| (F) one deaf and blind person recommended by the Texas
Deaf or Blind Association;
(G) one speech-impaired person and one speech-impaired
and hearing-impaired person recommended by the Coalition of Texans
with Disabilities;
(H) two representatives of telecommunications utilities,
one representing a local exchange company and one representing a telecommunications
carrier other than a local exchange company, chosen from a list of
candidates provided by the Texas Telephone Association;
(I) two persons, at least one of whom is deaf, with
experience in providing relay services, recommended by the Texas Commission
for the Deaf; and
(J) two public members recommended by organizations
representing consumers of telecommunications services.
(2) Conditions of membership. The term of office of
each RTAC member must be two years. A member whose term has expired
must continue to serve until a qualified replacement is appointed.
In the event a member cannot complete his or her term, the commission
will appoint a qualified replacement to serve the remainder of the
term. RTAC members must serve without compensation but must be entitled
to reimbursement at rates established for state employees for travel
and per diem incurred in the performance of their official duties,
provided such reimbursement is authorized by the Texas Legislature
in the General Appropriations Act.
(3) Responsibilities. The RTAC must undertake the following
responsibilities:
(A) monitor the establishment, administration, and
promotion of the statewide TRS;
(B) advise the commission regarding the pursuit of
services that meet the needs of individuals who are hearing-impaired
or speech-impaired in communicating with other users of telecommunications
services;
(C) advise the commission regarding issues related
to the contract between the TRS carrier and the commission, including
any proposed amendments to such contract;
(D) advise the commission and the Texas Commission
for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, at the request of either commission,
regarding issues related to the specialized telecommunications assistance
program, including devices or services suitable to meet the needs
of persons with disabilities in communicating with other users of
telecommunications services.
(4) Committee activities report. After each RTAC meeting,
the Relay Texas administrator must prepare a report to the commission
regarding RTAC activities and recommendations.
(A) The Relay Texas administrator must file in Central
Records under Project Number 13928, and provide to each commissioner,
a report containing:
(i) the minutes of the meeting;
(ii) a memo summarizing the meeting; and
(iii) a list of items, recommended by RTAC, for the
Relay Texas administrator to discuss with the TRS carrier, including
issues related to the provisioning of the service that do not require
amendments to the contract.
(B) Within 20 days after a report is filed, any commissioner
may request that one or more items described in the report be placed
on an agenda to be discussed during an open meeting of the commission.
If no commissioner requests that the list be placed on an agenda for
an open meeting, the report is deemed approved by the commission.
(5) Evaluation of RTAC costs and effectiveness. The
commission will evaluate the advisory committee annually. The evaluation
will be conducted by an evaluation team appointed by the executive
director of the commission. The commission liaison, RTAC members,
and other commission employees who work directly or indirectly with
RTAC, TRS, or the equipment distribution program are not eligible
to serve on the evaluation team. The evaluation team will report to
the commission in open meeting each August of its findings regarding:
(A) the committee's work;
(B) the committee's usefulness; and
(C) the costs related to the committee's existence,
including the cost of agency staff time spent in support of the committee's
activities.
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| Source Note: The provisions of this §26.414 adopted to be effective August 10, 1999, 24 TexReg 6035; amended to be effective May 24, 2000, 25 TexReg 4514; amended to be effective December 21, 2023, 48 TexReg 7524 |
