§269-16.6 Telecommunications relay services for the deaf, persons with hearing disabilities, and persons with speech disabilities. (a) The public utilities commission shall implement intrastate telecommunications relay services for the deaf, persons with hearing disabilities, and persons with speech disabilities.

(b) The commission shall investigate the availability of experienced providers of quality telecommunications relay services for the deaf, persons with hearing disabilities, and persons with speech disabilities. The provision of these telecommunications relay services to be rendered on or after July 1, 1992, shall be awarded by the commission to the provider or providers the commission determines to be best qualified to provide these services. In reviewing the qualifications of the provider or providers, the commission shall consider the factors of cost, quality of services, and experience, and such other factors as the commission deems appropriate.

(c) If the commission determines that the telecommunications relay service can be provided in a cost-effective manner by a service provider or service providers, the commission may require every intrastate telecommunications carrier to contract with such provider or providers for the provision of the telecommunications relay service under the terms established by the commission.

(d) The commission may establish a surcharge to collect customer contributions for telecommunications relay services required under this section.

(e) The commission may adopt rules to establish a mechanism to recover the costs of administering and providing telecommunications relay services required under this section.

(f) The commission shall require every intrastate telecommunications carrier to file a schedule of rates and charges and every provider of telecommunications relay service to maintain a separate accounting for the costs of providing telecommunications relay services for the deaf, persons with hearing disabilities, and persons with speech disabilities.

(g) Nothing in this section shall preclude the commission from changing any rate established pursuant to this section either specifically or pursuant to any general restructuring of all telephone rates, charges, and classifications.

(h) As used in this section:

"Telecommunications relay services" means telephone transmission services that provide an individual who has a hearing or speech disability the ability to engage in communication by wire or radio with a hearing individual in a manner that is functionally equivalent to the ability of an individual who does not have a hearing or speech disability to communicate using wire or radio voice communication services. "Telecommunications relay services" includes services that enable two-way communication using text telephones or other nonvoice terminal devices, speech-to-speech services, video relay services, and non-English relay services. [L 1988, c 207, §2; am L 1989, c 295, §2; am L 1991, c 63, §2; am L 1995, c 225, §§4, 5; am L 2003, c 50, §2]