2014 -- H 7068

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2014

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION - INFORMATION ACCESSIBILITY

SERVICE FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

     Introduced By: Representatives Naughton, E Coderre, Jacquard, Walsh, and Handy

     Date Introduced: January 14, 2014

     Referred To: House Health, Education & Welfare

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 39-1-42 of the General Laws in Chapter 39-1 entitled "Public

Utilities Commission" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     39-1-42. Access to telephone information services for persons with disabilities. -- (a)

The public utilities commission shall establish, administer and promote an information

accessibility service that includes:

     (1) A statewide telephone relay service and, through the competitive bidding process,

contract for the administration and operation of such a relay system for utilization of the

telecommunications network by deaf, hard of hearing and speech impaired persons;

     (2) The adaptive telephone equipment loan program capable of servicing the needs of

persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, severely speech impaired, or those with neuromuscular

impairments for use with a single party telephone line, or wireless telephone, to any subscriber

who is certified as deaf, hard of hearing, severely speech impaired, or with neuromuscular

impairments by a licensed physician, audiologist, speech pathologist, or a qualified state agency,

pursuant to chapter 23 of this title; and

     (3) A telephone access to the text of newspaper programs to residents who are blind, deaf

or blind, visually impaired, or reading impaired with a single party telephone line.

     (b) The commission shall establish, by rule or regulation, an appropriate funding

mechanism to recover the costs of providing this service from each residence and business

telephone access line or trunk in the state, including PBX trunks and centrex equivalent trunks

and each service line or trunk, and upon each user interface number or extension number or

similarly identifiable line, trunk, or path to or from a digital network. Notwithstanding the

foregoing, there shall not be any additional funding mechanism used to charge each residence and

business telephone access line or truck in the state, including PBX trunks and centrex equivalent

trunks and each service line or trunk, or upon each user interface number or extension number or

similarly identifiable line, trunk or path to or from a digital network, to recover the costs of

providing the services outlined in subsections (a)(1), (2) or (3) above.

     (c) The commission, with the assistance of the state commission on the deaf and hard of

hearing, shall also develop the appropriate rules, regulations and service standards necessary to

implement the provisions of subsection (a)(1) of this section. At a minimum, however, the

commission shall require, under the terms of the contract, that the relay service provider:

     (1) Offer its relay services seven (7) days a week, twenty-four (24) hours a day, including

holidays;

     (2) Hire only qualified salaried operators with deaf language skills; and

     (3) Maintain the confidentiality of all communications.

     (d) The commission shall collect from the telecommunications service providers the

amounts of the surcharge collected from their subscribers and remit to the department of human

services an additional ten thousand dollars ($10,000) annually commencing in fiscal year 2005

for the adaptive telephone equipment loan program and forty thousand dollars ($40,000) to the

department of human services for the establishment of a new telephone access to the text of

newspaper programs. In addition, eighty thousand dollars ($80,000) shall annually be remitted to

the Rhode Island Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing for an emergency and public

communication access program, pursuant to section 23-1.8-4 of the Rhode Island general laws.

     The surcharge referenced hereunder shall be generated from existing funding

mechanisms and shall not be generated as a result of any new funding mechanisms charged to

each residence and business telephone access line or trunk in the state, including PBX trunks and

centrex equivalent trunks and each service line or trunk, or upon each user interface number or

extension number or similarly identifiable line, trunk or path to or from a digital network.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION - INFORMATION ACCESSIBILITY

SERVICE FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

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     This act would include wireless telephones in the adaptive telephone equipment loan

program that services the needs of persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, severely speech

impaired, or those with neuromuscular impairments.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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