51.5-115 - Telecommunications relay service; standards; funding. - Virginia Statutes

§ 51.5-115. Telecommunications relay service; standards; funding.

A. As used in this section, unless the context requires otherwise, the term:

"Operation" means those functions reasonably and directly necessary for theprovision of telecommunications relay service, including contract procurementand administration and public education and information regardingtelecommunications relay service.

"Telecommunications relay service" means a facility whereby a person whohas a hearing or speech disability using a text telephone and a person usinga conventional telephone device can communicate with each other via telephone.

"VITA" means the Virginia Information Technologies Agency.

"Voice carry over" means technology that will enable a deaf orhard-of-hearing person with good speech to use his voice, instead of the texttelephone, to communicate back to the hearing person.

B. The Department, with the assistance of VITA, shall be responsible for theprovision and operation of telecommunications relay service for all texttelephones within the Commonwealth. Telecommunications relay service shallinclude at a minimum:

1. Twenty-four-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week statewide access with nolimitations or restrictions that are not applicable to voice users of thetelephone network;

2. An answer rate that ensures that at least 85% of the incoming calls areoperator-answered within 20 seconds and at least 99% of incoming calls areanswered within 60 seconds;

3. Technological advances, including the capability of voice carryover; and

4. Adequate facilities and personnel to ensure that calls are interpretedaccurately; notwithstanding this provision, unless miscommunication on a callis caused by the willful misconduct of the telecommunications relay serviceprovider, liability of the telecommunications relay service provider shall belimited to the charges imposed on users for the call.

C. All costs associated with the establishment and operation of thetelecommunications relay service, including but not limited to personnelcosts incurred by the Department for administering the service, shall befunded through a distribution made to the Department in accordance with theprovisions of § 58.1-662 and any money transferred from the Department asprovided for in subsection D. Such distributions, when appropriate, may bezero. The distributions shall be based on projected costs and special interimdistributions may be made if actual costs exceed projections. No distributionshall be made and no funds shall be expended to support any activities thatare not reasonably and directly necessary for the operation of thetelecommunications relay service as defined in this section.

D. The Department shall transfer any funds received from the NationalExchange Carrier Association, or other funding sources for purposes ofoperating telecommunications relay services, to VITA for costs associatedwith telecommunications relay service.

(2006, c. 780.)