SF 1542

as introduced - 79th Legislature (1995 - 1996) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to telecommunications; imposing TACIP fee on 
  1.3             cellular telephone users; requiring that a person must 
  1.4             be able to use a communication device to be eligible 
  1.5             to get it; restricting eligibility for communication 
  1.6             device for communication-impaired person in a 
  1.7             residential care facility when the facility already 
  1.8             provides or is required to provide comparable 
  1.9             telephone service; abolishing restriction on TACIP 
  1.10            board for contracting for operation of the 
  1.11            telecommunication relay system; amending Minnesota 
  1.12            Statutes 1994, sections 237.52, subdivision 3; 237.53, 
  1.13            subdivision 2; and 237.54, subdivision 2. 
  1.14  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.15     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 237.52, 
  1.16  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  1.17     Subd. 3.  [COLLECTION.] Every telephone company providing 
  1.18  local service or communications carrier that provides service 
  1.19  capable of originating a telecommunications relay call, 
  1.20  including cellular communications and other nonwire access 
  1.21  services, in this state shall collect the charges established by 
  1.22  the commission under subdivision 2 and transfer amounts 
  1.23  collected to the commissioner of administration in the same 
  1.24  manner as provided in section 403.11, subdivision 1, paragraph 
  1.25  (c).  The commissioner of administration must deposit the 
  1.26  receipts in the fund established in subdivision 1. 
  1.27     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 237.53, 
  1.28  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.29     Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBILITY.] To be eligible to obtain a 
  2.1   communication device under this section, a person must be: 
  2.2      (1) at least five years of age able to benefit from and 
  2.3   eventually use the equipment for its intended purpose; 
  2.4      (2) communication impaired; 
  2.5      (3) a resident of the state; 
  2.6      (4) a resident in a household that has a median income at 
  2.7   or below the applicable median household income in the state, 
  2.8   except a deaf and blind person applying for a telebraille unit 
  2.9   may reside in a household that has a median income no more than 
  2.10  150 percent of the applicable median household income in the 
  2.11  state; and 
  2.12     (5) a resident in a household that has telephone service or 
  2.13  that has made application for service and has been assigned a 
  2.14  telephone number; and 
  2.15     (6) a resident in a household where telephone service is 
  2.16  not included as part of overall service provision of a 
  2.17  residential care facility, such as a nursing home or group home. 
  2.18     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 237.54, 
  2.19  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  2.20     Subd. 2.  [OPERATION.] The board shall contract with a 
  2.21  local consumer organization that serves communication-impaired 
  2.22  persons for operation of the telecommunication relay system.  
  2.23  The board may contract with other than a local consumer 
  2.24  organization if the board finds by at least a two-thirds 
  2.25  majority vote that no local consumer organization is available 
  2.26  to enter into or perform a reasonable contract to operate a 
  2.27  telecommunications relay system.  The operator of the system 
  2.28  shall keep all messages confidential, shall train personnel in 
  2.29  the unique needs of communication-impaired people, and shall 
  2.30  inform communication-impaired persons and the public of the 
  2.31  availability and use of the system.  The operator shall not 
  2.32  relay a message unless it originates or terminates through a 
  2.33  communication device for the deaf or a Brailling device for use 
  2.34  with a telephone.