# Title 54 — State Government

## Chapter 54-44.8 — Communications-Impaired Telecommunications Services

### § 54-44.8-01. Definitions.

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Administrator" means the individual employed by the chief information officer of the
state to oversee administration of the program.
2. "Commission" means the public service commission.
3. "Communications impaired" means the condition of an individual who is deaf, hearing
impaired, speech impaired, or mobility impaired so as to be unable to use a telephone
readily purchased from a retail store.
4. "Department" means the information technology department.
5. "Disadvantaged" means residing in a household that has a median income not more
than the applicable median income in this state, except the term includes residing in a
household that has a median income not more than one hundred fifty percent of the
applicable median income in this state if the resident is deaf.
6. "Local exchange company" means a telecommunications company that provides
telephone access lines to members of the general public who are its customers.
7. "Program" means the program established under section 54-44.8-03.
8. "Radio communications access" means the radio access between a customer of a
radio communications service provider and the provider.
9. "Radio communications service provider" means a telecommunications company that
provides radio communication service or cellular service to members of the general
public who are its customers.
10. "Specialized telecommunications equipment" means a dedicated telecommunications
device that, when connected to a telephone, enables or assists a person who is
communications impaired to communicate with another person utilizing the telephone
network. The term may include telecommunications devices for the deaf, amplifiers,
and signaling devices. Specialized telecommunications equipment provided under this
chapter to an individual may not exceed two thousand dollars in total cost per device.
11. "Telecommunications relay service" means a statewide service through which a
communications-impaired individual, using specialized telecommunications equipment,
may send and receive messages to and from a noncommunications-impaired
individual whose telephone is not equipped with specialized telecommunications
equipment and through which a noncommunications-impaired individual, by using
voice communication, may send and receive messages to and from a
communications-impaired individual.
12. "Telephone access line" means the facilities between a serving central office and the
customer of a local exchange company which are required to provide access to the
local and toll network.
### § 54-44.8-02. Responsibilities of the administrator.

The administrator shall oversee the department's administration of the program. The
administrator shall:
1. Review and recommend policies and procedures governing administration of the
program and ensure the program is in compliance with any applicable state or federal
law or rule;
2. Prepare a budget for administration of services under the program;
3. Monitor the expenditures of funds for the program;
4. Monitor the quality of the program and the satisfaction of the users; and
5. Perform any other duties necessary to oversee administration of the program.
### § 54-44.8-03. Program established - Purpose.

1. The department shall establish and administer a program to provide
telecommunications relay service to persons who are communications impaired.

2. The program shall provide a telecommunications relay service to allow persons who
are communications impaired to communicate via the telecommunications network
with noncommunications-impaired persons.
3. The department of health and human services shall furnish specialized
telecommunications equipment to meet the needs of individuals who are
communications impaired and who might be otherwise disadvantaged in their ability to
obtain such equipment. The department of health and human services shall determine
eligibility and may provide the specialized telecommunications equipment to
individuals determined eligible within the limits of funding made available to the
department of health and human services through gifts and grants received under
section 54-44.8-06 and from funding made available by the information technology
department from the surcharge collected pursuant to section 54-44.8-08, which are
appropriated.
### § 54-44.8-04. Responsibilities of the department.

The department shall:
1. Develop rules, policies, and procedures, as may be necessary, to govern
administration of the program.
2. Implement the telecommunications relay service as described in subsection 2 of
section 54-44.8-03 by July 26, 1993, to the extent funds generated by the surcharge
described in section 54-44.8-10 are available.
3. Perform any other duties necessary to properly administer the program.
### § 54-44.8-05. Telecommunications relay service - Requirements.

1. The department shall contract with a qualified provider to design and implement a
telecommunications relay service that fulfills the requirement of subsection 2 of section
### § 54-44.8-03. The department shall award the contract for this service to the offeror

whose proposal is the most advantageous to the state; considering price, the interests
of the communications-impaired community in having access to a high quality and
technologically advanced telecommunications system, and all other factors listed in
the request for proposals.
2. Except in cases of willful misconduct, gross negligence, or bad faith, neither the
department nor the provider of the telecommunications relay service, nor the
employees of the provider, are liable for any damages or claims for relief arising out of
or resulting from the establishment of, participation in, or operation of the
telecommunications relay service.
3. The department shall require, under the terms of the contract, that:
a. The service be available statewide for operation seven days a week, twenty-four
hours per day, including holidays, for both interstate and intrastate calls.
b. The service relay all messages promptly and accurately.
c. The service maintain the privacy of persons using the system.
d. The provider preserve the confidentiality of all telephone communications.
e. The service conform to any standards established by applicable state or federal
laws or rules.
### § 54-44.8-06. Gifts and grants.

The department of health and human services may accept contributions and gifts and may
apply for and accept grants, in money or otherwise, to the program. Monetary contributions,
gifts, and grants must be deposited in the state treasury to be credited to the department of
health and human services operating account.
### § 54-44.8-07. Telecommunications services account for the communications impaired.

The telecommunications services account for the communications impaired consists of all
surcharges billed and collected pursuant to section 54-44.8-08. Subject to legislative

appropriation, the department may expend moneys from the account for purposes of
implementing this chapter.
### § 54-44.8-08. Telephone access line and radio communications access surcharge.

1. Before May first of each year, the department shall report all cost data and other
information to the commission. Each local exchange company and radio
communications service provider shall report all information requested by the
department in order to determine the number of telephone access lines and radio
communications access service numbers. Before June first of each year, the
commission shall determine the amount of a surcharge, not to exceed eleven cents
per telephone access line per month, based upon available cost data and other
information provided by the department necessary to cover the costs of providing
intrastate telecommunications relay service as provided in section 401 of the federal
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 [47 U.S.C. 225], including the cost of
implementing and administering this chapter which includes the provision of
specialized equipment to eligible persons, and taking into consideration any surplus in
the telecommunications services account. The surcharge is imposed effective on its
determination by the commission and must be billed and collected as provided in this
chapter. The surcharge is subject to section 49-21-01.3. Funding for the interstate
portion of the state telecommunications relay service must be provided in a manner
consistent with rules and orders adopted by the federal communications commission
in implementing the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. The department shall notify
each local exchange company and radio communications service provider, in writing,
of the amount of the monthly surcharge determined by the commission.
2. Each local exchange company and radio communications service provider shall
include and identify the surcharge determined under subsection 1 in its monthly billing
for service to a customer of the company or provider.
3. Each customer of a local exchange company or radio communications service
provider is liable for payment to the local exchange company or radio communications
service provider of any surcharge imposed pursuant to this chapter. The local
exchange company or radio communications service provider is not liable for any
uncollected surcharge, nor does the company have an obligation to take any legal
action to enforce the collection of any surcharge that is unpaid by its customers.
4. No customer of a local exchange company may be required to pay the surcharge on
more than one hundred telephone access lines per account and no customer of a
radio communications service provider may be required to pay the surcharge on more
than one hundred radio communications access service numbers per account in this
state.
5. Except as provided in subsection 6, a local exchange company or radio
communications service provider shall transmit all surcharges billed and collected to
the department no later than the last day of the month following the end of the
calendar quarter in which the surcharge is collected. The administrator shall remit the
surcharges received to the state treasurer. The state treasurer shall deposit all
surcharges received in the state treasury to the credit of the telecommunications
services account for the communications impaired.
6. Each local exchange company or radio communications service provider may deduct
and retain five percent of the total surcharges billed and collected each month to cover
its administrative expense in complying with the requirements of subsections 2, 3, 4,
and 5.
### § 54-44.8-09. Records - Audit.

Each local exchange company or radio communications service provider shall maintain a
record of the surcharges billed and collected pursuant to section 54-44.8-08 for a period of three
years from the date of billing or collection, respectively. The commission may audit each local
exchange company's or radio communications service provider's records to assure compliance
with this chapter.
