PARRIS N. GLENDENING, Governor                             Ch. 349

[Handicapped] Individuals WITH DISABILITIES to provide financial assistance for the
purchase of specialized customer premises equipment (SCPE) by eligible program
participants.

[ (e)] (D) "Program participant" means a person who:

(1)     is a resident of the State;

(2)     is certified by a licensed professional as having a disability which
seriously limits or prohibits the use of the basic telephone network without specialized
customer premises equipment;

(3)     is certified by a licensed professional as being able to use specialized
customer premises equipment for which application is made;

(4)     meets the financial eligibility requirements established by the
Governor's Office for [Handicapped] Individuals WITH DISABILITIES; and

(5)     at the time of application is not receiving similar services which are
available and can be provided in a timely manner through another program.

[(f)](E) "Specialized customer premises equipment" or "equipment" means any
communications devices designed to assist program participants in using the basic
telephone network.

[(g)](F) "System" means the method which the Department shall use to provide
financial assistance to eligible program participants for the purchase of the equipment.

3-902.

(a)     The Department [ of General Services] in consultation with the Board and
the Governor's Office for [Handicapped] Individuals WITH DISABILITIES shall establish
and administer a program to assist eligible program participants to purchase specialized
customer premises equipment in accordance with the State budget.

(b)     (1) In this subsection, "shopping mall" means a facility with a roofed-over
common pedestrian area housing more than five sales or rental establishments in which a
majority of the tenants have a main entrance from the common pedestrian area.

(2)     This subsection applies to a shopping mall that:

(i) provides a total number of four or more public pay telephones at
the facility of which at least one is an interior public pay telephone located in the common
pedestrian area; and

(ii) is larger than 500,000 square feet.

(3)     In accordance with the standards and regulations established by the
Department, the owner, operator, manager, or other person having control of a shopping
mall shall acquire and install at least one interior telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD), also known as a text telephone (TT), to facilitate telecommunication by persons
in need of such devices.

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