CHAPTER 553
S.P. 667 - L.D. 1819
An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Study Group To Examine an Emergency Alert Notification System for Deaf and Hard-of-hearing Individuals
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
PART A
Sec. A-1. 26 MRSA §1419, sub-§1, ¶B-2, as amended by PL 2001, c. 377, §1, is further amended to read:
B-2. "Specialized customer telecommunications communications equipment" means telecommunications communications equipment used by persons with disabilities to conduct telephone communications or equipment that provides or assists in providing emergency alert notification to deaf persons or hard-of-hearing persons. "Specialized customer telecommunications communications equipment" includes but is not limited to teletypewriters, artificial larynges, signaling devices, amplified handsets, large number dial overlays, direct telephone dialing, fax machines, equipment necessary to use short message services or text message services or and other equipment used by persons with disabilities to provide access to telephone networks and equipment that provides or facilitates emergency alert notification to deaf persons or hard-of-hearing persons.
Sec. A-2. 26 MRSA §1419, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1997, c. 751, Pt. A, §3, is further amended to read:
2. Specialized customer communications equipment system. The department shall consult with appropriate agencies and organizations serving deaf, hard-of-hearing or speech-impaired persons and persons with disabilities concerning the needs of the specialized customer telecommunications communications equipment system. To the extent that funds are available, the department shall take steps necessary to preserve and maintain a viable specialized customer telecommunications communications equipment system for use by deaf, hard-of-hearing or speech-impaired persons and persons with disabilities in this State, including, but not limited to, providing for repair services and equipment for loaning to persons whose specialized customer telecommunications communications equipment is being repaired. The department may also use available funds to provide training in the use of specialized customer communications equipment.
Sec. A-3. 26 MRSA §1419-A, as amended by PL 1999, c. 227, §§1 and 2, is further amended to read:
§1419-A. Specialized customer communications equipment for persons with disabilities
1. Money for specialized customer telecommunications equipment. The Bureau of Rehabilitation Services within the department, pursuant to appropriation of money to the bureau for specialized customer telecommunications equipment for deaf, hard-of-hearing and speech-impaired persons and persons with disabilities, shall, upon request, provide up to 50% of the cost of specialized customer telecommunications equipment to an organization or municipality that makes available the remaining funds for this equipment in a manner satisfactory to the Director of the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services.
2. Communications Equipment Fund. There is established the Telecommunications Communications Equipment Fund to be used by the Division of Deafness within the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services. The fund is nonlapsing. The fund receives money transferred by the Public Utilities Commission from the universal service fund pursuant to Title 35-A, section 7104. The Division of Deafness may accept gifts or grants, including, but not limited to, federal grants, for the purposes of this section. These Funds transferred from the universal service fund pursuant to Title 35-A, section 7104 and all gifts and grants and authorized appropriations must be deposited in the Telecommunications Communications Equipment Fund and disbursed in accordance with this section. The Telecommunications Communications Equipment Fund may be used for purchase, lease, distribution, upgrading, installation, maintenance and repair of specialized customer telecommunications communications equipment for deaf, hard-of-hearing or speech-impaired persons and persons with disabilities and for training in the use of such equipment. The Division of Deafness may draw on the Telecommunications Communications Equipment Fund in accordance with the telecommunications communications equipment plan required under subsection 3.
3. Communications equipment plan. The Division of Deafness shall develop a plan to make specialized customer telecommunications communications equipment available to deaf, hard-of-hearing or speech-impaired persons and persons with disabilities and to distribute money from the Telecommunications Communications Equipment Fund. The plan must be developed by the Division of Deafness annually, not later than January 1st, in accordance with the rule-making procedures in Title 5, chapter 375. The plan must provide for the expenditure of money from the Telecommunications Communications Equipment Fund for the benefit of deaf, hard-of-hearing or speech-impaired persons and persons with disabilities for the purchase, lease, distribution, upgrading, installation, maintenance and repair of specialized customer telecommunications communications equipment capable of serving their needs and may provide for expenditures for training in the use of such equipment. Persons who are profoundly deaf or speech impaired speech-impaired or who have a disability so that they are unable to use the telephone for expressive or receptive communications, as verified by a written report from an otologist, an audiologist or a physician, are eligible for assistance from the Telecommunications Communications Equipment Fund. The plan must ensure that persons with disabilities have access to appropriate specialized customer telecommunications communications equipment to meet their individual needs. The plan must include specific criteria that govern the priorities assigned to various persons who need this equipment. The criteria must take into account household income, degree of impairment, need for emergency communications, living arrangements and other factors determined relevant by the Division of Deafness. In developing the criteria, the Division of Deafness shall consult with the advisory council established in section 1413-C and other advisory councils representing the interests of persons with disabilities.
4. Specialized customer communications equipment needs in the public school system. The Department of Education, in consultation with the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf and advocacy groups for deaf and hard-of-hearing persons and for the information technology interests of consumers, shall conduct an annual survey of all public schools in the State for the purpose of assessing the need for specialized customer telecommunications communications equipment in the school system and report its findings to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over labor matters. The report must include: the number of deaf and hard-of-hearing students and their needs for specialized customer telecommunications communications equipment; the availability of specialized customer telecommunications communications equipment; the number of requests for specialized customer telecommunications communications equipment; and the status of training for teachers and other school personnel in the use of specialized customer telecommunications communications equipment.
5. Assessment on telecommunications carriers. The Bureau of Rehabilitation Services, beginning in fiscal year 1999-2000, shall assess annually telecommunications carriers in accordance with this subsection and deposit the funds collected in the Telecommunications Equipment Fund. The bureau shall assess telecommunications carriers in accordance with a schedule established by the Public Utilities Commission in accordance with this subsection.
A. The Public Utilities Commission shall determine which carriers are to be assessed under this subsection based on an evaluation of the extent of business activity undertaken by carriers in the State and the practicalities of making the assessment. The Public Utilities Commission shall include as many carriers as reasonably practicable in order to ensure a fair and broad allocation of the assessment.
B. The Public Utilities Commission shall establish an assessment schedule that is proportional to the gross annual revenues of the carriers identified for assessment and that will generate an annual aggregate of $85,000.
C. A telecommunications carrier doing business in this State, including a provider of interstate services and a provider of wireless services, shall provide to the Public Utilities Commission, on request, records relating to its gross revenues. At the request of a carrier, the Public Utilities Commission may issue a protective order in accordance with the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 26 (c) to protect any confidential business information provided by the carrier. Records placed under protective order by the Public Utilities Commission to this paragraph are within the scope of a privilege against discovery within the meaning of Title 1, section 402, subsection 3, paragraph B and are not public records while under the protective order.
Sec. A-4. 35-A MRSA §7104, sub-§5 is enacted to read:
5. Funds for Communication Equipment Fund. The commission shall annually transfer $85,000 from a state universal service fund established pursuant to this section to the Communications Equipment Fund established under Title 26, section 1419-A. In addition to its authority under subsection 3, the commission may require contributions to the state universal service fund in an amount sufficient to collect the $85,000.
If the Department of Labor, Bureau of Rehabilitation Services does not receive from federal or other sources funds in addition to the $85,000 sufficient to carry out the purposes of Title 26, section 1419-A, the commission, at the request of the Department of Labor, Bureau of Rehabilitation Services, may transfer from the state universal service fund to the Communications Equipment Fund additional amounts as long as:
A. The total transfer in any year does not exceed $122,500; and
B. Any amount in any year in excess of $85,000 is drawn from funds otherwise available in the universal service fund. The commission is not authorized to require contributions to the state universal service fund for the purposes of this subsection in order to collect any amount in excess of $85,000 in any year.
Sec. A-5. Application for funds; report. The Department of Labor, Bureau of Rehabilitation Services shall apply for federal homeland security funds administered by the Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management, Maine Emergency Management Agency to support the purposes of the Communications Equipment Fund and this Act. The Maine Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Labor, Bureau of Rehabilitation Services shall provide a report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over utilities and energy matters by January 1, 2005 detailing the amount of homeland security funding that has been provided for these purposes and for supporting access to emergency alert and news services for persons who are blind.
Sec. A-6. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.
LABOR, DEPARTMENT OF
Communications Equipment Fund 0799
Initiative: Provides funds to establish a base allocation in the event federal grant funds are secured to provide emergency alert notification equipment and other services for deaf and hard-of-hearing persons.
Federal Expenditures Fund 2003-04 2004-05
All Other $0 $500
__________ __________
Federal Expenditures
Fund Total $0 $500
PART B
Sec. B-1. 35-A MRSA §7101, sub-§5 is enacted to read:
5. Homeland security and emergency alerts. The Legislature further finds that seamless, integrated, robust and redundant means of communication, including, but not limited to, voice and alphanumeric pagers, landline telephones, wireless telephones, text radio and wireless e-mail, create a robust communication system that enables rapid contact with first responders, ensures emergency alert notification to all affected persons in the State, including at-risk populations such as the hearing or visually impaired, and enhances homeland security. It is the policy of the State to encourage the deployment of the infrastructure necessary to support such a communications system.
Effective July 30, 2004, unless otherwise indicated.
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