Chief Patron: Phillips
Norton Relay Center (language only)

Item 501 #1h

Language
Page 339, after line 37, insert:
"C.1. The Department of Information Technology is authorized to locate the Relay Center for the Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Norton, Virginia.  In developing a request for proposals for the Relay Center for the Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Department shall include provision to require that (i) basic relay services shall be provided from the Center located in Norton, Virginia, (ii) employment levels be at a minimum of 104 full-time communications assistants, and (iii) the contract be renewable for up to five years.
2. The Department of Information Technology, in cooperation with the Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the State Corporation Commission, and House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committee staffs, shall conduct a study examining long-term funding options for Relay Center services in future years which do not necessarily rely on the use of a toll.  The Department of Information Technology shall submit a report on the results of the study to the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees by November 30, 2000."

Explanation
(This amendment restores language in the introduced budget which had been deleted regarding the provision of relay services for the deaf and hard-of-hearing at the Norton Relay Center in Norton, Virginia. Language is added to require that basic relay services be provided from the Center. This would not necessarily include the provision of enhanced services required by Federal Communications Commission regulations such as speech-to-speech services or video relay services. Additional language is added to specify the date by which the DIT study would be reported.)