05 LC 28
1941
Senate
Bill 91
By: Senators Adelman of the 42nd and Williams of the 19th
By: Senators Adelman of the 42nd and Williams of the 19th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Part 1A of Article 2 of Chapter 5 of Title 46 of the Official Code of
Georgia Annotated, relating to the telephone system for the physically impaired,
so as to provide for the establishment of a state_wide telecommunication system
capable of providing audible universal information access services to blind and
print disabled citizens; to authorize the Public Service Commission to contract
for the administration and operation of such system; to provide for the use of a
portion of the monthly maintenance surcharge to be used to fund such system; to
provide for immunity for the commission and for the providers of such system; to
establish criteria for the selection of a service provider; to provide for
eligibility guidelines and funding for the audible universal information access
service; to set a date for the beginning operation of such system; to provide
for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Part
1A of Article 2 of Chapter 5 of Title 46 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to the telephone system for the physically impaired, is
amended by striking Code Section 46_5_30, relating to establishment,
administration, and operation of state_wide dual party relay service, and
inserting in its place the following:
"46_5_30.
(a)
The General Assembly finds and declares that it is in the public interest to
provide basic telecommunication services to all citizens of this state who,
because of physical impairments, particularly hearing and speech impairments,
cannot otherwise communicate over the telephone.
It is further
in the public interest to take advantage of innovative technological uses of
basic telecommunications services to allow for universal access to information
by blind and otherwise print disabled citizens of this state.
(b)
The commission shall establish, implement, administer, and promote a state_wide
single provider dual party relay service operating seven days per week, 24 hours
per day, and contract for the administration and operation of such relay
service. The
commission shall also establish, implement, administer, and promote a state_wide
audible universal information access service operating seven days per week and
24 hours per day and shall contract for the administration and operation of such
information access service. The commission
shall
also
further
establish, implement, administer, and promote a telecommunications equipment
distribution program and contract for the administration and operation of such
program.
(c)
The commission shall require all local exchange telephone companies in this
state, except those operated by telephone membership corporations, to impose a
monthly maintenance surcharge on all residential and business local exchange
access facilities. For the purpose of this subsection, 'exchange access
facility' means the access from a particular telephone subscriber´s premise
to the telephone system of a local exchange telephone company. 'Exchange access
facility' includes local exchange company provided access lines, private branch
exchange trunks, and centrex network access registers, all as defined by tariffs
of telephone companies as approved by the commission. The amount of the
surcharge shall be determined by the commission based upon the amount of funding
necessary to accomplish the purposes of this Code section and provide the
services on an ongoing basis; however, in no case shall the amount exceed
20¢ per month. A maximum of $0.05 of this monthly surcharge per access
line shall be utilized for a telecommunications equipment distribution program
and a maximum
of $0.01 of this monthly surcharge per access line shall be utilized to fund an
audible universal information access
service. If the projected cost of the
operation of the relay service exceeds a monthly surcharge of $0.15 at any time,
funding for the telecommunications equipment distribution program
and the
audible universal information access
service will be reduced by the amount
required to fully fund the relay service, under the existing cap of $0.20 for
the period of time necessary. No additional fees other than the surcharge
authorized by this subsection shall be imposed on any user of such relay
or information
access service. The local exchange
companies shall collect the surcharge from their customers and transfer the
moneys collected to a special fund to be held separate from all other funds.
The fund shall be used solely for the administration and operation of the relay
service, the
information access service, and the
telecommunications equipment distribution program and shall not be imposed,
collected, or expended for any other purpose.
(d)
The dual party relay system shall protect the privacy of persons to whom relay
services are provided and shall require all operators to maintain the
confidentiality of all telephone messages. The confidentiality and privacy of
persons to whom relay services are provided will be protected by means of the
following:
(1)
The relay center shall not maintain any form of permanent copies of messages
relayed by their operators or allow the content of telephone messages to be
communicated to, or accessible to, nonstaff members;
(2)
Persons using the relay services shall not be required to provide any personal
identifying information until the party they are calling is on the line, and
shall only be required to identify themselves to the extent necessary to fulfill
the purpose of their call;
(3)
Relay operators shall not leave messages with third parties unless instructed to
do so by the person making the call;
(4)
Relay operators shall not intentionally alter a relayed conversation;
and
(5)
Relay operators shall not refuse calls or limit the length of
calls.
(e)
Neither the commission nor the
provider
providers
of the dual party relay system service
or the audible
universal information access service nor,
except in cases of willful misconduct, gross negligence, or bad faith, the
employees of the providers of the dual party relay system service
or the audible
universal information access service shall
be liable for any claims, actions, damages, or causes of action arising out of
or resulting from the establishment, participation in, or operation of the dual
party relay system service
or the audible
universal information access
service.
(f)
The commission shall select the telecommunications carrier which will provide
the relay system service and award the contract for this service to the offerer
whose proposal is the most advantageous to the state, considering price, the
interests of the hearing impaired and speech impaired community in having access
to a high quality and technologically advanced telecommunication system, and all
other factors listed in the commission´s request for
proposals.
(f.1)
The commission shall select the service provider which will provide and manage
the audible universal information access service and shall award the contract
for this service to the offerer whose proposal is the most advantageous to the
state, considering price, the interests of the blind and print disabled
community in having access to a high quality and technologically advanced
interactive audible universal information access system, the maintenance of such
system, the training provided on the use of such service, outreach efforts, and
all other factors listed in the commission´s request for
proposals.
(g)
The commission shall select a distribution agency to manage the
telecommunications equipment distribution program and award the contract for
this service to the offerer whose proposal is the most advantageous to the
state, considering price, the interests of the hearing impaired and speech
impaired community in obtaining appropriate and effective telecommunications
equipment, the training of recipients on the use of telecommunication devices,
outreach efforts, and all other factors listed in the commission´s request
for proposals.
(h)
The commission shall establish guidelines for eligibility for participation in
the distribution program, taking into consideration a person´s certified
medical need and prohibiting distribution of telecommunications equipment to any
person whose income exceeds 200 percent of the federal poverty level. The
commission shall utilize appropriate external expertise, as necessary, to
establish these guidelines, including contracting with public agencies or
private entities. Funding for any such contracts will be covered by the $0.05
portion of the monthly surcharge utilized for the telecommunications equipment
distribution program.
(i)
The commission shall establish eligibility guidelines for participation in the
audible universal information access service, taking into account a
person´s certified medical need. The commission shall utilize appropriate
external expertise, as necessary, to establish these guidelines, including
contracting with public agencies or private entities. Funding for such contracts
will be covered by the $0.01 portion of the monthly surcharge utilized for the
audible universal information access service.
(i)(j)
The commission shall establish a telecommunications equipment distribution
program advisory committee to provide input on program operation and the types
of equipment to be, and being, distributed by the program. The commission shall
select the equipment to be distributed by the program and shall incorporate this
selection into the commission´s request for proposals for a distribution
agency.
(j)(k)
The commission shall provide that the dual party telephone relay telephone
system shall be operational no later than July 1, 1991,
and
that the telecommunications equipment distribution program shall be operational
no later than March 31,
2003, and the
audible universal information access service shall be operational no later than
July 1,
2006."
SECTION
2.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.