1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to telecommunications; restricting 
  1.3             eligibility for communication device for 
  1.4             communication-impaired person in a residential care 
  1.5             facility when the facility already provides or is 
  1.6             required to provide comparable telephone service; 
  1.7             amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 237.53, 
  1.8             subdivision 2. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 237.53, 
  1.11  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.12     Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBILITY.] To be eligible to obtain a 
  1.13  communication device under this section, a person must be: 
  1.14     (1) at least five years of age; 
  1.15     (2) communication impaired; 
  1.16     (3) a resident of the state; 
  1.17     (4) a resident in a household that has a median income at 
  1.18  or below the applicable median household income in the state, 
  1.19  except a deaf and blind person applying for a telebraille unit 
  1.20  may reside in a household that has a median income no more than 
  1.21  150 percent of the applicable median household income in the 
  1.22  state; and 
  1.23     (5) a resident in a household that has telephone service or 
  1.24  that has made application for service and has been assigned a 
  1.25  telephone number; and 
  1.26     (6) a resident in a household where telephone service is 
  1.27  not included as part of overall service provision of a 
  2.1   residential care facility, such as a nursing home or group home.