This bill establishes a program for low-income deaf and hard- of-hearing individuals to provide a discount to help offset costs of owning a wireless communications device or 2-way pager that is used to receive state or federal emergency notifications. The program is designed to account for up to $600,000 in discounts for individuals within the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. Wireless and paging companies who provide the discounts may recover their amounts of the discount from the Communications Equipment Fund, which is funded through support from the state universal service fund and the E-9-1-1 fund. Funds received for emergency alert telecommunications service may not be used for any purpose other than repaying wireless and paging companies for discounts given to deaf and hard-of-hearing customers.

The bill amends the laws governing the Communications Equipment Fund to account for new funds coming from the E-9-1-1 and state universal service funds and to ensure that such funds are dedicated to the purposes of the bill.

It establishes the discount program and allows the Department of Labor, Bureau of Rehabilitation Services to adopt rules to implement the program.

It amends the laws governing the E-9-1-1 fund so that some of these funds can be used to support the communications equipment program.

It amends the laws governing the state universal service fund so that it provides support to the communications equipment program and to correct a previously ambiguous portion of the law concerning additional disbursements to the communications equipment program for general use.