BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2757
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 3, 2000
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Roderick D. Wright, Chair
AB 2757 (Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee) - As
Amended: March 29, 2000
SUBJECT : Telephone reading system.
SUMMARY : Requires California Public Utilities Commission
(CPUC) to establish and implement a toll-free number to access
telephonic reading systems for individuals with print
disabilities, and authorizes specified entities to apply to CPUC
for funds to establish and operate new telephonic reading
systems. Specifically, this bill :
1)Expands the scope of the advisory functions of the Deaf and
Disabled Telecommunications Program (DDTP) Administrative
Committee to encompass programs for people who are print
disabled.
2)Directs CPUC to design and implement a program to provide
toll-free access to telephonic reading systems for California
residents with print disabilities by July 1, 2001 using a
single toll-free number and authorizes specified entities to
apply to CPUC for funding to establish a new telephonic
reading system.
3)Defines a telephonic reading system to be a system where a
caller can hear print material such as newspapers, magazines,
newsletters, broadcast media schedules, and other time
sensitive materials read to them which are operated by either
divisions of the State of California or nonprofit
organizations.
4)Limits expenditures to fund the program to 20 percent of the
maximum funds collected by the Deaf and Disabled
Telecommunications Program Administrative Committee Fund.
5)Requires CPUC to reimburse any authorized operational expenses
that telephonic reading systems may occur after January 1,
2001 and make retroactive payments to a system after the
implementation of the measure.
6)Makes various findings and declarations regarding the
AB 2757
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telephonic reading system.
7)Cites the legislation as the Kevin Starr Access to Information
Act of 2000.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires CPUC to establish a rate recovery mechanism through a
surcharge on intrastate telephone service to recover the costs
for providing telecommunications devices capable of serving
the needs of the deaf, hearing impaired and disabled, known as
the DDTP Fund.
2)Establishes the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program
Administrative Committee to advise the commission regarding
the development, implementation, and administrations of these
programs, and the DDTP Fund as repository for the funds
collected by the surcharge.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS :
1.Persons who cannot read print due to a disability often have
to forgo timely access to newspapers, magazines, and other
periodicals. In recent years, technological advances have
made the difficulty of making time-sensitive material
available to the print disabled more practical and
cost-effective. Telephonic reading systems, in which the
caller can hear the reading of various printed materials, can
be accessed by using a standard touch-tone telephone.
2.Within the state, there are six telephonic reading systems.
These systems are located in the following cities: San
Francisco, Los Angeles, Fresno, San Diego, and Sacramento,
which has two. Each center has 24 lines, which allow up to 24
users to access the center simultaneously. Persons calling
from outside the calling area of the site's location (local
calling areas are generally limited to a radius of
approximately 12 miles) cannot utilize the service without
incurring long distance telephone charges. This has resulted
in a significant underutilization of the program by the print
disabled in this state.
3.The bill directs CPUC to establish a single toll-free number
AB 2757
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that enables users to access the system anywhere in the state
by July 1, 2001. It authorizes funding to be taken from the
Deaf and DDTP Fund to pay for the toll-free lines, along with
the establishment of any new telephonic reading system by
state or local government entities or nonprofit organizations
that do business in the state. Appropriations for the program
are limited to 20 percent of the maximum revenues in the DDTP
Fund. The appropriation is funded through an existing
surcharge.
4.Access to the system is restricted to individuals who qualify
under Section 701.10 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal
Regulations for National Library Service access to materials.
The section specifies eligibility criteria for loans of
library materials for blind and other physically handicapped
persons. Persons who qualify under this statute include:
persons certified as blind; persons whose visual disability
prevents them from reading standard printed material; persons
unable to use standard printed material because of physical
limitations; persons certified as having a reading disability;
and persons with a reading disability from an organic
dysfunction. The National Library Service estimates that the
California client base is made up of approximately 80 percent
blind or visually impaired, 14 percent who are learning
disabled, and 6 percent who cannot manipulate print due to a
physical disability.
5.The Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program (DDTP) was
established by the Legislature (SB 1782, Chapter 454, Stats.
1982) to provide telecommunications devices to the disabled.
The DDTP currently funds three programs for deaf, hearing
impaired, and disabled people: the Telecommunications Devices
for the Deaf (SB 597, Chapter 1142, Stats. 1979), the
California Relay Service (SB 244, Chapter 741, Stats. 1983),
and the Supplemental Telecommunications Devices for the
Disabled (SB 60, Chapter 585, Stats. 1985).
6.The ceiling for the DDTP surcharge is set by statute at 0.5
percent. The CPUC is currently assessing the surcharge at
less than half the authorized amount (0.19 percent). This
bill would not increase the current statutory cap.
7.The bill gives CPUC latitude in establishing the program for
toll-free access, as well as standards for telephonic reading
systems across the state. Additionally, the bill allows for
AB 2757
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retroactive payments for operational expenses to a telephone
reading system after the implementation of the program. These
provisions were included in the bill because the funding for
the two Sacramento sites will run out as of September 30,
2000, the end of the three year maximum funding cycle for the
type of grant involved. The authority to make operation
expense payments retroactive is to meet the needs of the site,
so they can continue operations between October 1, 2000 and
the date that CPUC implements the program.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired (sponsor)
Independence and Choice for People with Disabilities
California Foundation for Independent Living Centers
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Jonathan Buttle / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083