BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 129
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Date of Hearing: June 17, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Steven Bradford, Chair
SB 129 (Wright) - As Amended: June 5, 2013
SENATE VOTE : 34-0
SUBJECT : Deaf and disabled telecommunications program
SUMMARY : Extends the sunset date on the California Public
Utilities Commission's (PUC) authority to collect a surcharge on
intrastate telephone service to fund the Deaf and Disabled
Telecommunications Program (DDTP) until January 1, 2020, and
extends the reporting requirement until January 1, 2021.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Extends the reporting requirements until January 1, 2021, and
requires the PUC to submit the report to the Legislature on or
before March 1 of each year.
2)Deletes provisions requiring PUC to expand the DDTP to include
assistance to individuals with speech disabilities, including
assistance in purchasing speech-generating devices,
accessories, and mounting systems, and specialized
telecommunications equipment.
3)Repeals the provisions that states that existing members of
the DDTP Administrative Committee should serve out their
current terms of office as members of the Committee, but not
to exceed July 1, 2003.
4)Requires the DDTP Administrative Committee to develop and
submit, not later than October 1, 2002, recommendations to PUC
for administration and governance of the deaf and disabled
programs, as prescribed.
EXISTING LAW :
1)States PUC has regulatory authority over public utilities,
including telephone corporations.
2)Requires the PUC to oversee administration of the state's
telecommunications universal service programs, including the
deaf and disabled programs, which are funded through the DDTP
Administrative Committee Fund.
3)Requires the PUC, until January 1, 2014, to establish a
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surcharge, not to exceed 0.5%, that is uniformly applied to a
subscriber's intrastate telephone service charges to allow
providers of the equipment and service provided pursuant to
the deaf and disabled programs to recover their costs.
4)Requires the PUC, until January 1, 2016, to submit a report on
the fiscal status of the programs to the Legislature on or
before December 31 of each year. The report shall include,
among other things, an evaluation of options for controlling
program expenses and program efficiency, as specified.
5)Mandates the PUC to design and implement a program to provide
access to a speech-generating telecommunications device to any
subscriber who is certified as having a speech disability at
no charge additional to the basic exchange rate.
6)Mandates the PUC to expand the DDTP to include assistance to
individuals with speech disabilities, including assistance in
purchasing speech-generating devices, accessories, and
mounting systems, and specialized telecommunications
equipment.
7)States the intent of the Legislature that existing members of
the DDTP Administrative Committee should serve out their
current terms of office as members of the committee, but not
to exceed July 1, 2003.
8)Requires the DDTP Administrative Committee to develop and
submit, no later than October 1, 2002, recommendations to the
PUC for administration and governance of the deaf and disabled
programs, as prescribed.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "thousands of Californians
find using a standard telephone challenging because of
difficulty seeing, hearing, speaking, moving or remembering.
DDTP enables these citizens to communicate, be reached by
friends and loved-ones, and to receive health and safety
impacting services connecting them by telephone to emergency,
medical, and business entities. This legislation seeks to
continue a vital program".
1)Background : In 1979, legislation was enacted codifying the
PUC's existing program for
providing specialized equipment to the deaf and hard of hearing.
Specifically, the statute mandated that the PUC design and
implement a program to provide telecommunication devices to deaf
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and hard-of hearing consumers. The program currently provides
service in three general categories: (1) specialized
telecommunications devices for deaf and hard-of-hearing
individuals; (2) dual-party relay system to connect deaf and
hard-of-hearing individuals to hearing parties; and (3)
specialized telecommunications equipment to individuals with
hearing, vision, mobility, speech and cognitive disabilities.
DDTP is administered and operated by the PUC with advisory input
from two advisory boards and with program services and equipment
provided by vendors under contract with PUC. The California
Telephone Access Program distributes equipment to individuals
who are certified as eligible by specified health care
professionals. The California Relay Service is a dual party
relay system with operators that connect a user of specialized
telecommunications devices with any other telephone user.
2)DDTP funding : DDTP is funded by an all-end-user surcharge on
intrastate telephone service
including traditional wireline, Voice over Internet Protocol and
wireless service phone bills. The surcharge is billed and
collected by telecommunications carriers which, in turn, remit
the surcharge monies to a financial institution as directed by
the Commission or its representatives. The PUC is authorized to
adjust the surcharge to meet program expenses. It currently is
set at 0.20 percent.
On January 10, 2013, the Department of Finance, Office of State
Audits and Evaluations released a performance audit of the PUC
that identified significant weaknesses with the PUC's budget
operation which negatively affect the PUC's ability to prepare
and present reliable and accurate budget information. The DDTP
Administrative Fund was one of the funds highlighted by the
audit and its budget numbers continue to be reviewed and
adjusted.
The PUC notes the following program expenditures for the past
several years:
Fiscal Year Total Expenditures
2008-09 $69.5 million
2009-10 $60.1 million
2010-11 $66 million
2011-12 $68.6 million
3)Program expansion : As required by AB 136 (Beall, Chapter 404,
Statutes of 2011), the
PUC currently is developing rules, to be effective January 1,
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2014, for the program to provide access to a speech-generating
device to individuals with a certified speech disability. The
PUC reports that initial workshops are underway and projects a
final decision to be released later this year.
In light of the recent DDTP expansion, SB 129 seeks to extend
the sunset date on the PUC's authority to collect the surcharge
from January 1, 2014 to January 1, 2020. Interested stakeholders
support this extension because it will ensure that people who
are challenged using a standard telephone because of difficulty
seeing, hearing, speaking, moving or remembering continue to
receive health and safety impacting services connecting them by
telephone to emergency, medical , business and other entities.
Absent this extension, the surcharge will expire and there will
be no funds to continue to provide state mandated DDTP services,
thus impacting the health and safety of Deaf Disabled persons
needing to communicate by telephone. In addition, the state
would be out of compliance with federally mandated American
Disabilities Act.
To ensure DDTP transparency and accountability, the bill
requires the PUC to submit an annual report to the Legislature
on the fiscal status and to include recommendations for any
modification to the program in order to maximize participation
and funding opportunities under similar federal programs.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Communications Association (CalCom)
California Speech-Language-Hearing Association (CSHA)
California's Independent Telecommunications Companies (CITC)
Consumer Federation of California (CFC)
Division of Ratepayer Advocates (DRA)
SureWest Communications (SureWest)
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : DaVina Flemings / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083