SLS 16RS-472 ORIGINAL
2016 Regular Session
SENATE CONCURRENT STUDY REQUEST NO. 1
BY SENATOR COLOMB
LEGIS POWERS/FUNCTIONS. Requests the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee
and the House and Governmental Affairs Committee to study the feasibility of providing an
interpreter for the hearing impaired and closed captioning of legislative proceedings.
1 A CONCURRENT STUDY REQUEST
2 To request the Senate Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs and the House
3 Committee on House and Governmental Affairs to meet and function as a joint
4 committee to study the feasibility of providing an interpreter for the hearing impaired
5 and closed captioning of legislative proceedings.
6 WHEREAS, hearing loss is among the most common problems in our population,
7 with more than ten percent of Americans suffering from some sort of hearing impairment;
8 and
9 WHEREAS, closed captioning and interpreter services allow persons with hearing
10 impairments to have access to television programming by displaying the audio portion of a
11 television program as text on the television screen; and
12 WHEREAS, the same such curiosity should be extended to constituents so that they
13 are privy to legislative proceedings and may be actively involved in the legislative process;
14 and
15 WHEREAS, the first use of closed captioning on televisions in America began in
16 1980; and
17 WHEREAS, the Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990 was passed by Congress
18 giving the Federal Communications Commission the power to enact rules on the
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SLS 16RS-472 ORIGINAL
1 implementation of closed captioning; and
2 WHEREAS, it is important that we utilize technology in the most efficient way to
3 enhance communication with constituents that are hearing impaired so that they will have
4 equal access to the political process; and
5 WHEREAS, the stated purpose of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is to
6 provide a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination
7 against individuals with disabilities; and
8 WHEREAS, to achieve the goals of the ADA, state government services must be
9 equally accessible to individuals with disabilities; and
10 WHEREAS, the state of Louisiana provides internet streamed legislative sessions
11 and hearings, but fails to offer closed captioning and an interpreter for the hearing impaired;
12 and
13 WHEREAS, there are nearly 2,804,831 deaf citizens, and over 78, 451 citizens with
14 hearing impairments in Louisiana who could benefit from captioning and interpreter
15 services; and
16 WHEREAS, providing closed captioning and interpreting of legislative sessions and
17 hearings would ensure Louisiana's compliance with Title II of the ADA.
18 THEREFORE, the Legislature of Louisiana requests that the Senate Committee on
19 Senate and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on House and Governmental
20 Affairs study the feasibility of providing an interpreter for the hearing impaired and closed
21 captioning of legislative proceedings.
22 The Legislature of Louisiana further requests that the joint committee report its
23 findings to the legislature by February 1, 2017.
24 A copy of this Study Request shall be transmitted to the Department of Health and
25 Hospitals, Louisiana Commission for the Deaf.
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SLS 16RS-472 ORIGINAL
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by J. Ashley Mitchell Carter.
DIGEST
SCSR 1 Original 2016 Regular Session Colomb
Requests the Senate and House and governmental affairs committees to study the feasability
of providing an interpreter for the hearing impaired and closed captioning of legislative
proceedings.
Requires the joint committee report its findings, if any, to the legislature no later than March
1, 2017.
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