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Legislative Updates
Date: 2007-06-07
Title: Current Legislative Updates
Hello All,
Just wanted to give you a quick progress report. The House Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch marked up its funding bill today. Their recommendation to the full Committee on Appropriations will include $7.5 million to the Library of Congress for the implementation of the digital talking book program by NLS. This is less than half of the amount requested by NLS. The subcommittee chair, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, (d-fl) stated that the bill will also include language giving the Librarian discretion to move some funds from other sources if it is deemed appropriate to fund this program. However, it is not clear whether this discretion would also allow the Librarian to take funds from NLS to fund something else. As of this writing, the actual legislative language is not available, but this is a question we will have to look into.
The full Appropriations Committee will probably consider this bill within a week or so. That means we have some work to do. Members of Congress, especially House members on the Appropriations Committee, need to know how important the talking book program is to the blind community. Please contact your representative if you have not already done so. The transition to digital talking books is not just a nice thing to do to provide more bells and whistles that appeal to techies.
It is a necessity because the cassette players currently in use are no longer being manufactured. The entire industry is phasing out the cassette. It is only a matter of time before something has to be done anyway that will enable NLS to adapt to industry trends. Please help us support the continued availability of talking books for the blind.
If you have any questions, please contact me either by email, or by calling the ACB national office.
Melanie Brunson
Washington Post
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Keep the Books Talking
Congress should fund the digitization of a vital audio library for the
blind.
AHALF-MILLION Americans stand in danger of losing their public library.
They are the nation's blind, and their library is Talking Books,
through which the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped of the Library of Congress (NLS) provides 500,000 Americans
with free audio recordings of about as many books. Unlike the "books on
tape" that are sold at retail bookstores, these recordings are
unabridged, extensive and diverse
-- and are
designed for people who have no other way of reading print.
Unfortunately, today's Talking Books technology is ready to meet its
maker. The program currently uses half-speed audiotapes that patrons
listen to on special devices. These tape players, like the Talking
Books record players that preceded them, are obsolete, and are no
longer even being manufactured.
To bring
the program into the 21st century, the NLS hopes to digitize its entire
library and create new players. It has spent 17 years researching,
building and testing new products, and it is ready to manufacture a
fully accessible flash-drive player. The Library of Congress has asked
Congress to appropriate about
$76.4 million to produce the players and digitize thousands more books.
A forthcoming Government Accountability Office report, however, may
derail the NLS's plans. In a draft version of the report completed
several weeks ago, the GAO faulted the NLS for not considering existing
commercial products such as CD players and iPods instead of creating a
new device. This sounds like a reasonable concern, given tales of
exorbitant government spending on
$792 doormats and $400 hammers. But creating special, noncommercial
players is crucial to the continued existence of Talking Books.
Commercially available products, which often use visual screens and are
not labeled in Braille, are not accessible to the visually impaired.
More important, to comply with U.S. copyright law, Talking Books can
record and distribute only audio books that cannot be played by
commercial devices.
Should the GAO keep this misguided criticism in its final report,
lawmakers should not be swayed by it. Instead, Congress should fully
fund Talking Books'
digital upgrade, a project that will grant many disabled Americans the
same literary access afforded to the sighted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/29/AR200702901736.html
Greetings All:
Special update: On Friday, February 9, 2007 Representatives Bearden of the 68th, Meadows of the 5th and Tumlin of the 38th district supported us by introducing House Bill 366 which addresses GUIDE DOGS having equal access. This is the second piece of blindness legislation we are advocating for on the blindness legislative slate.
Our diligence is paying off in a very big way. Legislators are beginning to understand the plight of the blind constituency in Georgia. We have 3 more pieces of blindness legislation to be introduced into the 2007 legislative session. We will succeed only if we are diligent and persistent.
For your convenience I have enclosed a copy of House Bill 366 GUIDE DOG legislation for your review.
WE CAN DO IT, LET'S GET IT DONE NOW!
07 LC 28 3301
House Bill 366
By: Representatives Bearden of the 68th, Meadows of the 5th, and Tumlin of the 38th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Code Section 30-4-2, relating to right to equal public accommodations and to be accompanied by guide or service dog, so as to provide that every person engaged in the raising of a dog for training as a guide or service dog shall have the right to be accompanied by such dog in the same manner as a totally or partially blind, deaf, or physically disabled person under certain conditions; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Code Section 30-4-2, relating to right to equal public accommodations and to be accompanied by guide or service dog, is amended by revising subsection (b) as follows:
"(b)(1) Every totally or partially blind person shall have the right to be accompanied by a guide dog, and every physically disabled person and every deaf person shall have the right to be accompanied by a service dog, especially trained for the purpose, in any of the places listed in subsection (a) of this Code section without being required to pay an extra charge for the guide or service dog; provided, however, that he or she shall be liable for any damage done to the premises or facilities by such dog. In addition, if such totally or partially blind person, physically disabled person, or deaf person is a student at a private or public school in this state, such person shall have the right to be accompanied by a guide dog or service dog subject to liability for damage as provided in the preceding sentence. The guide dog or service dog must be identified as having been trained by a school for seeing eye, hearing, service, or guide dogs.
(2) Every person engaged in the training of a guide dog or service dog for the purpose of accompanying a person as provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall have the same right to be accompanied by such dog being trained as the totally or partially blind person, deaf person, or physically disabled person has under paragraph (1) of this subsection, so long as such trainer is identified as an agent or employee of a school for seeing eye, hearing, service, or guide dogs.
(3) Every person engaged in the raising of a dog for training as a guide dog or service dog for the purpose of accompanying a person as provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall have the same right to be accompanied by such dog being raised for training as the totally or partially blind person, deaf person, or physically disabled person has under paragraph (1) of this subsection, so long as:
(A) Such dog is being held on a leash and is under the control of the person raising such dog for an accredited school for seeing eye, hearing, service, or guide dogs;
(B) Such person has on his or her person and available for inspection credentials from the accredited school for which the dog is being raised; and
(C) Such dog is wearing a collar, leash, or other appropriate apparel or device that identifies such dog with the accredited school for which such dog is being raised."
SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
Senate Bill 49 (Deaf-Blind legislation) had it's FIRST READ on Valentine Day 021407. SB 49 will be read once more and then referred into the Rules Committee. There are 36 members of the Rules Committee, so we have some work to do. The House Rules Committee is Chaired by Representative Earl Ehrhart of the 36th district. We will start contacting the members of the House Rules Committee on Friday 021607.
A full contact list of the House Rules Committee with office/ fax numbers and email addresses will be posted on tomorrow, so save the email for future reference.
We need your help contacting members of the House of Representatives to ask for support of SB 49. We will be happy to locate the contact information of your House of Representative. For assistance call (404) 437-3967 or email me at STEPHANIELSCOTT@AOL.COM. We will need your home address with city and zip code in order to locate your representatives name.
THANK YOU, for all of your effort.
WE ARE EMPOWERED, SO LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN
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