BILL ANALYSIS �
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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 Le�n,
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
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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
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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
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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."
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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
�California Telephone Access Program] program."
Disability Rights California writes in support, "Many
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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 Hern�ndez, 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 P�rez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner,
Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NOES: Halderman
NO VOTE RECORDED: Charles Calderon, Gorell
RM:nl 9/6/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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