Section 37-1-80.2Telephone surcharge for service to deaf and hearing-impaired customers; no additional fee may be imposed; collection; implementation of system.
(a) The Alabama Public Service Commission shall impose a surcharge on each access line of each customer of the local exchange companies operating in Alabama to fund a dual-party relay system whereby a deaf or hearing-impaired person may communicate with other such persons or with normal hearing persons via telephone.
(b) The Alabama Public Service Commission shall establish the amount to be imposed based on the amount of funding necessary to implement and maintain such system. However, no additional fees other than said surcharge may be imposed on any user of this deaf and hearing-impaired service.
(c) The local exchange companies shall collect the surcharge from their customers and transfer the moneys collected to a private fund to be held separate from all other funds and used solely for the administration of this system. The surcharge collected by the local exchange companies from their customers shall not be subject to the utility gross receipts tax levied under Sections 40-21-80 through 40-21-87 or the utility use tax levied under Sections 40-21-100 through 40-21-107, nor shall such collections be included in the gross receipts subject to tax under Section 40-21-58 or the supervision and inspection fees under Sections 37-4-23 and 37-4-24.
(d) The Alabama Public Service Commission shall be charged with implementation of such dual-party relay system within the state and shall establish the procedures for continuation of same.
(Acts 1988, No. 88-259, p. 400.)
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