Minnesota Legislature
Office of the Revisor of Statutes
Minnesota Session Laws - 1995, Regular Session
Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language
CHAPTER 190-S.F.No. 910
An act relating to telecommunications; eliminating the
telecommunication access for communication-impaired
persons board; creating telecommunication access
duties for the departments of public service and human
services; specifying the membership of regional
service for deaf and hard of hearing advisory
committees; amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections
237.50, subdivision 4; 237.51, subdivisions 1, 5, and
by adding a subdivision; 237.52, subdivisions 2, 4,
and 5; 237.53, subdivisions 1, 3, 5, and 7; 237.54,
subdivision 2; 237.55; and 256C.24, subdivision 3;
repealing Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 237.50,
subdivision 2; 237.51, subdivisions 2, 3, 4, and 6;
and 237.54, subdivision 1.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 237.50,
subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. [COMMUNICATION DEVICE.] "Communication device"
means a device that when connected to a telephone enables a
communication-impaired person to communicate with another person
utilizing the telephone system. A "communication device"
includes a ring signaler, an amplification device, a telephone
device for the deaf, a Brailling device for use with a
telephone, and any other device the board department of human
services deems necessary.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 237.51,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [CREATION.] The telecommunication access
for communication-impaired persons board is established to
establish and department of public service shall administer
through interagency agreement with the department of human
services a program to distribute communication devices to
eligible communication-impaired persons and contract with a
local consumer group that serves communication-impaired persons
to create and maintain a telecommunication relay service. For
purposes of sections 237.51 to 237.56, the department of public
service and any organization with which it contracts pursuant to
this section or section 237.54, subdivision 2, are not telephone
companies or telecommunications carriers as defined in section
237.01.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 237.51,
subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. [DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE DUTIES.] In
addition to any duties specified elsewhere in sections 237.51 to
237.56, the board department of public service shall:
(1) define economic hardship, special needs, and household
criteria so as to determine the priority of eligible applicants
for initial distribution of devices and to determine
circumstances necessitating provision of more than one
communication device per household;
(2) establish a method to verify eligibility requirements;
(3) establish specifications for communication devices to
be purchased under section 237.53, subdivision 3;
(4) enter contracts for the establishment and operation of
the telecommunication relay service pursuant to section 237.54;
(5) inform the public and specifically the community of
communication-impaired persons of the program;
(6) prepare the reports required by section 237.55;
(7) (2) administer the fund created in section 237.52; and
(8) reestablish and fill the position of program
administrator whose position is in the unclassified service and
establish and fill other positions in the classified service
required to conduct the business of the board;
(9) (3) adopt rules, including emergency rules, under
chapter 14 to implement the provisions of sections 237.50 to
237.56.; and
(10) notwithstanding any provision of chapter 16B, develop
guidelines for the purchase of some communication devices from
local retailers and dispensers if the board determines that
otherwise they will be economically harmed by implementation of
sections 237.50 to 237.56.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 237.51, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 5a. [DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES; DUTIES.] (a) In
addition to any duties specified elsewhere in sections 237.51 to
237.56, the department of human services shall:
(1) define economic hardship, special needs, and household
criteria so as to determine the priority of eligible applicants
for initial distribution of devices and to determine
circumstances necessitating provision of more than one
communication device per household;
(2) establish a method to verify eligibility requirements;
(3) establish specifications for communication devices to
be purchased under section 237.53, subdivision 3;
(4) inform the public and specifically the community of
communication-impaired persons of the program; and
(5) notwithstanding any provision of chapter 16B, develop
guidelines for the purchase of some communication devices from
local retailers and dispensers if the department determines that
otherwise they will be economically harmed by implementation of
sections 237.50 to 237.56.
(b) The department may establish an advisory board to
advise the department in carrying out the duties specified in
this section and to advise the department of public service in
carrying out its duties under section 237.54. If so
established, the advisory board must include, at a minimum, the
following communication-impaired persons:
(1) at least one member who is deaf;
(2) at least one member who is speech impaired;
(3) at least one member who is mobility impaired; and
(4) at least one member who is hard-of-hearing.
The membership terms, compensation, and removal of members
and the filling of membership vacancies are governed by section
15.059. Advisory board meetings shall be held at the discretion
of the commissioner.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 237.52,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [ASSESSMENT.] The board department of public
service shall annually recommend to the commission an adequate
and appropriate mechanism surcharge and budget to implement
sections 237.50 to 237.56. The public utilities commission
shall review the board's budget for reasonableness and may
modify the budget to the extent it is unreasonable. The
commission shall annually determine the funding mechanism to be
used within 60 days of receipt of the recommendation of
the program administrator department and shall order the
imposition of surcharges effective on the earliest practicable
date. The commission shall establish a monthly charge no
greater than 20 cents for each customer access line, including
trunk equivalents as designated by the commission pursuant to
section 403.11, subdivision 1.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 237.52,
subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. [APPROPRIATION.] Money in the fund is
appropriated to the board department of public service to
implement sections 237.51 to 237.56.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 237.52,
subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. [EXPENDITURES.] Money in the fund may only be
used for:
(1) expenses of the board department of public service,
including personnel cost, public relations, advisory board
members' expenses, preparation of reports, and other reasonable
expenses not to exceed 20 10 percent of total program
expenditures;
(2) reimbursing the commissioner of human services for
purchases made or services provided pursuant to section 237.53;
(3) reimbursing telephone companies for purchases made or
services provided under section 237.53, subdivision 5; and
(4) contracting for establishment and operation of the
telecommunication relay service required by section 237.54.
All costs directly associated with the establishment of the
board and program, the purchase and distribution of
communication devices, and the establishment and operation of
the telecommunication relay service are either reimbursable or
directly payable from the fund after authorization by the
board department of public service. The department of public
service shall contract with the message relay service operator
to indemnify the local exchange carriers of the relay service
for any fines imposed by the Federal Communications Commission
related to the failure of the relay service to comply with
federal service standards. Notwithstanding section 16A.41,
the board department of public service may advance money to the
contractor of the telecommunication relay service if the
contractor establishes to the board's department's satisfaction
that the advance payment is necessary for the operation of the
service. The advance payment may be used only for working
capital reserve for the operation of the service. The advance
payment must be offset or repaid by the end of the contract
fiscal year together with interest accrued from the date of
payment.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 237.53,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [APPLICATION.] A person applying for a
communication device under this section must apply to the
program administrator on a form prescribed by the board
department of human services.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 237.53,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [DISTRIBUTION.] The commissioner of human
services shall purchase and distribute a sufficient number of
communication devices so that each eligible household receives
an appropriate device. The commissioner of human services shall
distribute the devices to eligible households in each service
area free of charge as directed by the board determined under
section 237.51, subdivision 5 5a.
Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 237.53,
subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. [WIRING INSTALLATION.] If a
communication-impaired person is not served by telephone service
and is subject to economic hardship as determined by the board
department of human services, the telephone company providing
local service shall at the direction of the administrator of the
program install necessary outside wiring without charge to the
household.
Sec. 11. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 237.53,
subdivision 7, is amended to read:
Subd. 7. [STANDARDS.] The communication devices
distributed under this section must comply with the electronic
industries association standards and approved by the Federal
Communications Commission. The commissioner of human services
must provide each eligible person a choice of several models of
devices, the retail value of which may not exceed $600 for a
communication device for the deaf, and a retail value of $7,000
for a telebraille device, or an amount authorized by the board
department of human services for a telephone device for the deaf
with auxiliary equipment.
Sec. 12. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 237.54,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [OPERATION.] The board department of public
service shall contract with a local consumer organization that
serves communication-impaired persons for operation and
maintenance of the telecommunication relay system. The
board department may contract with other than a local consumer
organization if the board finds by at least a two-thirds
majority vote that no local consumer organization is available
to enter into or perform a reasonable contract to operate a
telecommunications relay system or the only available consumer
organization fails to comply with terms of a contract. The
operator of the system shall keep all messages confidential,
shall train personnel in the unique needs of
communication-impaired people, and shall inform
communication-impaired persons and the public of the
availability and use of the system. The operator shall not
relay a message unless it originates or terminates through a
communication device for the deaf or a Brailling device for use
with a telephone.
Sec. 13. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 237.55, is
amended to read:
237.55 [REPORTS; PLANS.]
The board department of public service must prepare a
report for presentation to the commission by January 31 of each
year. Each report must review the accessibility of the
telephone system to communication-impaired persons, review the
ability of non-communication-impaired persons to communicate
with communication-impaired persons via the telephone system,
describe services provided, account for money received and
disbursed annually for each aspect of the program to date, and
include predicted future operation.
Sec. 14. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 256C.24,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [ADVISORY COMMITTEE.] The commissioner of human
services shall appoint an advisory committee of eight nine
persons for each regional service center area. Members shall
include persons who are deaf and hard of hearing, persons who
are communication-impaired, parents of children who are deaf and
hard of hearing, parents of communication-impaired children, and
representatives of county and regional human services, including
representatives of private service providers. At least 50
percent of the members must be deaf or hard of hearing or
communication-impaired. Committee members shall serve for a
three-year term and shall serve no more than two consecutive
terms. The commissioner of human services shall designate one
member as chair. The commissioner of human services shall
assign staff to serve as ex officio members of the committee.
The compensation, removal of members, and filling of vacancies
on the committee shall be as provided in section 15.0575.
Sec. 15. [TACIP BOARD, ABOLISHMENT; TRANSFER OF DUTIES.]
The telecommunications access for communication-impaired
persons board is abolished. The responsibilities of the board
are transferred to the departments of public service and human
services pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 15.039, and
sections 1 to 13, except that section 15.039, subdivision 7,
applies only to the classified positions.
Sec. 16. [REPORT.]
The department of public service shall make a report to the
legislature by February 15, 1997, comparing:
(1) the telecommunication relay system management
performance of the telecommunication access for
communication-impaired persons board and the system's relay
operator for 1994; and
(2) the telecommunication relay system management
performance of the department of public service and the system's
relay operator for 1996.
Sec. 17. [REPEALER.]
Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 237.50, subdivision 2;
237.51, subdivisions 2, 3, 4, and 6; and 237.54, subdivision 1,
are repealed.
Sec. 18. [EFFECTIVE DATE.]
This act is effective July 1, 1995.
Presented to the governor May 17, 1995
Signed by the governor May 19, 1995, 2:40 p.m.
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes