BILL ANALYSIS � 1
SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
ALEX PADILLA, CHAIR
AB 136 - Beall Hearing Date:
June 21, 2011 A
As Amended: June 14, 2011 FISCAL B
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DESCRIPTION
Current law requires the California Public Utilities Commission
(CPUC) 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.
Current law requires the CPUC 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.
Current law requires the CPUC 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.
Current law 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
CPUC.
Current law authorizes the CPUC 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.
This bill requires the CPUC to expand the deaf and disabled
program 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.
This bill requires the CPUC 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.
This bill requires the CPUC 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.
Current law requires the CPUC 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.
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 CPUC 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 author,
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 CPUC 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
1. Author's Purpose . According to the author, 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."
2. Focus on Telecommunications Equipment . Ensuring that
persons with disabilities can utilize the
telecommunications network is consistent with the long-held
principle of universal service. However, the language of
this bill requiring the CPUC to provide speech-generating
devices to persons with speech disabilities is both
extremely open-ended and overly prescriptive in the types
of devices included. It mandates that a specific list of
devices be funded, including "accessories" and "speaker
phones," regardless of whether their primary purpose is for
daily life other than communicating on the telephone.
Moreover, the bill mandates the CPUC to provide "the
appropriate equipment consistent with the recommendation of
a licensed speech-language pathologist" and "consistent
with the economy, efficiency, and quality of equipment that
is available for purchase in the state." The CPUC should
not be bound by the recommendation of one speech-language
pathologist but instead have flexibility so long as the
device provided meets the individual's needs. In order to
ensure that the deaf and disabled program remains focused
on providing eligible persons only telecommunications
equipment, the author and committee may wish to consider
amending the bill to require instead that the CPUC provide
a person certified as having a speech disability with a
speech-generating device that is a telecommunications
device or includes a telecommunications component and that
the CPUC, in determining the appropriate device, shall
consider the recommendation of a licensed speech-language
pathologist and ensure that the device is of high quality.
3. Require Insurance Coverage First . This bill also
requires the CPUC to fund speech generating devices
regardless of whether they are covered by public or private
insurance. The author and DynaVox claim that only about 130
to 260 people will need devices from the CPUC because
third-party funding from Medi-Cal, Medi-Care, or private
insurance is available for most users. However, the the
bill does not make unavailability of third-party funding a
condition for getting a free device from the CPUC. It is
possible that obtaining a free device from the CPUC will be
preferred, especially if there is a cap on the amount of
reimbursement for these devices from insurers. Thus, the
author and committee may wish to consider amending the bill
to authorize the CPUC, prior to providing a person
certified as having a speech disability with a
speech-generating device, to require that person to
demonstrate that coverage from public or private insurance
has been denied or is unavailable.
4. Custom Devices Require Flexibility . Because each
speech-generating device is customized for the user, and
state contracting of individual items is burdensome,
requiring the CPUC to procure each device and then provide
it to eligible persons may not be cost-effective. The
author indicates that this bill gives the CPUC flexibility
to either obtain and provide a device directly to an
eligible person or provide a cash payment or reimbursement
to the eligible person for obtaining the device in the
commercial market, whichever method is cost-effective and
ensures that the person obtains the device.
5. Ratepayer Impact . Because the deaf and disabled program
is funded entirely by a telephone customer surcharge, any
expansion of the program will increase costs and ratepayer
impact. It is unclear what the total cost of the
requirements of this bill will be. Current law requires
that the CPUC's annual report on the deaf and disabled
program evaluate options for controlling program costs,
including establishing a means test for eligibility. The
surcharge for the current program sunsets on January 1,
2014. Thus, the author and committee may wish to consider
amending the bill to require that at least one annual
report issued prior to any reauthorization of the surcharge
evaluate options for controlling program costs of providing
speech-generating equipment.
ASSEMBLY VOTES
Assembly Floor (77-1)
Assembly Appropriations Committee (17-0)
Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee
(15-0)
POSITIONS
Sponsor:
California ALS Advocacy Committee
Support:
The Arc
California Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Disability Rights California
DynaVox Technologies
Occupational Therapy Association of California
United Cerebral Palsy in California
United States Society for Augmentative and Alternative
Communication
Oppose:
None on file
Jacqueline Kinney
AB 136 Analysis
Hearing Date: June 21, 2011