(House committee report) as follows:
(1) Strike Section 21 of the bill (page 30, line 16,
through page 31, line 11)
and substitute:
SECTION 21. Section 56.021, Utilities Code, as amended by
Section 18.08,
S.B. No. 1368, Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular
Session, 1999, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 56.021. UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND ESTABLISHED. The
commission
shall adopt and enforce rules requiring local exchange
companies to establish
a universal service fund to:
(1) assist telecommunications providers local exchange
companies in
providing basic local telecommunications service at
reasonable rates in high
cost rural areas;
(2) reimburse telecommunications providers local
exchange companies for
revenue lost by providing tel-assistance service under
Subchapter C;
(3) reimburse the telecommunications carrier that
provides the statewide
telecommunications relay access service under Subchapter
D;
(4) finance the specialized telecommunications device
assistance program
established under Subchapter E; and
(5) reimburse the department, the Texas Commission for
the Deaf and Hard of
Hearing, and the commission for costs incurred in
implementing this chapter
and Chapter 57; and
(6) reimburse a telecommunications carrier providing
lifeline service as
provided by 47 C.F.R. Part 54, Subpart E, as amended.
(2) Between Sections 27 and 28 of the bill (page 36,
between lines 14 and 15)
insert:
SECTION 28. Subchapter D, Chapter 56, Utilities Code, is
amended by
adding Section 56.1085 to read as follows:
Sec. 56.1085. SPECIAL FEATURES FOR RELAY ACCESS SERVICE.
(a)
The commission may contract for a special feature for the
state's
telecommunications relay access service if the commission
determines:
(1) the feature will benefit the communication of persons
with an impairment of
hearing or speech;
(2) installation of the feature will be of benefit to the
state; and
(3) the feature will make the relay access service
available to a greater
number of users.
(b) If the carrier selected to provide the
telecommunications relay access
service under Section 56.108 is unable to provide the
special feature at the
best value to the state, the commission may make a
written award of a
contract for a carrier to provide the special feature to
the telecommunications
carrier whose proposal is most advantageous to the state,
considering:
(1) the factors provided by Section 56.108(b); and
(2) the past performance, demonstrated capability, and
experience of the
carrier.
(c) The commission shall consider each proposal in a
manner that does not
disclose the contents of the proposal to a
telecommunications carrier making
a competing proposal.
(d) The commission's evaluation of a telecommunications
carrier's proposal
shall include the considerations provided by Section
56.108(d).
SECTION 29. Section 56.109(a), Utilities Code, is amended
to read as
follows:
(a) The telecommunications carrier selected to provide
the
telecommunications relay access service under Section
56.108 or the carrier
selected to provide a special feature for that provides
the
telecommunications relay access service under Section
56.1085 shall be
compensated at rates and on terms provided by the
carrier's contract with the
commission.
SECTION 30. Subsection (a), Section 56.110, Utilities
Code, as amended by
Section 18.08, S.B. No. 1368, Acts of the 76th
Legislature, Regular Session,
1999, is amended to read as follows:
(a) An advisory committee to assist the commission in
administering this
subchapter is composed of the following persons appointed
by the
commission:
(1) two persons with disabilities that impair the ability
to effectively access the
telephone network other than disabilities described by
Subdivisions (2)-(7);
(2) one deaf person recommended by the Texas Deaf Caucus;
(3) (2) one deaf person recommended by the Texas
Association of the Deaf;
(4) (3) one person with a hearing impairment
recommended by Self-Help for
the Hard of Hearing;
(5) (4) one person with a hearing impairment
recommended by the
American Association of Retired Persons;
(6) (5) one deaf and blind person recommended by the
Texas Deaf/Blind
Association;
(7) (6) one person with a speech impairment and one
person with a speech
and hearing impairment recommended by the Coalition of
Texans with
Disabilities;
(8) (7) two representatives of telecommunications
utilities, one representing
a nonlocal exchange utility and one representing a local
exchange company,
chosen from a list of candidates provided by the Texas
Telephone
Association;
(9) (8) two persons, at least one of whom is deaf,
with experience in
providing relay services recommended by the Texas
Commission for the Deaf
and Hard of Hearing; and
(10) (9) two public members recommended by
organizations representing
consumers of telecommunications services.
SECTION 31. Section 56.111, Utilities Code, as amended by
Section 18.08,
S.B. No. 1368, Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular
Session, 1999, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 56.111. ADVISORY COMMITTEE DUTIES. The advisory
committee
shall:
(1) monitor the establishment, administration, and
promotion of the statewide
telecommunications relay access service;
(2) advise the commission in pursuing a service that
meets the needs of
persons with an impairment of hearing or speech in
communicating with other
telecommunications services users; and
(3) advise the commission and the Texas Commission for
the Deaf and Hard
of Hearing, at the request of either commission,
regarding any issue related to
the specialized telecommunications device assistance
program established
under Subchapter E, including:
(A) devices or services suitable to meet the needs of
persons with disabilities
the hearing-impaired and speech-impaired in
communicating with other
users of telecommunications services; and
(B) oversight and administration of the program.
SECTION 32. The heading to Subchapter E, Chapter 56,
Utilities Code, as
added by Section 18.08, S.B. No. 1368, Acts of the 76th
Legislature, Regular
Session, 1999, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER E. SPECIALIZED TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEVICE
ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
SECTION 33. Sections 56.151 through 56.154, Utilities
Code, as added by
Section 18.08, S.B. No. 1368, Acts of the 76th
Legislature, Regular Session,
1999, are amended to read as follows:
Sec. 56.151. SPECIALIZED TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEVICE
ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. The commission and the Texas
Commission for
the Deaf and Hard of Hearing by rule shall establish a
specialized
telecommunications assistance program to provide
financial assistance to
certain individuals with disabilities that impair the
individuals' ability to
effectively access the telephone network who are deaf or
have an impairment
of hearing or speech to enable the individuals to
purchase specialized
equipment or services to provide telephone network access
that is functionally
equivalent to that enjoyed by individuals without
disabilities an impairment of
hearing or speech . The agencies may adopt joint rules
that identify devices
and services eligible for vouchers under the program.
Sec. 56.152. ELIGIBILITY. The Texas Commission for the
Deaf and Hard of
Hearing by rule shall prescribe eligibility standards for
individuals, including
deaf individuals and individuals who have an impairment
of hearing or speech,
to receive an assistance voucher under the program. To be
eligible, an
individual must be a resident of this state who has
access to a telephone line
in the individual's home or place of business.
Sec. 56.153. VOUCHERS. (a) The Texas Commission for the
Deaf and Hard
of Hearing shall determine a reasonable price for a basic
specialized
telecommunications device or basic specialized services
to provide telephone
network access from a home or business for the deaf (TDD
or TTY) and
distribute to each eligible applicant a voucher that
guarantees payment of that
amount to a distributor of new specialized
telecommunications devices
described by Section 56.151 or to a provider of services
described by that
section. The Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of
Hearing may issue a
voucher for a service only if the service is less
expensive than a device eligible
for a voucher under the program to meet the same need.
(b) A voucher must have the value printed on its face.
The individual
exchanging a voucher for the purchase of a specialized
telecommunications
device or service is responsible for payment of the
difference between the
voucher's value and the price of the device or service.
(c) The commission and the Texas Commission for the Deaf
and Hard of
Hearing by rule shall provide that a distributor of
devices or a provider of
services will receive not more than the full price of the
device or service a
specialized telecommunications device if the recipient
of a voucher
exchanges the voucher for a device or service that the
distributor or provider
sells for less than the voucher's value.
(d) An individual who has exchanged a voucher for a
specialized
telecommunications device is not eligible to receive
another voucher before
the seventh anniversary of the date the individual
exchanged the previously
issued voucher unless, before that date, the recipient
develops a need for a
different type of telecommunications device or service
under the program
because the recipient's disability changes or the
recipient acquires another
disability.
(e) 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
individual's household for a device or service to serve
the same telephone line.
(f) (e) The Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of
Hearing shall:
(1) process each application for a voucher to determine
eligibility of the
applicant; and
(2) give each eligible applicant a voucher on payment of
a $35 fee.
(g) (f) The Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of
Hearing shall
maintain a record regarding each individual who receives
a voucher under the
program.
(h) (g) The Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of
Hearing shall
deposit money collected under the program to the credit
of the universal
service fund.
Sec. 56.154. COMMISSION DUTIES. (a) Not later than the
45th day after the
date the commission receives a voucher a
telecommunications device
distributor presents for payment or a voucher a
telecommunications service
provider presents for payment, the commission shall pay
to the distributor or
service provider the lesser of the value of a voucher
properly exchanged for a
specialized telecommunications device or service or the
full price of the device
or service for which a voucher recipient exchanges the
voucher. The payments
must be made from the universal service fund.
(b) The commission may investigate whether the
presentation of a voucher for
payment represents a valid transaction for a
telecommunications device or
service under the program. The Texas Commission for the
Deaf and Hard of
Hearing shall cooperate with and assist the commission in
an investigation
under this subsection.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 56.153(a), the commission
may:
(1) delay payment of a voucher to a distributor of
devices or a service provider
if there is a dispute regarding the amount or propriety
of the payment or
whether the device or service is appropriate or adequate
to meet the needs of
the person to whom the Texas Commission for the Deaf and
Hard of Hearing
issued the voucher until the dispute is resolved;
(2) provide that payment of the voucher is conditioned on
the return of the
payment if the device is returned to the distributor or
if the service is not used
by the person to whom the voucher was issued; and
(3) provide an alternative dispute resolution process for
resolving a dispute
regarding a subject described by Subdivision (1) or (2).
SECTION 34. Subsection (a), Section 56.155, Utilities
Code, as added by
Section 18.08, S.B. No. 1368, Acts of the 76th
Legislature, Regular Session,
1999, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The commission shall allow a telecommunications
utility to recover the
universal service fund assessment related to the
specialized
telecommunications device assistance program through a
surcharge added
to the utility's customers' bills.
(3) Renumber the sections of the bill accordingly.