Telecommunications service for persons who have deafness, hearing loss, or speech disabilities for wireline communications service and devices.
Del. Code tit. 26, § 220
in effect(a) All telephone corporations or any corporation supplying wireline communications service within this State shall participate in a program to provide telecommunications service for communication devices, a telecommunications relay service, and assistive devices for persons who have deafness, hearing loss, or speech disabilities related to or resulting from an individual being deaf or hard of hearing.
(b) Telephone corporations or corporations supplying wireline telephone service within this State shall impose a surcharge as set forth in this section to recover the cost of providing said service through a separately identified charge on subscribers’ bills as further outlined in subsection (e) of this section below. The surcharge shall be subject to adjustment annually with notification to providers required at least 90 days in advance of the effective date of such adjustment. The moneys recovered shall be deposited in a special fund (“Fund”) created by the State for the purpose designated as the telecommunications service and devices for persons who have deafness, hearing loss, or speech disabilities.
(c) (1) The Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing of the Department of Labor is hereby directed to administer the program to provide access to public telecommunications service by residents of Delaware who have deafness, hearing loss, or speech disabilities using devices for communications, and to provide devices to facilitate communication or provide information pertaining to emergency services to residents of Delaware who have deafness, hearing loss, or speech disabilities. The Office shall develop, accept, process, and approve applications for such service.
(2) The Department of Technology and Information is hereby directed to provide a statewide telecommunications relay service that will allow persons who have deafness, hearing loss, or speech disabilities to communicate by telephone through attendants or equipment at a service answering facility with persons having normal hearing and speech. The Department may enter into contractual agreements with 1 or more other persons or entities requiring such other persons or entities to perform all or any part of the service. The cost of providing the telecommunications relay service shall be paid out of the Fund.
(3) The Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is authorized to create a list of devices eligible for the Fund, which may include devices that both directly and indirectly facilitate communication or provide users with information pertaining to emergency situations, and publish the list online. The cost of providing such devices to residents of Delaware with deafness, hearing loss, or speech disabilities shall be paid out of the Fund. Eligible items may include the following:
a. Everyday items such as alarm clocks, baby monitors, doorbells, and smoke detectors.
b. Assistive devices to facilitate communication for people with deafness, hearing loss, or speech disabilities.
c. Hearing-related emergency response kits.
d. Specialized telecommunication equipment such as hearing-aid compatible cell phones, computer conversion packages, large visual displays, pagers, phones with amplifiers, and devices to alert people to audible warnings.
(4) The Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is authorized to employ individuals as may be necessary to administer the program, provide education to the public about the program, and manage program resources.
(5) The Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is authorized to promulgate procedures, regulations, rules, and criteria necessary to implement and administer this statewide program.
(d) In order for a person to be eligible for the program, the person shall be certified as having deafness, hearing loss, or a speech disability by a licensed physician, audiologist, or by any other method recognized by the Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Persons applying for the program must supply their own analog communication device.
(e) The Fund shall be funded by means of a monthly surcharge of up to $0.04 per month billed by providers to subscribers of communications services in this State as follows:
(1) Residential telephone service. — The surcharge shall be billed by each provider providing such service to all Delaware residential subscribers per residence exchange access line or per Basic Rate Interface (“BRI”) ISDN arrangement, where the residence exchange access service is provided via a BRI ISDN arrangement. The surcharge shall not be applied to residence exchange access lines provided to Lifeline subscribers.
(2) Business telephone service. — The surcharge shall be billed by each provider providing such service to all Delaware business subscribers per business exchange access line and trunk or per BRI ISDN arrangement where the business exchange access service is provided via a BRI ISDN arrangement. Each Centrex access line shall be charged the equivalent of 1 / 9 of the surcharge; provided, however, that where a Centrex customer has fewer than 9 lines, the maximum monthly charge for those lines will be the surcharge imposed on each business exchange access line or trunk divided by the customer’s Centrex lines. Each Primary Rate Interface ISDN system shall be charged a rate equal to 5 times the surcharge. The surcharge shall not be applied to lines provided under wholesale arrangements.
(3) Wireless service. — The surcharge shall be billed by each wireless provider on all wireless service customers for each wireless telephone number for which they are billed by such provider.
(4) Nontraditional communication services. — The surcharge shall be billed by each provider of nontraditional communications service to subscribers based on an exchange access line equivalent that provides capacity to simultaneous access to 911 service where such provider is required to or opts to provide 911 service.
(f) The surcharge amounts shall be deposited into the Fund, along with any other state funds the General Assembly may from time to time appropriate.
(g) The provider shall bill the surcharge to the person purchasing the service but shall collect it on behalf of the State. The surcharges collected by a provider shall not be subject to taxes or charges levied by the State or any political subdivision thereof, nor shall they be considered revenue of the provider for any purpose.
(h) The surcharge shall not apply to wholesale services.
(i) All surcharges imposed by this section shall be collected by providers from subscribers to communications service with each invoice for service and shall be paid by providers on a monthly basis to the Department of Finance no later than the fifteenth day of the month following its collection and shall be deposited into the fund on a monthly basis.
(j) Each provider collecting such surcharges shall be entitled to recover the actual incremental costs of billing, collecting and remitting such surcharges, as well as the costs of compliance with any memorandum of understanding as described in this section, that will be taken monthly as a credit against the total amount to be remitted to the Department of Finance. This cost is defined as the incremental expense incurred by the provider that is in addition to the normal expense of billing and collecting the charges for the provision of the provider’s normal telephone service. Where moneys collected by the provider are equal to or less than the total charge for the telephone service provided to subscribers or customers by that provider, not including the surcharge, all moneys collected will be applied to the charges for the actual telephone service provided. As an alternative to recovery of the actual incremental costs described above, providers collecting the surcharge may elect to receive a collection allowance of 1% of the total amount collected from subscribers taken monthly as a credit against the total amount to be remitted to the Department of Finance.
(k) Each provider collecting such surcharges shall not be responsible for uncollectable surcharges. The State may also enter into a memorandum of understanding with each provider which shall include, but need not be limited to, the terms related to the collection and distribution of funds pursuant to this section and provide for reporting to the State the names and addresses of subscribers that fail to pay the surcharge. However, nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the State from taking appropriate action to collect such surcharges designated by a provider as uncollectable.
( l ) Each provider collecting such surcharge is fulfilling a governmental function and in so doing, is immune from suit for damages of any kind and is not liable for refunds except to the extent that the provider has failed to collect or remit surcharges to the Fund in accordance with the requirements of this section.
(m) Money in the Fund may only be used to fund the costs of providing the services specified in subsection (a) of this section above, telecommunications relay service costs specified in paragraph (c)(2) of this section, costs related to the purchase of devices as specified in paragraph (c)(3) of this section, costs related to the administration and management of the program as specified in paragraph (c)(4) of this section, and administrative costs as specified in subsection (j) of this section, subject to the following restrictions:
(1) No more than 15% of the money in the Fund revenue received during the fiscal year may be allocated or used to employ individuals as may be necessary to administer and manage the programs as specified in paragraph (c)(2) of this section.
(2) No more than 15% of the money in the Fund may be allocated or used to pay for administrative costs.
(3) The Fund must always retain a sufficient reserve to cover the following expenses for at least 3 months, as estimated based on the average actual expenses in the prior year:
a. The telecommunications relay service costs under paragraph (c)(2) of this section.
b. The costs associated with providing the devices under paragraph (c)(1) of this section to residents of Delaware with deafness, hearing loss, or speech disabilities.
c. Any administrative costs associated with employing individuals to administer and manage the program as specified in paragraph (c)(2) of this section and the administrative costs under subsection (j) of this section.
(n) The Fund is created as a nonappropriated special fund. Balances in the Fund on June 30 of each year shall carry forward and shall not revert to the General Fund.
(o) The Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing must submit an annual report by September 30 concerning the previous fiscal year to the Governor, the Secretary of the Senate, the Chief Clerk of the House, and the Director and Librarian of the Division of Legislative Services. The annual report must be posted on the website of the Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and include the following:
(1) The total number of applications submitted to the Office.
(2) The total number of applicants approved for assistance.
(3) The total number of applicants denied assistance.
(4) The total amount of funds spent during the fiscal year, including administrative costs and any costs associated with employing individuals to administer and manage the program as specified in paragraph (c)(2) of this section.
(5) A breakdown of funds spent on allowable expenditures within paragraphs (c)(2) and (c)(3) of this section, including how many of each allowable item is distributed to applicants.
(6) The total amount remaining in the Fund at the end of the fiscal year.
Source: DE Code (Official Site)URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title26/c001/sc02/index.htmlFetched: 10/4/2026