BILL NUMBER: AB 2784	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	PASSED THE SENATE  JUNE 27, 2002
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  MAY 2, 2002

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Chavez

                        FEBRUARY 25, 2002

   An act to amend Section 2881 of the Public Utilities Code,
relating to telephone corporations.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2784, Chavez.  Telephone corporations:  disabled
telecommunications program.
   Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to design
and implement a program whereby each telephone corporation provides
specialized or supplemental telephone communications equipment to
subscribers who are certified to be disabled.  Existing law further
provides that the certification include a statement of medical need
for specialized telephone communications equipment, provided by a
licensed physician or by a qualified state or federal agency as
determined by the commission.
   This bill would revise the later provision to additionally
authorize a licensed optometrist to provide a statement of visual
need.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 2881 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   2881.  (a) The commission shall design and implement a program to
provide a telecommunications device capable of serving the needs of
individuals who are deaf or hearing impaired, together with a single
party line, at no charge additional to the basic exchange rate, to
any subscriber who is certified as an individual who is deaf or
hearing impaired by a licensed physician and surgeon, audiologist, or
a qualified state or federal agency, as determined by the
commission, and to any subscriber that is an organization
representing individuals who are deaf or hearing impaired, as
determined and specified by the commission pursuant to subdivision
(e).  A licensed hearing aid dispenser may certify the need of an
individual to participate in the program if that individual has been
previously fitted with an amplified device by the dispenser and the
dispenser has the individual's hearing records on file prior to
certification.
   (b) The commission shall also design and implement a program to
provide a dual-party relay system, using third-party intervention to
connect individuals who are deaf or hearing impaired and offices of
organizations representing individuals who are deaf or hearing
impaired, as determined and specified by the commission pursuant to
subdivision (e), with persons of normal hearing by way of
intercommunications devices for individuals who are deaf or hearing
impaired and the telephone system, making available reasonable access
of all phases of public telephone service to telephone subscribers
who are deaf or hearing impaired.  In order to make a dual-party
relay system that will meet the requirements of individuals who are
deaf or hearing impaired available at a reasonable cost, the
commission shall initiate an investigation, conduct public hearings
to determine the most cost-effective method of providing dual-party
relay service to the deaf or hearing impaired when using a
telecommunications device, and solicit the advice, counsel, and
physical assistance of statewide nonprofit consumer organizations of
the deaf, during the development and implementation of the system.
The commission shall phase in this program, on a geographical basis,
over a three-year period ending on January 1, 1987.  The commission
shall apply for certification of this program under rules adopted by
the Federal Communications Commission pursuant to Section 401 of the
federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-336).

   (c) The commission shall also design and implement a program
whereby specialized or supplemental telephone communications
equipment may be provided to subscribers who are certified to be
disabled at no charge additional to the basic exchange rate.  The
certification, including a statement of visual or medical need for
specialized telecommunications equipment, shall be provided by a
licensed optometrist or physician and surgeon, acting within the
scope of practice of his or her license, or by a qualified state or
federal agency as determined by the commission.  The commission
shall, in this connection, study the feasibility of, and implement,
if determined to be feasible, personal income criteria, in addition
to the certification of disability, for determining a subscriber's
eligibility under this subdivision.
   (d) The commission shall establish a rate recovery mechanism
through a surcharge not to exceed one-half of 1 percent uniformly
applied to a subscriber's intrastate telephone service, other than
one-way radio paging service and universal telephone service, both
within a service area and between service areas, to allow providers
of the equipment and service specified in subdivisions (a), (b), and
(c), to recover costs as they are incurred under this section.  The
surcharge shall be in effect until January 1, 2006.  The commission
shall require that the programs implemented under this section be
identified on subscribers' bills, and shall establish a fund and
require separate accounting for each of the programs implemented
under this section.
   (e) The commission shall determine and specify those statewide
organizations representing the deaf or hearing impaired that shall
receive a telecommunications device pursuant to subdivision (a) or a
dual-party relay system pursuant to subdivision (b), or both, and in
which offices the equipment shall be installed in the case of an
organization having more than one office.
   (f) The commission may direct any telephone corporation subject to
its jurisdiction to comply with its determinations and
specifications pursuant to this section.
   (g) The commission shall annually review the surcharge level and
the balances in the funds established pursuant to subdivision (d).
Until January 1, 2006, the commission shall be authorized to make,
within the limits set by subdivision (d), any necessary adjustments
to the surcharge to ensure that the programs supported thereby are
adequately funded and that the fund balances are not excessive.  A
fund balance which is projected to exceed six months' worth of
projected expenses at the end of the fiscal year is excessive.
   (h) The commission shall prepare and submit to the Legislature, on
or before December 31, 1988, and annually thereafter, a report on
the fiscal status of the programs established and funded pursuant to
this section and Sections 2881.1 and 2881.2.  The report shall
include a statement of the surcharge level established pursuant to
subdivision (d) and revenues produced by the surcharge, an accounting
of program expenses, and an evaluation of options for controlling
those expenses and increasing program efficiency, including, but not
limited to, all of the following proposals:
   (1) The establishment of a means test for persons to qualify for
program equipment or free or reduced charges for the use of
telecommunication services.
   (2) If and to the extent not prohibited under Section 401 of the
federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-336),
the imposition of limits or other restrictions on maximum usage
levels for the relay service, which shall include the development of
a program to provide basic communications requirements to all relay
users at discounted rates, including discounted toll-call rates, and,
for usage in excess of those basic requirements, at rates which
recover the full costs of service.
   (3) More efficient means for obtaining and distributing equipment
to qualified subscribers.
   (4) The establishment of quality standards for increasing the
efficiency of the relay system.
   (i) In order to continue to meet the access needs of individuals
with functional limitations of hearing, vision, movement,
manipulation, speech and interpretation of information, the
commission shall perform ongoing assessment of, and if appropriate,
expand the scope of the program to allow for additional access
capability consistent with evolving telecommunications technology.