Relay Texas/STAP Legislation
Relay Legislation
Confidentiality Law
In 1989, the Texas Legislature adopted House Bill 174, mandating the Public Utility Commission to establish a statewide telecommunications relay service to provide telephone network access for individuals who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, deaf and blind, speech-impaired. This relay service, known as "Relay Texas", started on September 1, 1990.
Relay Texas Law - Refer to Subchapter D
STAP Legislation - Refer to Subchapter E
United States Congress
In 1990, Title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandated that all states provide statewide telecommunications relay services (TRS) by July 26, 1993; general program oversight was given to the Federal Communications Commission to ensure the provision of services and compliance of each state's service as described in the ADA.
Public Utility Commission
The Public Utility Commission (PUC) is legally mandated with the oversight of Relay Texas and STAP vendor- related issues. The PUC's Relay Texas administrator works to ensure that the needs of individuals and businesses are communicated to and adequately addressed by the Commission and the relay service provider.
The original legislation included the formation of a PUC advisory committee to ensure that consumers' needs were adequately addressed; later, however, the Texas legislature passed a bill that abolished all advisory committees serving all state agencies, including the Relay Texas Advisory Committee. In its place, the Relay Texas administrator and the Account Manager of the contracted TRS provider began conducting town hall meetings annually in different cities throughout Texas in order to share information and get feedback from Texans who use relay services.
Contracted Carrier
Every five years the PUC releases a Request for Proposals (RFP) to provide telecommunications relay service in Texas. After reviewing bids, the PUC selects a carrier to provide the service. To date, in each of the four contract bid negotiations, the PUC has selected Sprint as the Relay Texas service provider; the current contract with Sprint expires August 31, 2011.
Last Updated: 04/17/09
|
