[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 97 (Thursday, May 21, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 23815-23816]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-11934]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 64
[CG Docket 03-123; FCC 09-39]
Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services
for Individuals With Hearing and Speech Disabilities
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission seeks comment on whether it
should adopt new Video Relay Service (VRS) reimbursement rates that
reflect the cost data in the fund administrator's recent filing with
the FCC, rather than continuing the current rates.
DATES: Comments are due June 4, 2009. Reply comments are due on or
before June 11, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may submit comments identified by CG
Docket No. 03-123, by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting electronic filings.
Federal Communications Commission's Web Site: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs. Follow the instructions for submitting electronic
filings. In completing the transmittal screen, filers should include
their full name, U.S. Postal Service mailing address, and CG Docket No.
03-123. Parties may also submit an electronic comment by Internet e-
mail. To get filing instructions, filers should send an e-mail to
[email protected], and include the following words in the body of the
message, ``get form .'' A sample form and
directions will be sent in response.
Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must
file an original and four copies of each filing. Filings can be sent by
hand or messenger delivery, by commercial overnight courier, or by
first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail (although the
Commission continues to experience delays in receiving U.S. Postal
Service mail). All filings must be addressed to the Commission's
Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission.
The Commission's contractor will receive hand-delivered or
messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission's Secretary at 236
Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Suite 110, Washington, DC 20002. The filing
hours at this location are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. All hand deliveries must be
held together with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes must be
disposed of before entering the building.
Commercial mail sent by overnight mail (other than U.S.
Postal Service Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300
East Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743.
U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority
mail should be addressed to 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554.
To request materials in accessible formats for people with
disabilities (braille, large print, electronic files, audio format),
send an e-mail to [email protected] or call the Consumer and Governmental
Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY). FCC 09-
39 can also be downloaded in Word or Portable Document Format (PDF) at:
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/trs.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Chandler, Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Disability Rights Office, at (202) 418-
1475 (voice), (202) 418-0597 (TTY), or e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's
Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for
Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking, document FCC 09-39,
[[Page 23816]]
adopted May 12, 2009 and released May 14, 2009 (NPRM), in CG Docket No.
03-123, seeking comment on whether the Commission should adjust VRS
rates for the 2009-2010 Fund year. The full text of FCC 09-39 and
subsequently filed documents in this matter are available for public
inspection and copying during regular business hours at the FCC
Reference Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room
CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. They may also be purchased from the
Commission's duplicating contractor at Portals II, 445 12th Street,
SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554; the contractor's Web site,
http://www.bcpiweb.com; or by calling (800) 378-3160. FCC 09-39 and
subsequently filed documents in this matter may also be found by
searching ECFS at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs (insert CG Docket No. 03-
123 into the Proceeding block).
To request materials in accessible formats for people with
disabilities (braille, large print, electronic files, audio format),
send an e-mail to [email protected] or call the Consumer and Governmental
Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY). FCC 09-
39 can also be downloaded in Word or Portable Document Format (PDF) at:
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/trs.html.
Initial Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Analysis
The NPRM does not contain proposed information collection
requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law
104-13. In addition, therefore, it does not contain any proposed
information collection burden ``for small business concerns with fewer
than 25 employees,'' pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief
Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4).
Synopsis
In the NPRM, the Commission seeks comment on whether it should
recalculate the VRS rates established in Telecommunications Relay
Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and
Speech Disabilities, Report and Order and Declaratory Ruling, CG Docket
No. 03-123, FCC 07-186, published at 73 FR 44170, July 30, 2008 (2007
TRS Rate Methodology Order) for the 2009-2010 Fund year based on recent
data reflecting the actual costs of providing this service. The funding
requirement for all forms of TRS has grown from approximately $64
million for the 2002-2003 Fund year (the first year VRS was widely
offered) to a proposed $890,992,075 for the 2009-2010 Fund year, and
VRS continues to represent an increasingly large percentage of the
total Fund size (for 2009-2010, 123,844,666 projected minutes of use,
with payments totaling approximately $779,873,811, or 87 percent of the
total Fund). The NPRM notes that the VRS rates adopted in 2007 may not
accurately reflect the providers' reasonable actual costs of providing
service in compliance with FCC rules. Current data show that VRS
providers' average actual costs per minute were $4.5568 in 2006,
$3.9950 in 2007, and $4.1393 in 2008.
The Commission, therefore, seeks comment on whether, for the 2009-
2010 Fund year, it should adopt new VRS rates that correlate to
providers' cost data, rather than continuing to base rates on the 2007
TRS Rate Methodology Order.
Initial Regulatory Flexability Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended (RFA), requires
that an initial regulatory flexibility analysis be prepared for notice-
and-comment rulemaking proceedings, unless the agency certifies that
``the rule will not, if promulgated, have a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities.'' The RFA generally defines
the term ``small entity'' as having the same meaning as the terms
``small business,'' ``small organization,'' and ``small governmental
jurisdiction.'' In addition, the term ``small business'' has the same
meaning as the term ``small business concern'' under the Small Business
Act. A ``small business concern'' is one that: (1) Is independently
owned and operated; (2) is not dominant in its field of operation; and
(3) satisfies any additional criteria established by the Small Business
Administration (SBA). The NPRM seeks comment on a proposal for
recalculating the VRS rates for the 2009-2010 Fund year based on recent
data reflecting the actual costs of providing this service. The
Commission notes that the funding requirement has grown from
approximately $64 million for the 2002-2003 Fund year to a proposed
$890,992,075 for the 2009-2010 Fund year, and that VRS continues to
represent an increasingly large percentage of the total Fund size (for
2009-2010, 123,844,666 projected minutes of use, with payments totaling
approximately $779,873,811, or 87 percent). The Commission also notes
that the Fund administrator has indicated that VRS providers' average
actual cost per minute was $4.5568 in 2006, $3.9950 in 2007, and
$4.1393 in 2008. The Commission now has the benefit of experience with
two VRS rate cycles since the adoption of the 2007 TRS Rate Methodology
Order, and the VRS rates adopted in that order may not accurately
reflect the providers' reasonable actual costs of providing service in
compliance with our rules. The Commission therefore seeks comment on
whether to adopt new VRS rates that reflect providers' cost data,
rather than continue to base rates on the 2007 TRS Rate Methodology
Order that may result in the overpayment of providers contrary to
section 225 and our rules. The Commission believes this action is
consistent with its duty to protect the integrity of the Fund and
American consumers who pay into the Fund, and with the statutory
mandate to ensure that TRS is offered ``in the most efficient manner''
to persons with hearing and speech disabilities, 47 U.S.C. 225(b)(1);
see also Telecator Network of America v. FCC, 691 F.2d 525, 550 n. 191
(DC Cir. 1982) (``The Commission has an ongoing obligation to monitor
its regulatory programs and make adjustments in light of actual
experience. * * * This duty to finetune its regulatory approach as more
information becomes available is necessarily the price of leeway the
courts accord the Commission to pursue plans and policies bottomed on
informed prediction.'').
Ordering Clauses
Pursuant to Sections 1, 4(i) and (o), 225, 303(r), 403, 624(g), and
706 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151,
154(i) and (o), 225, 303(r), 403, 554(g), and 606, the Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking is adopted.
The Commission's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau,
Reference Information Center, SHALL SEND a copy of the Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking, including the Initial Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-11934 Filed 5-20-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P