HBA-JEK C.S.H.B. 2345 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2345 By: Naishtat Human Services 3/30/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing operates a specialized telecommunications device assistance program (program) to provide vouchers for specialized telecommunications equipment to individuals who have a disability that interferes with their ability to access the telephone network. Participation in the program has been lower than expected, but improvements in the program and the promotion of the program might increase telecommunication access for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech impairment. C.S.H.B. 2345 modifies provisions regarding the program and removes the $35 fee that is required for an individual to receive a voucher. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Public Utility Commission of Texas in SECTION 5 and to the Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in SECTION 3 (Section 56.153, Utilities Code) of this bill. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2345 amends the Utilities Code to remove the stipulation that an individual must have access to a telephone line in the individual's home or place of business to be eligible for an assistance voucher under the specialized telecommunications assistance program for the deaf and hard of hearing (program), and provides that an individual have a disability that impairs the individual's ability to effectively access the telephone network to be eligible for the program. The bill authorizes the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) to promote the program and provides that rules adopted by the PUC must require a telecommunications utility that publishes and distributes a telephone directory to the public to prominently list the program's contact information. The bill provides that the PUC must adopt the new rules promptly and make them apply to directories published on or after January 1, 2002. C.S.H.B. 2345 removes the provision that requires a recipient of a voucher to pay a $35 fee, and provides that an individual who has exchanged a voucher for a specialized telecommunications device is not eligible to receive another voucher before the fifth rather than the seventh anniversary of the date of the exchange. The bill also provides that an individual is not eligible for a voucher if the Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (TCDHH) has issued a voucher for a device or service to another individual with the same type of disability in the same household. The bill authorizes TCDHH by rule to provide for financially independent individuals who reside in a congregate setting to be eligible for a voucher regardless of whether another individual living in that setting has received a voucher. The bill requires the PUC, as soon as practicable after September 1, 2001, to adopt rules to conform the program to the changes in law made by this bill. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 2345 differs from the original by providing that an individual must have a disability that impairs the individual's ability to effectively access the telephone network to be eligible for the specialized telecommunications device assistance program (program). The substitute provides that an individual is not eligible for a voucher if another person with the same type of disability in the same household has received a voucher for a device or service, while the original provided that an individual was not eligible for a voucher if any other household member had received a voucher. The substitute authorizes TCDHH by rule to provide for exceptions to this provision. The substitute provides that the PUC must adopt rules to require a telecommunications utility that publishes and distributes a telephone directory, rather than private for-profit publishers, to list the program's contact information prominently in the directory.