory shall list
2-25 prominently in the directory the contact information for the
2-26 specialized telecommunications assistance program established under
2-27 Subchapter E, Chapter 56.
2-28 SECTION 6. The Public Utility Commission of Texas shall:
2-29 (1) as soon as is practicable after the effective date
2-30 of this Act, adopt rules under Subchapter E, Chapter 56, Utilities
2-31 Code, as amended by this Act, to conform the specialized
2-32 telecommunications assistance program established under that
2-33 subchapter to the changes in law made by this Act; and
2-34 (2) adopt rules under Section 55.203(g), Utilities
2-35 Code, as added by this Act, promptly and make them apply to
2-36 directories published on or after January 1, 2002.
2-37 SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
2-38 * * * * *