An Act To Ensure Emergency Communications for Persons with Disabilities
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 26 MRSA §1419, sub-§1, ¶B-2, as amended by PL 2003, c. 553, Pt. A, §1, is further amended to read:
B-2. "Specialized customer communications equipment" means communications equipment used by persons with disabilities to conduct telephone communications or equipment that provides or assists in providing emergency alert notification to deaf persons or hard-of-hearing persons. "Specialized customer communications equipment" includes but is not limited to teletypewriters, artificial larynges, signaling devices, amplified handsets, telecoil technology, large number dial overlays, direct telephone dialing, fax machines, equipment necessary to use short message services or text message services and other equipment used by persons with disabilities to provide access to telephone networks and equipment that provides or facilitates emergency alert notification to deaf persons or hard-of-hearing persons.
summary
This bill adds telecoil technology to the types of specialized customer communications equipment that may be made available by the Department of Labor, Bureau of Rehabilitation Services to low-income deaf, hard-of-hearing, late-deafened or speech-impaired persons and persons with disabilities to provide or facilitate emergency alert notifications.