[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