S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  3730

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            January 28, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. DIAZ -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BENJAMIN,
  CLARK, WEISENBERG -- read once and referred to the Committee on Corpo-
  rations, Authorities and Commissions

AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to  providing  tele-
  phone  equipment  with  the  capability  of  voice  dialing to certain
  persons with disabilities

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 92 of the public
service law, as amended by chapter 517 of the laws of 1996,  is  amended
to read as follows:
  (a)  No  change  shall be made in any rate, charge or rental, or joint
rate, charge or rental applicable to regulated basic services,  switched
carrier  access  services,  charges  for  interconnection  between local
exchange carriers, and toll services within a local access and transport
area which shall have been filed by a telegraph corporation or telephone
corporation hereinafter in this subdivision called a utility in  compli-
ance  with this chapter, except after thirty days' notice to the commis-
sion and to each county, city, town and village served by  such  utility
which  had  filed  with  such  utility  within the prior twelve months a
request for such notice and shall be affected by such change and  publi-
cation  of  a  notice to the public of such proposed change once in each
week for four successive weeks in a newspaper having general circulation
in each county containing territory affected by the proposed change.  No
other change shall be made in any rate, charge or rental, or joint rate,
charge  or  rental  filed  by a utility, except after ten business days'
notice to the commission and publication of  one  notice  at  least  ten
business  days  prior to the effective date of the change in a newspaper
of general circulation in each county affected by the  proposed  change.
Such  notices shall plainly state the changes proposed and the time when
they go into effect. For the purpose of this paragraph, "regulated basic

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD03912-01-9
              

A. 3730                             2

services" are defined as: residential, individual business,  and  public
access  line network access, connection charges for such network access,
local usage, local coin usage rates, tone dialing, access  to  emergency
services, statewide relay services, operator assistance services, direc-
tor listings, and provisions that affect privacy protections, AND ESSEN-
TIAL  TELEPHONE  EQUIPMENT  FOR  PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES AS DEFINED IN
SECTION NINETY-TWO-A OF THIS ARTICLE.
  S 2. Section 92-a of the public service law, as amended by  section  3
of  part  H1  of  chapter  62 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as
follows:
  S 92-a. [Special] ESSENTIAL telephone equipment for  hearing  impaired
persons  AND  OTHER  PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES. 1.  The commission shall
require any regulated landline  telephone  corporation  providing  local
exchange  service  to sell or lease [special] ESSENTIAL TELEPHONE EQUIP-
MENT FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES.  "ESSENTIAL TELEPHONE EQUIPMENT  FOR
PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES" SHALL MEAN:
  (A)  telecommunication  equipment  to  a  person  certified as hearing
impaired where the addition of such equipment  is  necessary  to  enable
such person to access and utilize the local exchange network;
  (B)  VOICE  DIALING EQUIPMENT SOLD OR LEASED TO A PERSON WITH A VISUAL
IMPAIRMENT WHERE THE ADDITION OF SUCH EQUIPMENT IS NECESSARY  TO  ENABLE
SUCH PERSON TO ACCESS AND UTILIZE THE LOCAL EXCHANGE NETWORK; AND
  (C)  ANY  OTHER EQUIPMENT IDENTIFIED IN THE RULES OF THE COMMISSION AS
NECESSARY TO ENABLE A PERSON WITH A DISABILITY TO ACCESS AND UTILIZE THE
LOCAL EXCHANGE NETWORK. The sale of such equipment shall be at an amount
not to exceed the actual purchase price by the corporation and the lease
of such equipment shall be at a rate to be determined by the commission.
Any person who leases such equipment shall be  permitted  to  apply  the
lease payments toward the equipment's purchase.
  2.  The  commission  shall authorize the establishment of the New York
telecommunications relay service center. In  developing  a  request  for
proposals  to  provide  telecommunications  relay service the commission
shall include the following minimum provisions:
  (a) The New York telecommunications  relay  service  center  shall  be
located within the municipality of Syracuse, New York;
  (b)  A  minimum  of eighty percent of all calls utilizing telecommuni-
cations relay service must be routed to and through the New  York  tele-
communications relay service center; and
  (c)  A  contract  to provide telecommunications relay service shall be
renewable for up to five years, and the commission shall be empowered to
promulgate and adopt all regulations required to implement the terms  of
this subdivision.
  S  3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
ing the date on which it shall have become  a  law;  provided,  however,
that  effective  immediately the public service commission shall promul-
gate any rules or regulations or take  any  other  action  necessary  to
ensure  the timely implementation of this act on its effective date; and
provided further, that the amendments to  section  92-a  of  the  public
service law made by section two of this act shall survive the expiration
and  reversion  set  forth  in section 4 of part H1 of chapter 62 of the
laws of 2003, as amended.