BILL ANALYSIS
Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
1723 (Wright)
Hearing Date: 9/10/01 Amended: 7/18/01
Consultant: Bob Franzoia Policy Vote: E, U&C
9-0
____________________________________________________________
___
BILL SUMMARY: AB 1723 would authorize the State Librarian
to provide toll-free telephone access to telephonic reading
systems for persons with print disabilities. The bill
would authorize the State Librarian to operate a telephonic
reading system or fund the operation of such a system
operated by qualifying entities. The bill would
appropriate $2,000,000 from the California Teleconnect Fund
Administrative Committee Fund to the State Library to fund
the seven existing telephonic reading centers until 7/1/02.
Any funds appropriated to the State Library, which are not
encumbered by 7/1/02, revert to the fund.
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2001-02 2002-03
2003-04 Fund
Appropriation $2,000 Special*
California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund
STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE.
The California Teleconnect Fund provided approximately $50
million annually of discounted telecommunications services
to schools, libraries, hospitals, and community-based
organizations, paid for by every California telephone
customer via a 0.185 percent surcharge on their bill.
Qualifying organizations receive a 50 percent discount off
the best rate they can negotiate with telecommunication
providers.
Reading centers in Los Angeles (2), Sacramento (2), Fresno,
San Diego, and San Francisco serve an estimated 47,819
print disabled Californian's. Newsline for the Blind,
which is used in Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, San
Francisco, and Fresno, allows callers to have any newspaper
they choose read to them by a synthesized computer voice.
Newsline for the Blind is a 24-line system and is
accessible 24 hours a day. The Telephone Reader system,
which operates at separate sites in Sacramento and Los
Angeles, uses human voice recordings and local newspapers
to provide digital files of the entire contents of current
day papers 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
center rely on volunteer readers to record these materials.
These programs received federal funding through 9/30/00.
State funding was made available for these sites from
10/1/00 to 9/30/01, through an appropriate of $245,000 in
the 2000-01 Budget Act.
Page 2
AB 1723 (Wright)
The seven telephonic reading centers are located in urban
areas which make these materials financially available to
the users who live in the estimated 12-mile local calling
area radius. Users of these systems are literally being
read a newspaper over the telephone, which means calls can
last up to one 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 $0.07
per minute, a one hour call could cost $4.20. For this
reason, the current system isn't used often by those 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
persons with print disabilities who don't live near a
telephone reading center to call from their homes without
paying long-distance telephone charges. According to 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. Staff recommends the bill be amended to reduce
the appropriation to up to $830,000 to reflect the maximum
cost estimate of the State Library.
The Public Utilities Commission indicates that as much as
$90 million in unobligated funds may be available in
reserve.