Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program: certification.

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law requires the commission to design and implement a program to provide a telecommunications device capable of serving the needs of individuals who are deaf or hearing impaired, together with a single party line, at no charge additional to the basic exchange rate, to any subscriber who is certified as an individual who is deaf or hearing impaired by a licensed physician and surgeon, audiologist, or a qualified state or federal agency, as determined by the commission. Existing law also authorizes a physician assistant or nurse practitioner to certify the needs of an individual who has been diagnosed by a physician and surgeon as being deaf or hard of hearing to participate in the program after reviewing the medical records or copies of the medical records containing that diagnosis. Existing law additionally requires the commission to design and implement a program whereby specialized or supplemental telephone communications equipment may be provided to a subscriber who is certified to be disabled at no charge additional to the basic exchange rate. Existing law requires that the certification, including a statement of visual or medical need for specialized telecommunications equipment, be provided by a licensed optometrist, physician and surgeon, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner, acting within the scope of practice of the applicable license, or by a qualified state or federal agency as determined by the commission. Existing law additionally requires the commission to design and implement a program to provide access to a speech-generating device to a subscriber who is certified as having a speech disability at no charge additional to the basic exchange rate. Existing law requires that the certification be provided by a licensed physician, licensed speech-language pathologist, nurse practitioner, or qualified state or federal agency. This bill would remove all of the above-described certification requirements for a subscriber and would make conforming changes. Under existing law, a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because a violation of a commission action implementing the bill's requirements would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.