BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 136| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 136 Author: Beall (D), et al. Amended: 9/2/11 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES & COMMUNIC. COMM : 8-0, 06/21/11 AYES: Padilla, Fuller, Berryhill, Corbett, De León, DeSaulnier, Rubio, Simitian NO VOTE RECORDED: Pavley, Strickland, Wright SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 9-0, 08/25/11 AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Emmerson, Lieu, Pavley, Price, Runner, Steinberg ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-1, 05/31/11 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Telecommunications: universal service: speech disabilities SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill expands the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program (DDTP) to include assistance to individuals with speech disabilities, by January 1, 2014. Senate Floor Amendments of 9/2/11 specify January 1, 2014, as the deadline for the PUC to adopt the regulations required by this bill. CONTINUED AB 136 Page 2 ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1.Requires the PUC to design and implement a universal service program to provide a telecommunications device or dual-party relay system to enable persons who are deaf or hearing impaired to use the telecommunications network at no charge additional to the basic exchange rate. 2.Requires the PUC to design and implement a program to provide specialized or supplemental telephone communications equipment to subscribers who are disabled at no charge additional to the basic exchange rate. 3.Requires the PUC to recover the costs of the deaf and disabled universal service program through a customer surcharge of not more than one-half of 1 percent of charges for intrastate telephone service, effective until January 1, 2014. 4.Requires that persons eligible for these programs be certified as deaf or hearing impaired by a licensed physician and surgeon, audiologist, licensed hearing aid dispenser, or physician assistant, or certified as disabled with a visual or medical need for specialized telecommunications equipment by a licensed optometrist, physician and surgeon, physician assistant or a qualified state or federal agency, as determined by the PUC. 5.Authorizes the PUC to expand the deaf and disabled program consistent with evolving telecommunications technology in order to meet the access needs of individuals with functional limitations on hearing, vision, movement, manipulation and interpretation of information. 6.Requires the PUC to submit an annual report to the Legislature on the deaf and disabled program with an evaluation of options for controlling program expenses, including establishing a means test for qualifying for the program. This bill: 1.Requires the PUC to expand the deaf and disabled program AB 136 Page 3 to include assistance to individuals with speech disabilities that impair access to and use of the telephone network and ensure funding for speech-generating devices, accessories, and mounting systems and specialized telecommunications equipment, including infrared telephones, speaker phones, and telephone interface devices. 2.Requires the PUC to evaluate options for controlling the program costs of providing speech-generating devices, as part of an existing report to the Legislature. 3.Requires the PUC to ensure that eligibility for speech-generating devices is limited to state residents who are certified as speech impaired by a licensed physician, licensed speech-language pathologist, or qualified state or federal agency. 4.Requires the PUC to provide appropriate speech-generating equipment consistent with the recommendation of a licensed speech-language pathologist and with the economy, efficiency, and quality of equipment available for purchase in the state. 5.Requires the PUC to be the provider of last resort and limit device costs to the Medi-Cal rate. Background Current Deaf and Disabled Program . The deaf and disabled program is one of several universal service programs designed to ensure that affordable telecommunications service is ubiquitously available to all members of society. Under this program, the PUC provides deaf and disabled Californians with a "telecommunications device" or "specialized telecommunications equipment" and relay services that enable communications via telephone. Program services and equipment are provided to eligible persons by vendors under contract with the CPUC. The CPUC also conducts pilot programs with new technologies, including a current pilot involving wireless phones for the hearing impaired. Devices for Speech Disabilities . According to the AB 136 Page 4 author's office, devices currently provided through the deaf and disabled program do not enable persons with severe speech disabilities to utilize the telephone. However, new technologies have resulted in speech-generating devices that enable telephone communication. DynaVox, a major provider of these devices and supporter of this bill, estimates that statewide demand for these devices is about 1,000 to 1,250 per year. Estimates of the cost per device range from $7,000 to $11,000. Devices Covered by Insurance . Because speech-generating devices enable communication generally, they are considered durable medical equipment and may be covered by public and private insurance. DynaVox claims the devices are covered by Medi-Cal, Medi-Care and most private insurance companies. Disability Rights California, on the other hand, claims that this specialized equipment is cost-prohibitive and not always covered by insurance or Medi-Cal. Request for PUC Pilot . In response to a request to conduct a pilot on speech-generating devices, the CPUC determined that these devices do not fit within the parameters of the deaf and disabled program because they are primarily medical equipment rather than telecommunications devices. According to the CPUC, its research revealed that, while all the speech generating devices it examined facilitated speech communication, only a subset of those devices had a telecommunications component, and none of them were designed solely for use as a telecommunications device. Moreover, the CPUC claims that speech-generating devices are customized to each user, making competitive procurement as required by state contracting procedures a complicated and lengthy process. Comments According to the author's office, this bill will help ensure that no one is prevented from making or receiving a telephone call if technology exists to make it possible. The author claims that this bill is necessary because "the CPUC has refused to make newly developed technology (e.g., speech-generating devices) available to people with the most severe communications disabilities." AB 136 Page 5 FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: Fiscal Impact (in thousands) Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund Program oversight $165 $330 $330 Special * Outside contracting for $130 $130Special * program delivery Providing devices to Potential costs of $7,000 to Special * disabled customers $9,500 per year * Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program Administrative Committee Fund. SUPPORT : (Verified 9/6/11) California ALS Advocacy Committee California Speech-Language-Hearing Association Disability Rights California Occupational Therapy Association of California The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy of California Unites States Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California ALS Advocacy Committee writes in support, "AB 136 expands the California Telephone Access Program to include individuals with speech disabilities, such as ALS, that impair the individual's access to and use of the telephone. The bill provides that the PUC shall ensure that accessories and mounting systems of speech generating devices are funded through the CTAP ÝCalifornia Telephone Access Program] program." Disability Rights California writes in support, "Many AB 136 Page 6 people with speech disabilities need specialized equipment to communicate. Purchasing this equipment can be cost prohibitive and is not always covered by insurance or Medi-Cal. Further, such equipment means individuals can function independently in the community and will not have to rely on others for assistance." ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NOES: Halderman NO VOTE RECORDED: Charles Calderon, Gorell RM:nl 9/6/11 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****