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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.

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Revisor of Statutes