Bill Text: FL S0272 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Telecommunications Access System
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2012-03-09 - Died in Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities [S0272 Detail]
Download: Florida-2012-S0272-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2012 SB 272 By Senator Wise 5-00185A-12 2012272__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to the telecommunications access 3 system; amending s. 427.702, F.S.; revising 4 legislative findings, purpose, and intent relating to 5 the telecommunications access system; recognizing that 6 the 21st Century Communications and Video 7 Accessibility Act mandates additional safeguards 8 ensuring that persons who have a hearing loss are able 9 to access Internet-based and digital communications; 10 amending s. 427.703, F.S.; revising definitions to 11 conform to changes made by the act; amending s. 12 427.704, F.S.; revising the powers and duties of the 13 Public Service Commission; requiring that the 14 commission establish a recovery mechanism that 15 requires commercial mobile radio service providers to 16 impose a monthly surcharge on its subscribers; 17 amending s. 427.705, F.S.; revising provisions 18 relating to the administration of the 19 telecommunications access system; providing for the 20 distribution of wireless mobile devices to qualified 21 persons; amending s. 427.706, F.S.; revising the 22 membership of the advisory committee that assists the 23 commission with the administration and operation of 24 the telecommunications access system; amending s. 25 427.708, F.S.; requiring that the commission annually 26 ensure that public safety and health care providers 27 are complying with the requirement to purchase and 28 operate telecommunications devices for the deaf or any 29 other appropriate telecommunications devices and 30 submit a report of its findings to the advisory 31 committee; providing an effective date. 32 33 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 34 35 Section 1. Section 427.702, Florida Statutes, is amended to 36 read: 37 427.702 Findings, purpose, and legislative intent.— 38 (1) The Legislature finds and declares that: 39 (a) Telecommunications services provide a rapid and 40 essential communications link among the general public and with 41 essential offices and organizations such as police, fire, and 42 medical facilities. 43 (b) All persons should have basic telecommunications 44 services available to them at reasonable and affordable costs. 45 (c) A significant portion of Florida’s deaf, hard-of 46 hearing,hearingimpairedand speech-impairedspeech impaired47 populations has profound disabilities, including dual sensory 48 impairments, which render normal telephone or mobile wireless 49 equipment useless without additional specialized 50 telecommunications devices, many of which cost several hundred 51 dollars. 52 (d) The telecommunications system is intended to provide 53 access to a basic communications network between all persons, 54 and that many persons who have a hearing lossimpairmentor 55 speech impairment do not currently havenoaccess to the basic 56 telecommunications system. 57 (e) Persons who do not have a hearing lossimpairmentor 58 speech impairment are generally excluded from access to the 59 basic telecommunications system to communicate with persons who 60 have a hearing lossimpairmentor speech impairment without the 61 use of specialized telecommunications devices. 62 (f) There exists a need for a telecommunications relay 63 system whereby the cost for access to basic telecommunications 64 services for persons who have a hearing lossimpairmentor 65 speech impairment is no greater than the amount paid by other 66 telecommunications customers. 67 (g) The Federal Government, in order to carry out the 68 purposes established by Title II of the Communications Act of 69 1934, as amended, by the enactment of the Americans with 70 Disabilities Act, endeavored to ensure that interstate and 71 intrastate telecommunications relay services are available, to 72 the extent possible and in the most efficient manner, to deaf, 73 hard-of-hearing,hearingimpairedand speech-impairedspeech74impairedpersons in the United States. 75 (h) Title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act 76 mandates that the telecommunications companies providing 77 telephone services within the state shall provide 78 telecommunications relay services on or before July 25, 1993, to 79 persons who are deaf, hard of hearing,impairedor speech 80 impaired within their certificated territories in a manner that 81 meets or exceeds the requirements of regulations to be 82 prescribed by the Federal Communications Commission. 83 (i) The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility 84 Act of 2010 mandates additional safeguards ensuring that persons 85 who have a hearing loss are able to access Internet-based and 86 digital communications. 87 (2) It is the declared purpose of this part to establish a 88 system whereby the residentscitizensof Florida who are deaf, 89 hard of hearingimpaired, speech impaired, or dual sensory 90 impaired have access to basic telecommunications services at a 91 cost no greater than that paid by other telecommunications 92 services customers, and whereby the cost of specialized 93 telecommunications equipment necessary to ensure that residents 94citizenswho are deaf, hard of hearingimpaired, speech 95 impaired, or dual sensory impaired have access to basic 96 telecommunications services and the provision of 97 telecommunications relay service is borne by all the 98 telecommunications customers of the state. 99 (3) It is the intent of the Legislature: 100 (a) That a telecommunications access system be established 101 to provide equitable basic access to the telecommunications 102 network for persons who are deaf, hard of hearingimpaired, 103 speech impaired, or dual sensory impaired. 104 (b) That the telecommunications access system includes a 105 telecommunications relay service system that meets or exceeds 106 the certification requirements of the Federal Communications 107 Commission. 108 (c) That the telecommunications access system includes the 109 distribution of telecommunications devices for the deaf which 110thatare compatible with the telecommunications relay service 111 system and has the capability of incorporating new technologies 112 as they develop. 113 (d) That the telecommunications access system includes the 114 distribution of specialized telecommunications devices necessary 115 for deaf, hard-of-hearinghearing impaired, speech-impaired 116speech impaired, or dual sensory-impairedsensory impaired117 persons to access basic telecommunications services. 118 (e) That the telecommunications access system ensures that 119 users of the telecommunications relay service system pay rates 120 no greater than the rates paid for functionally equivalent voice 121 communications services. 122 (f) That the telecommunications access system be as cost 123 efficient as possible without diminishing the effectiveness or 124 the quality of the system. 125 (g) That the telecommunications access system uses state 126 of-the-art technology for specialized telecommunications devices 127 and the telecommunications relay service and encourages the 128 incorporation of new developments in technology, to the extent 129 that it has demonstrated benefits consistent with the intent of 130 this act and is in the best interest of the residentscitizens131 of this state. 132 (h) That the value of the involvement of persons who are 133 deaf, hard ofhavehearing, or speech impairedimpairments, and 134 organizations representing or serving those persons, be 135 recognized and such persons and organizations be involved 136 throughout the development, establishment, and implementation of 137 the telecommunications access system through participation on 138 the advisory committee as provided in s. 427.706. 139 (i) That the total cost of providing telecommunications 140 relay services and distributing specialized telecommunications 141 devices be spread equitably among and collected from customers 142 of all local exchange telecommunications companies and 143 commercial mobile radio service providers. 144 Section 2. Subsections (3), (5), (6), (11), (12), (13), and 145 (16) of section 427.703, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 146 427.703 Definitions.—As used in this part: 147 (3) “Deaf” means having a severepermanenthearing loss 148 that makes it difficult to understand speech through listening 149 with or without an auditory device. Some deaf individuals may 150 depend on visual or tactile methods, or both, to communicate 151impairment and being unable to discriminate speech sounds in152verbal communication, with or without the assistance of153amplification devices. 154 (5) “Hard of hearing” means having a severepermanent155 hearing loss that interferes with the ability to process 156 linguistic information through audition with or without an 157 auditory device. A hard-of-hearing individual may depend on 158 hearing and assistive devices or visual methods, or both, to 159 communicateimpairment which is severe enough to necessitate the160use of amplification devices to discriminate speech sounds in161verbal communication. 162 (6) “Hearing lossimpaired” or “having a hearing loss 163impairment” means deaf or hard of hearing and, for purposes of 164 this part, includes being dual sensory impaired. 165 (11) “Specialized telecommunications device” means a 166 telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD)TDD, an amplified 167 telephone, a captioned telephonea volume control handset, a 168 ring signaling device, a mobile wireless device such as a 169 cellular telephone designed for deaf or hard-of-hearing persons, 170 or any other customer premises telecommunications equipment 171 specifically designed or used to provide basic access to 172 telecommunications services for a deaf, hard-of-hearinghearing173impaired, speech-impairedspeech impaired, or dual sensory 174 impairedsensory impairedperson. 175 (12) “Surcharge” means an additional charge thatwhichis 176to bepaid by the subscribers of a local exchange 177 telecommunications company or a commercial mobile radio service 178 providersubscriberspursuant to the cost-recoverycost recovery179 mechanism established under s. 427.704(4) in order to implement 180 the system described in this partherein. 181 (13) “Telecommunications company” includes every 182 corporation, partnership, and person and their lessees, 183 trustees, or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever, and 184 every political subdivision of the state, offering two-way 185 telecommunications service to the public for hire within this 186 state by the use of a telecommunications facility. The term 187“telecommunications company”does not include an entity that 188whichprovides a telecommunications facility exclusively to a 189 certificated telecommunications company, but may includeora 190 specialized mobile radio service operator, a private radio 191 carrier, a radio common carrier, a cellular radio 192 telecommunications carrier, or a cable television company 193 providing cable service as defined in 47 U.S.C. s. 522. 194 (16) “Telecommunications relay service” means any 195 telecommunications transmission service that allows a person who 196 is deaf, hard of hearing,impairedor speech impaired to 197 communicate by wire, wireless, or radio in a manner that is 198 functionally equivalent to the ability of a person who is not 199 deaf, hard of hearing,impairedor speech impaired. TheSuch200 term includes any service that enables two-way communication 201 between a person who uses a telecommunications device or other 202 nonaudiononvoiceterminal device and a person who does not use 203 such a device. 204 Section 3. Subsection (1), paragraph (a) of subsection (3), 205 and subsections (4) and (5) of section 427.704, Florida 206 Statutes, are amended to read: 207 427.704 Powers and duties of the commission.— 208 (1) The commission shall establish, implement, promote, and 209 oversee the administration of a statewide telecommunications 210 access system to provide access to telecommunications relay 211 services by persons who are deaf, hard of hearing,impairedor 212 speech impaired, or others who communicate with them. The 213 telecommunications access system shall provide for the purchase 214 and distribution of specialized telecommunications devices and 215 the establishment of statewide single provider 216 telecommunications relay service system thatwhichoperates 217 continuously. To provide telecommunications relay services and 218 distribute specialized telecommunication devices to persons who 219 are deaf, hard of hearing,impairedor speech impaired, at a 220 reasonable cost the commission shall: 221 (a) Investigate, conduct public hearings, and solicit the 222 advice and counsel of the advisory committee established 223 pursuant to s. 427.706 to determine the most cost-effective 224 method for providing telecommunications relay service and 225 distributing specialized telecommunications devices. 226 (b) Ensure that users of the telecommunications relay 227 service system pay rates no greater than the rates paid for 228 functionally equivalent voice communication services with 229 respect to such factors as duration of the call, time of day, 230 and distance from the point of origination to the point of 231 termination. 232 (c) Ensure that the telecommunications access system 233 protects the privacy of persons to whom services are provided 234 and that all operators maintain the confidentiality of all relay 235 service messages. 236 (d) Ensure that the telecommunications relay service system 237 complies with regulations adopted by the Federal Communications 238 Commission to implement Title IV of the Americans with 239 Disabilities Act. 240 (3)(a) The commission shall select the provider of the 241 telecommunications relay service pursuant to procedures 242 established by the commission. In selecting the service 243 provider, the commission shall take into consideration the cost 244 of providing the relay service and the interests of the deaf, 245 hard-of-hearing,hearing impairedand speech-impairedspeech246impairedcommunity in having access to a high-quality and 247 technologically advanced telecommunications system. The 248 commission shall award the contract to the bidder whose proposal 249 is the most advantageous to the state, taking into consideration 250 the following: 251 1. The appropriateness and accessibility of the proposed 252 telecommunications relay service for the residentscitizensof 253 the state, including persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, 254impairedor speech impaired. 255 2. The overall quality of the proposed telecommunications 256 relay service. 257 3. The charges for the proposed telecommunications relay 258 service system. 259 4. The ability and qualifications of the bidder to provide 260 the proposed telecommunications relay service as outlined in the 261 request for proposals. 262 5. Any proposed service enhancements and technological 263 enhancements thatwhichimprove service without significantly 264 increasing cost. 265 6. Any proposed inclusion of provision of assistance to 266 deaf persons with special needs to access the basic 267 telecommunications system. 268 7. The ability to meet the proposed commencement date for 269 the telecommunications relay service. 270 8. All other factors listed in the request for proposals. 271 (4)(a) The commission shall establish a mechanism to 272 recover the costs of implementing and maintaining the services 273 required pursuant to this part, which shall be applied to each 274 basic telecommunications access line. In establishing the 275 recovery mechanism, the commission shall: 276 1. Require all local exchange telecommunications companies 277 and commercial mobile radio service providers to impose a 278 monthly surcharge on theirall local exchange telecommunications279companysubscribers on an individual access line basis, except 280 that such surcharge mayshallnot be imposed upon more than 25 281 basic telecommunications access lines per account bill rendered. 282 2. Require all local exchange telecommunications companies 283 and commercial mobile radio service providers to include the 284 surcharge as a part of the local service charge that appears on 285 the customer’s bill, except that the local exchange 286 telecommunications company or commercial mobile radio service 287 provider shall specify the surcharge on the initial bill to the 288 subscriber and itemize it at least once annually. 289 3. Allow the local exchange telecommunications company or 290 commercial mobile radio service provider to deduct and retain 1 291 percent of the total surcharge amount collected each month to 292 recover the billing, collecting, remitting, and administrative 293 costs attributed to the surcharge. 294 (b) The commission shall determine the amount of the 295 surcharge based upon the amount of funding necessary to 296 accomplish the purposes of this act and provide the services on 297 an ongoing basis; however, in no case shall the amount exceed 25 298 cents per line per month. 299 (c) All moneys received by the local exchange 300 telecommunications company or commercial mobile radio service 301 provider, less the amount retained as authorized by subparagraph 302 (4)(a)3., shall be remitted to the administrator for deposit in 303 appropriate financial institutions regulated under state or 304 federal law and used exclusively to fund the telecommunications 305 access system provided for in this partherein. 306 (d) The surcharge collected by the local exchange 307 telecommunications companies and commercial mobile radio service 308 providers is not subject to any sales, use, franchise, income, 309 municipal utility, gross receipts, or any other tax, fee, or 310 assessment, nor shall it be considered revenue of the local 311 exchange telecommunications companies or commercial mobile radio 312 service providers for any purpose. 313 (e) From the date of implementing the surcharge, the 314 commission shall review the amount of the surcharge at least 315 annually and shall order changes in the amount of the surcharge 316 as necessary to ensureassureavailable funds for the provision 317 of the telecommunications access system established in this part 318herein. IfWherethe review of the surcharge determines that 319 excess funds are available, the commission may order the 320 suspension of the surcharge for a period thatwhichthe 321 commission deems appropriate. 322 (5) The commission shall require each local exchange 323 telecommunications company and commercial mobile radio service 324 provider to begin assessing and collecting the surcharge in the 325 amount of 5 cents per access line per month on bills rendered on 326 or after July 1, 20121991, for remission to the administrator 327 for deposit in the operational fund. Each local exchange 328 telecommunications company and commercial mobile radio service 329 provider shall remit moneys collected to the administrator. On 330 August 15, 20121991, each local exchange telecommunications 331 company and commercial mobile radio service provider shall begin 332 remitting the moneys collected to the administrator on a monthly 333 basis and in a manner as prescribed by the commission. The 334 administrator shall use such moneys to cover costs incurred 335 during the development of the telecommunications relay services 336 and to establish and administer the specialized 337 telecommunications devices system. 338 Section 4. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1), subsections (3) 339 and (4), paragraph (a) of subsection (5), and subsections (6) 340 and (7) of section 427.705, Florida Statutes, are amended to 341 read: 342 427.705 Administration of the telecommunications access 343 system.— 344 (1) Consistent with the provisions of this act and rules 345 and regulations established by the commission, the administrator 346 shall: 347 (d) Establish and maintain an operational fund with 348 appropriate financial institutions regulated under state or 349 federal law, and receive moneys from the local exchange 350 telecommunications companies and commercial mobile radio service 351 providers and deposit such moneys in the operational fund. 352 (3) The administrator may apply to the commission for an 353 adjustment in the amount of the monthly surcharge that a local 354 exchange telecommunications company or commercial mobile radio 355 service provider must impose on its customers. Prior to applying 356 to the commission for such an adjustment, the commission may 357 require the administrator to employ an independent accounting 358 firm to perform an audit of the accounts of the administrator 359 and the service providers relevant to the surcharge and file a 360 report with the commission. 361 (4) In contracting for the provision of distribution of 362 specialized telecommunications devices, outreach services, and 363 training of recipients, the administrator shall consider 364 contracting with organizations that provide services to persons 365 who are deaf, hard of hearing,impairedor speech impaired. 366 (5) The administrator shall provide for the distribution of 367 specialized telecommunications devices to persons qualified to 368 receive such equipment in accordance with the provisions of this 369 act. The administrator shall establish procedures for the 370 distribution of specialized telecommunications devices and shall 371 solicit the advice and counsel and consider the recommendations 372 of the advisory committee in establishing such procedures. The 373 procedures shall: 374 (a) Provide for certification of persons as deaf, hard of 375 hearingimpaired, speech impaired, or dual sensory impaired. 376 Such certification process shall include a statement attesting 377 to such impairment by a licensed physician, audiologist, speech 378 language pathologist, hearing aid specialist, or deaf and hard 379 of-hearing service center director; by a state-certified teacher 380 of the deaf and hard of hearingimpaired; by a state-certified 381 teacher of the visually impaired; or by an appropriate state or 382 federal agency. The licensed physician, audiologist, speech 383 language pathologist, hearing aid specialist, state-certified 384 teacher of the deaf and hard of hearingimpaired, or state 385 certified teacher of the visually impaired providing statements 386 thatwhichattest to such impairments shall work within their 387 individual scopes of practice according to their education and 388 training. The deaf and hard-of-hearing service center directors 389 and appropriate state and federal agencies shall attest to such 390 impairments as provided for in the procedures developed by the 391 administrator. 392 (6) All names, addresses, and telephone numbers provided to 393 the Florida Public Service Commission or administrator by 394 applicants for specialized telecommunications devices are 395 confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1). The 396 information shall be released to contractors only to the extent 397 necessary for assignment and shipment of equipment, for 398 provision of training in the use of equipment, and for inventory 399 reconciliation purposes.NeitherThe administrator or any 400 contractor may notshallrelease this information ornoruse it 401 for any other purpose. 402 (7) The administrator shall assume responsibility for 403 distribution of specialized telecommunications devices, 404 including wireless mobile devices. 405 Section 5. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 427.706, 406 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 407 427.706 Advisory committee.— 408 (1) The commission shall appoint an advisory committee to 409 assist the commission with the administrationimplementationof 410the provisions ofthis part. The committee shall be composed of 411 no more than 1110persons and shall include, to the extent 412 practicable, the following: 413 (a) Two deaf persons recommended by the Florida Association 414 of the Deaf. 415 (b) Two hard-of-hearing personsOne hearing impaired person416 recommended by the Hearing Loss Association of FloridaSelf-Help417for the Hard of Hearing. 418 (c) One deaf and blind person recommended by the Florida 419 Deaf-Blind AssociationCoalition for Persons with Dual Sensory420Disabilities. 421 (d) One speech impaired person recommended by the Florida 422 Language Speech and Hearing Association. 423 (e) ThreeTworepresentatives of telecommunications 424 companies, one representing a local exchange telecommunications 425 company,andone representing an interexchange 426 telecommunications company, recommended by the Florida Telephone 427 Association, and one representing a commercial mobile radio 428 service provider. 429 (f) One person who haswithexperience in providing relay 430 services recommended by the Deaf Service Center Association. 431 (g) One person recommended by Disability Rights Floridathe432Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities, Inc. 433(h) One person recommended by the Florida League of434Seniors.435 (2) The advisory committee shall provide the expertise, 436 experience, and perspective of persons who are deaf, hard of 437 hearing,impairedor speech impaired to the commission and to 438 the administrator during all phases of the development and 439 operation of the telecommunications access system. The advisory 440 committee shall advise the commission and the administrator on 441 the quality and cost-effectiveness of the telecommunications 442 relay service and the specialized telecommunications devices 443 distribution system. The advisory committee may submit material 444 for inclusion in the annual report prepared pursuant to s. 445 427.704. 446 Section 6. Section 427.708, Florida Statutes, is amended to 447 read: 448 427.708 Certain public safety and health care providers 449 required to purchase and operate TDD’s or any other appropriate 450 telecommunications devices.— 451 (1) The central communications office of each county 452 sheriff’s department shall purchase and continually operate at 453 least one TDD or any other appropriate telecommunications 454 device. 455 (2)(a) The central communications office of each police 456 department and each firefighting agency in a municipality with a 457 population of 25,000 to 250,000 shall purchase and continually 458 operate at least one TDD or any other appropriate 459 telecommunications device. 460 (b) The central communications office of each police 461 department and each firefighting agency in a municipality with a 462 population exceeding 250,000 persons shall purchase and 463 continually operate at least two TDD’s or any other appropriate 464 telecommunications devices. 465 (3) Each hospital as defined in s. 395.002 shall purchase 466 and continually operate at least one TDD or any other 467 appropriate telecommunications device. 468 (4) Each emergency telephone number “911” system, as 469 provided in s. 365.171, and each agency receiving automatically 470 routed calls through such a system shall purchase and 471 continually operate at least one TDD or any other appropriate 472 telecommunications device. 473 (5) Each public safety office, health care provider, and 474 emergency telephone number “911” system required to obtain a TDD 475 or any other appropriate telecommunications device pursuant to 476 this section shall continuously operate and staff such equipment 477 on a 24-hour basis. 478 (6) Each office or organization required to purchase TDD’s 479 or any other appropriate telecommunications devices pursuant to 480 this section shall buysuchequipment thatwhichmeets the same 481 specifications as those selected by the commission. 482 (7) Each office or organization required to operate TDD’s 483 or any other appropriate telecommunications devices pursuant to 484 this section shall utilize equipment in accordance with 485 standards established by the commission. 486 (8) The Public Service Commission shall ensure on an annual 487 basis that public safety and health care providers are in 488 compliance with this section and shall submit a report that 489 includes its findings to the advisory committee established 490 under s. 427.706. 491 Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.