BILL ANALYSIS 1
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SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
DEBRA BOWEN, CHAIRWOMAN
AB 1723 - Utilities & Commerce Com. Hearing Date: July
10, 2001 A
As Amended: July 9, 2001 FISCAL B
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DESCRIPTION
Current law authorizes the California State Library to provide
toll-free telephone services to print disabled persons who are
unable to read due to visual impairments, dyslexia, or
orthopedic disabilities that prevent them from handling books,
turning pages etc. in order to give those people direct access
to library services.
Current law authorizes the California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC) to impose a surcharge on each telephone bill
to fund the California Teleconnect Fund (CTF) for the purpose of
providing telephone lines and discounted telecommunications
services to qualifying schools, libraries, hospitals, and
community-based organizations. The surcharge set by the CPUC is
currently set at 0.185% of each telephone bill and is adjusted
annually by the CPUC, depending on how many organizations are
eligible to receive funding.
This bill establishes the Kevin Starr Access to Information Act
of 2001 and authorizes the State Librarian to provide toll-free
access throughout California to telephonic reading systems for
people with print disabilities.
This bill authorizes the State Librarian to operate a telephonic
reading system itself and/or to fund the operation of a
telephonic reading systems operated by qualifying entities.
This bill authorizes the State Librarian, in cooperation with
qualifying entities, to expand the type and scope of materials
available on telephonic reading systems to meet the local,
regional, or foreign language needs of people with print
disabilities.
This bill authorizes the State Librarian to conduct outreach
efforts, including direct mailings, telephone contact, and
public service announcements, to inform people about the
availability of telephonic reading services.
This bill defines "telephonic reading system" to mean a system
whereby a caller can hear the reading of materials such as
newspapers, magazines, newsletters, broadcast media schedules,
transit route and schedule information, and other reference or
time sensitive materials.
This bill defines "qualifying entity" to mean any agency,
instrumentality, or political subdivision of the state or any
nonprofit organization whose primary mission is to provide
services to people who are blind or visually impaired.
This bill specifies that qualifying entities that were eligible,
as of January 1, 2001, to receive funding from the State
Librarian for the operation of a telephonic reading system may
continue to receive funding from the State Librarian.
This bill authorizes $2 million to be appropriated from the CTF
to the California State Library, on or before July 1, 2002, for
the purpose of establishing and implementing telephonic reading
centers in Los Angeles, San Diego, Fresno, San Francisco, and
Sacramento. The bill specifies that any funds not encumbered on
or before July 1, 2002, must revert to the CTF.
BACKGROUND
The CTF provides approximately $50 million per year of
discounted telecommunications services to schools, libraries,
hospitals, and community-based organizations, paid for by every
California telephone customer via a 0.185% surcharge on their
bill. Qualifying organizations receive a 50% discount off the
best rate they can negotiate from competing telecommunication
providers. Many schools use the funding to establish Internet
access for students in the classroom.
The California State Library is California's agency for the
National Library Service of the Library of Congress, which
provides recorded library materials to people with reading
disabilities in the United States. Today, seven California
centers - two in Sacramento, two in Los Angeles, and one each in
San Diego, San Francisco and Fresno - serve an estimated 47,819
print disabled Californians.
Telephonic reading systems are computerized systems that let
people listen to newspapers, transit schedules and other printed
materials, which are read either by a recorded human voice or a
computer generated voice, depending on the system. Users are
given a password and an access code to enter the system and
select from a variety of reading materials.
In California, there are two different types of telephonic
reading systems - Newsline for the Blind (which is used in
Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Fresno)
and Telephone Reader (which is used at separate sites in
Sacramento and Los Angeles). The Newsline for the Blind system
allows callers to have any newspaper they choose read to them by
a synthesized computer voice. Newsline is a 24-line system and
is accessible 24 hours a day. The Telephone Reader system uses
human voice recordings and local newspapers provide digital
files of the entire contents of current day that are
computer-ready for application to the system. The Telephone
Reader system is under the full control of the telephonic
reading site operator who determines what material will be
recorded manually and the centers rely on volunteer readers to
record these materials.
The seven existing programs received federal funding through
September 30, 2000. State funding was made available for these
sites for October 1, 2000, through September 30, 2001, through a
$245,000 General Fund appropriation in the 2000-01 State Budget,
which represents one year of operational costs for the seven
centers as follows:
-----------------------------------------------------------
|Site |Service |Annual Operating |
| | |Cost |
|--------------------+-------------------+------------------|
|Sacramento |Newsline | $25,000|
|--------------------+-------------------+------------------|
|Sacramento |Telephone Reader | $60,000|
|--------------------+-------------------+------------------|
|San Francisco |Newsline | $25,000|
|--------------------+-------------------+------------------|
|Fresno |Newsline | $25,000|
|--------------------+-------------------+------------------|
|Los Angeles |Newsline | $25,000|
|--------------------+-------------------+------------------|
|Los Angeles |Telephone Reader | $60,000|
|--------------------+-------------------+------------------|
|San Diego |Newsline | $25,000|
|--------------------+-------------------+------------------|
|Total | |$245,000 |
-----------------------------------------------------------
The seven telephonic reading centers in California are located
in densely populated areas which make these materials readily
available to many users who live in the estimated 12-mile local
calling area radius. People who use these systems are literally
being read a newspaper over the telephone, meaning calls can
last up to an hour. For those who live outside the local
calling area, the long-distance telephone costs to have a
newspaper read to them could be prohibitive - even at 7 cents
per minute, an hour-long call would cost a person $4.20. For
this reason, the current system isn't used often by people who
would have to make a long-distance call in order to have a
newspaper read to them.
This bill authorizes the State Librarian to establish and
operate a new toll-free access line, which would allow people
with print disabilities who don't live near a telephonic reading
center to call from their homes without paying long-distance
telephone charges. According the State Library, the estimated
annual cost for statewide toll-free telephone service to
telephonic reading centers under this bill would be in the range
of $492,000 to $830,000. (Estimated one-time costs for
establishing the toll-free access line are nominal.)
Finally, the bill authorizes the State Librarian to establish
and operate new telephonic reading centers. According to the
State Library, the costs for establishing a new center are as
follows:
-----------------------------------------------------------
|One-Time Set Up | Newsline | Telephone Reader |
|Costs | | |
|--------------------+-------------------+------------------|
|Computer system | | |
|purchase | $30,000|$28,000 |
|(24-line telephone | | |
|capacity) | | |
|--------------------+-------------------+------------------|
|Installation of | | |
|phone lines | $4,000| $4,000|
|(24-line trunk) | | |
|--------------------+-------------------+------------------|
|Setup for newspaper | $5,000| --|
|not already | | |
|available | | |
|--------------------+-------------------+------------------|
|Synthetic Speech | --| $7,200|
|Module | | |
|--------------------+-------------------+------------------|
|Construction of | | |
|studio, including | --| $20,000|
|recording booths | | |
|--------------------+-------------------+------------------|
|Office equipment, | | |
|including recording | | $15,000|
|headsets | | |
|--------------------+-------------------+------------------|
|Totals | $39,000|$74,200 |
| | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------
While this bill proposes to use CTF funds for the telephonic
reading programs, last year this committee approved a similar
measure, AB 2757 (Utilities & Commerce Committee), which would
have required the CPUC to establish a similar program using
funds from the CPUC's Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications
Program (DDTP). In addition, AB 2757 proposed to extend the
sunset of the DDTP from January 1, 2001, to January 1, 2005.
However, the bill was vetoed by the Governor, who noted in his
veto message that the program could negatively impact funding
for other programs within the Deaf and Disabled
Telecommunications Program (DDTP).
COMMENTS
1)Appropriate Use of The Surcharge . Current law allows the CPUC
to place a surcharge on each California phone bill in order
to fund the CTF. Currently, the surcharge is 0.185% and it
raises about $50 million annually to subsidize telephone
services for schools, libraries, hospitals and other
organizations. The CPUC has the authority to adjust the
surcharge depending on how many organizations are eligible
to receive funding. The CTF is limited under current law
to be used for the installation of phone lines and for
discounts on basic phone services.
This bill allows $2 million from the CTF to be used, on or
before July 1, 2002, to fund telephonic reading centers and
potentially a new toll-free service to telephonic reading
centers for print disabled Californians. The author and
committee may wish to consider whether this is an appropriate
use of CTF funds and whether this bill may lead to a surcharge
increase for all telephone customers in California in order to
recover the funding provided in this bill.
AB 219 (Utilities & Commerce Committee), which is pending on
the Assembly Floor awaiting a concurrence vote, extends until
January 1, 2006, the surcharge on intrastate telephone service
used to pay for the DDTP, which provides telecommunications
devices and services for the deaf and hearing impaired, and
for the disabled. Funding for the DDTP is limited to 0.5
percent of all in-state telephone bills. The author and the
committee may which to consider whether the DDTP fund may be a
more appropriate source of funds for the type of programs in
this bill, should AB 219 be approved by the Legislature and
signed by the Governor.
2)All Aboard? Section 5 of this bill specifically proposes to
allocate $2 million from the CTF to the State Library,
which may then encumber the funds by July 1, 2002, for the
purpose of providing one-time and potentially multi-year
funding for telephonic reading centers in Los Angeles, San
Diego, Fresno, San Francisco, and Sacramento noted above.
However, Sections 3 and 4 of this bill give the State
Librarian the authority to operate its own reading centers, to
fund centers operated by others and to create a new statewide
toll-free access number to telephonic reading systems. It is
unclear whether the $2 million in funding from the CTF is
intended for all of these purposes or simply for the continued
operation of the seven existing telephonic reading centers in
California. The author and the committee may wish to consider
whether the bill should clarify how the funds are to be spent
by the State Library.
3)One-Time vs. Ongoing Funds. This bill provides a one-time
allocation of $2 million to the State Library to operate
telephonic reading services for the print disabled. While
it may be possible for the State Library to enter into
multi-year contracts for either telephonic reading centers
or toll-free access to those centers, or both, using the
funding provided, this bill does not achieve a permanent
funding source for these programs.
If the State Library used the $2 million for operating the
existing seven centers ($245,000), statewide toll-free access
to those centers (up to $800,000), and one new Telephone
Reader center (ca. $75,000), it would be able to cover the
costs of those programs for less than two years.
In light of the fact that the existing telephonic reading
centers in California will have no state or federal funding
source after September 30, 2001, the author and committee may
wish to consider whether establishing new programs which have
no ongoing funding source is an appropriate use of this
funding.
4)Designating the funds for telephonic services only . This
bill allows the State Librarian to add new publications to
telephonic reading services and to conduct outreach,
including direct mailings, direct telephone contact, and
public service announcements. The author and the committee
may wish to consider whether these are appropriate uses of
the funding or whether the bill should specify that the
funding in this bill should not be used for new
publications or for outreach. In addition, the author and
the committee may wish to consider whether the bill should
specify that in establishing new telephonic reading centers
or toll-free services, the State Librarian may only use the
CTF funds to cover the cost of the telephone lines and
telephone services associated with those services.
ASSEMBLY VOTES
Assembly Floor (73-0)
Assembly Appropriations Committee (21-0)
Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee
(17-0)
POSITIONS
Sponsor
Author
Support:
California Council of the Blind
California Newspaper Publishers Association
California Optometric Association
San Francisco Public Library
Oppose:
None on file.
Jennie Bretschneider
AB 1723 Analysis
Hearing Date: July 10, 2001