[Arizona-students] NFBA legislative luncheon talking points

Tue Jan 22 07:58:42 CST 2008

>From Sami Hamed, Chair
NFBA legislative committee -

Hello, fellow Federationists,

As you know, Thursday, January 24 is our annual legislative luncheon.
Please try to arrive at the Capitol's Grand Canyon Room (lower level of the
capitol

Building) by 11:00 AM, and be prepared to stay until about 2:30 PM.  We need
a good turnout to be effective and have a lasting presence.  Please call
your fellow NFBA members to

urge them to attend, have lunch, and meet with their representatives and
senators.

Please, if you haven't already done so, personally phone or e-mail your two
representatives and one senator to participate in our luncheon.  If you need

info about your own legislator, you can contact your senator and
representatives by phone at:

*       AZ House and Senate Tucson Office: (520) 398-6000
*       Senate-Phoenix: (602) 926-3559
*       House-Phoenix: (602) 926-4221
*       Toll Free: 1-800-352-8404

This legislative session, we, as the NFBA, will be focusing on three
important issues with our legislators.  We need them to understand that the
$500,000 appropriation made last year for Independent Living Services for
the blind must be preserved and not eliminated.  The Department of Economic

Services / RSA program, has been vastly underfunded, and the appropriation
only makes a start at providing adequate services.

We are asking the legislature to pass a model bill that helps protect
pedestrian safety with silent hybrid automobiles.  This is also a national
initiative, but the federal bill will have a better chance of passing if
states pass their own bills.  Therefore, we, the NFBA, must get this passed
in order for the Federal Government to recognize that this is a national
issue and must be done for all of the Blind in the United States.

We have been successful in helping pass an accessible textbook law for
children kindergarten through high school.  Now we turn our attention to

making instructional materials accessible for college and university
students.  We are having difficulties with passing a federal law, so our

national leadership has asked us to work at passing a state law that helps
make post-secondary educational material accessible in order to put pressure
on

federal lawmakers.  Last year, the Maryland General Assembly, Senate, and
Governor Martin O'Malley, passed a state accessible instructional materials
text book law for college students who are Blind and attending Maryland
Colleges and Universities.  We can pass this in Arizona.  We have a great
chance to make this happen, so let's get it done and let's start advocating
for passage of our soon-to-be legislative bill for Arizona.

The two model bills are attached and also appended to the bottom of this

message.

I look forward to seeing all of you at our legislative luncheon on Thursday,
January 24th.  If you have any questions, please contact our President, Bob
Kresmer or me.

Best,

Sami Hamed, Chairman

NFBA Legislative Committee

Cell: (520) 490-1633

Home: (520) 903-1190

Email:  Govhamed at aol.com

Talking Points for the Arizona Legislature NFBA Legislative Luncheon January
24, 2008

This year, we, the NFBA, are urging our legislators to preserve the 2007
appropriation of $500,000.00 to fund the RSA Independent Living services for
the blind of Arizona.   The appropriation enjoyed wide bi-partisan support,
and addresses a long-time need that has never been adequately addressed.

The additional funding is already begun to cause an increase in the level of
services to the senior blind in our state.  Because the funding did not
actually flow to the Rehabilitation Services Administration until late 2007,
we cannot yet accurately claim exactly how many blind seniors have benefited
from the appropriation.

The state of Arizona will, after the first year of the additional
appropriation, be able to assure legislators how many, and in what ways, the
senior blind have had their lives improved.  Please do not cancel a
long-needed program in order to meet this year's budget crunch.

Model Quiet Car Legislation
Talking Points for the Arizona Legislature NFBA Legislative Luncheon January
24, 2008

The purpose of this legislation is to establish a minimum sound level
standard for all phases of vehicle operation, which is to be applicable to
every new vehicle sold in Arizona and licensed for use on our cities and
counties streets and roadways.

.       The total number of hybrid vehicles sold per year in Arizona is
growing dramatically, and although the present number of hybrid vehicles
constitutes a small overall percentage of vehicles, if this rate of growth
persists, the number of hybrid vehicles will soon equal or exceed the number
of internal combustion engine vehicles.  Currently, all hybrid and electric
vehicles sold in Arizona do not make any sound at all.

.       We, as Blind pedestrians, cannot locate and evaluate traffic using
vision.  We must listen to traffic to determine its speed, direction, and
distance in order to travel safely and independently; and other people,
including pedestrians who are not blind, bicyclists, runners, and small
children, benefit from multi-sensory information available from vehicle
traffic, including the sound of vehicle engines.

.       When operating, hybrid vehicles sold in Arizona, cannot be heard by
blind people and others, rendering such vehicles extremely dangerous when
driving on the street, emerging from driveways, moving through parking lots,
and in other situations where pedestrians and vehicles come into proximity
with each other.

.       Failure by the State of Arizona to take immediate action assuring
that blind pedestrians can hear hybrid and other silent vehicles in all
phases of their operation will lead to pedestrian injuries and fatalities.
This would also cause several problems for the state's auto insurance
industry and for city and county law enforcement that enforce all local and
state traffic laws.

.       Fatalities and injuries can be avoided through vehicle designs which
take into account the multi-sensory nature of traffic detection and
avoidance and require that vehicles emit a minimum level of sound designed
to alert all pedestrians, especially blind pedestrians, to the presence of
electric and hybrid vehicles.

.       Passage of this legislation will not result in any cost to Arizona
taxpayers.  The only persons who would be bearing the cost are persons who
purchase and lease electric and hybrid vehicles.

.       Passage by the Arizona Legislature of a Model Quiet Safety
Pedestrian Bill is urgent for the safety and security of Blind of Arizona
and all persons who travel on Arizona streets and roadways.

Arizona Equal Access to Instructional
Materials in Higher Education Legislation Talking Points for the Arizona
Legislature NFBA Legislative Luncheon January 24, 2008

This year, we, the NFBA, are urging our legislators to pass the Arizona
Equal Access to Instructional Materials in Higher Education Bill.  The
purpose of the Equal Access to Instructional Materials in Higher Education
Bill will benefit blind and other eligible students by:

1.      improving literacy,
2.      enhancing performance in higher education,
3.      improving employability, and
4.      reducing the cost of acquiring instructional materials in accessible
formats, including Braille.

.       By supporting the passage of the Accessible Instructional Materials
for Higher Education for Arizona college students, the publisher can provide
the book in a simple electronic format.  With technology changing
constantly, this will allow for publishers to have the text books available
to the colleges and universities without delay or additional cost to the
college and university bookstore and the publishers.

.       In our Legislative Bill, the publishers will be consulted on the
formatting of the text book and both the consumer and the publisher, must
mutually decide an acceptable formats.  If the publisher and the college
and/or university cannot agree upon a format, the publisher will then
provide the file in another mutually agreed upon computer or electronic
format, such as Microsoft Word or LaTex.

.       Under our legislation, the publisher does not necessarily supply the
accessible instructional materials directly to the student; the college
and/or university must supply the instructional material to the eligible
student in the accessible format of the student's choice.  This is done in
order for the publisher to work with the college and university as other
students get their text book from the college and/or university book store.

.       In our legislation, the publisher shall provide the computer or
electronic version of the printed instructional materials to the eligible
student or educational institution, at no additional cost.  Any student who
requests a text book in an electronic format will be the same price as any
other student pays for a print text book.  There would be no additional cost
to the publisher or the student.

.       In this legislation, the colleges and/or universities will not copy,
publish, or in any other way distribute the accessible version of the
instructional materials for use by anyone other than the student.

.       We are not mandating that every text book must be sold to all blind
students; we are only asking that they be available upon request to blind
students who want them an in accessible format in order to complete their
required assignments at any of our state's colleges and universities.

Model Quiet Car Legislation

Section 1.  This Act shall be known as the "Pedestrian Safety Enhancement
Act of 2008."

Section 2.  Definitions.
(a) "Vehicle" means anything licensed for transporting people or goods on
public roadways including but not limited to a car, van, light truck, cargo
truck, or bus.

Section 3.  Findings and Purpose.
(a) The General Assembly of this state finds that:
(1)     Vehicles designed to provide the desirable benefits of reducing
harmful pollutants and operating with greater fuel efficiency include
gasoline-electric hybrid and electric-only vehicles, and in the foreseeable
future may include hydrogen fuel cell and other engine designs that rely on
fuels and technologies other than the gasoline-powered internal combustion
engine.
(2)     All of the vehicle engine designs specified in (1) above, as well as
other designs not specified herein, operate or are likely to operate with
virtually no sound being produced by the vehicle.
(3)     The total number of hybrid vehicles sold per year in this state is
growing dramatically, and although the present number of hybrid vehicles
constitutes a small overall percentage of vehicles, if this rate of growth
persists, the number of hybrid vehicles will soon equal or exceed the number
of internal combustion engine vehicles in this state.
(4)     Because blind pedestrians cannot locate and evaluate traffic using
their vision, they must listen to traffic to discern its speed, direction,
and other attributes in order to travel safely and independently; and other
people, including pedestrians who are not blind, bicyclists, runners, and
small children, benefit from multi-sensory information available from
vehicle traffic, including the sound of vehicle engines.
(5)     When operating on their electric engines, hybrid vehicles sold in
this state cannot be heard by blind people and others, rendering such
vehicles extremely dangerous when driving on the street, emerging from
driveways, moving through parking lots, and in other situations where
pedestrians and vehicles come into proximity with each other.
(6)     Failure of this state to take immediate action assuring that blind
pedestrians can hear hybrid and other silent vehicles in all phases of their
operation will lead to pedestrian injuries and fatalities.
(7)     The results described in (6) above are preventable through vehicle
designs which take into account the multi-sensory nature of traffic
detection and avoidance and require that vehicles emit a minimum level of
sound designed to alert all pedestrians, especially blind pedestrians, to
the presence of said vehicles.
(b) The purpose of this legislation is to establish a minimum sound level
standard for all phases of vehicle operation, which is to be applicable to
every new vehicle sold in this state and licensed for use on its public
streets and roadways when sold and registered after a specified date.

Section 4.
(a) Within one year of enactment of this Act, the agency or agencies in this
state having jurisdiction over vehicle emissions and vehicle/pedestrian
safety shall promulgate regulations establishing a minimum sound standard
applicable to vehicles sold in and licensed to travel the public roads of
this state.
(b) The standard promulgated shall have all of the following
characteristics:
(1)     In all phases of operation, including times when the vehicle is at a
full stop, vehicles shall emit an omni-directional sound with similar
spectral characteristics to those of a modern internal combustion engine.
(2)     The sound shall vary in a way that is consistent with the sound of
vehicles with combustion engines indicating that the vehicle is idling,
maintaining a constant speed, accelerating, or decelerating.
(3)     The regulations need not prescribe the apparatus, technology, or
method to be used by vehicle manufacturers to achieve the required minimum
sound level.
(c) When determining a minimum sound level, the state agency or agencies
crafting regulations pursuant to this Act shall:
(1)     review all available research regarding the effect of traffic sounds
on pedestrian safety; and
(2)     consult consumer groups representing individuals who are blind,
other pedestrians, cyclists, and advocates for the safety of children.

Section 5.  No later than two years after the minimum sound standard
required by this legislation has been promulgated, all new vehicles sold in
this state and licensed for use on the public roads must be in compliance
with the standard.

Section 6.  Beginning one year after the date that new vehicles must comply
with the minimum sound standard, vehicle safety inspections required in this
state shall include inspection of the sound-emitting components to insure
that they are functioning properly in order to provide maximum safety to
pedestrians in this state.  Vehicles that fail to meet the minimum sound
standard shall not be certified to travel on the roads of this state.

Section 7.  This Act shall take effect immediately upon its enactment.

Model Bill:
Equal Access to Instructional Materials in Higher Education

SECTION 1.  SHORT TITLE-This act may be cited as the "Equal Access to
Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act."

SECTION 2.  PURPOSE-The purpose of the Equal Access to Instructional
Materials in Higher Education Act is to provide instructional materials in
an accessible format to blind and other eligible students as defined in this
Act at the same time as the corresponding printed instructional material is
made available.  The Equal Access to Instructional Materials in Higher
Education Act will benefit blind and other eligible students by:

        A.  improving literacy,

        B.  enhancing performance in higher education,

        C.  improving employability, and

        D. reducing the cost of acquiring instructional materials in
accessible formats, including Braille.

SECTION 3.  DEFINITIONS-

        A.  "Accessible format" means one of several alternatives to
traditional print, including Braille, audio recordings, large print, and
computer text files.

        B.  "Braille" means the tactile system of reading and writing used
by persons who are blind, as defined by the Braille Authority of North
America.

        C.  "Department" refers to the State department of education.

        D.  "Educational institution" means all public or private
postsecondary educational institutions.

        E.  "Instructional materials" means textbooks (including teacher's
editions) and other materials that are required or essential to success in a
course of study, including computerized, electronic, or Internet-based
course materials, assignments, and tests.

        F.  "Structural integrity" means the entire contents of the printed
instructional materials, including the text of the material, sidebars, table
of contents, chapter headings and subheadings, footnotes, captions, indexes,
glossaries, bibliographies, pictures, illustrations, graphs, and charts,
organized in a manner consistent with the original printed instructional
materials.

        G.  "Eligible student" means a person who is accepted by, enrolled
at, or attending an educational institution and who is also eligible to
receive services from the National Library Service for the Blind and
Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress.

        H.  "Textbook" means a book, a system of instructional materials, or
a combination of a book and supplementary instructional material that
conveys information to the student or otherwise contributes to the learning
process, including electronic textbooks.

SECTION 4. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS-

A.      A publisher that prints instructional materials for eligible
students attending educational institutions shall provide the electronic
file in one of the methods below.

(1)     Provide to the educational institution's designated coordinator,
upon request of the eligible student, any printed instructional materials in
a computer or electronic file which can be easily converted to the
accessible format of the student's choice.
(2)     Provide the accessible copy of the instructional materials directly
to the eligible student in the accessible format of the student's choice.

        B.  The format used by the publisher shall include any nationally
recognized or generally accepted standard for conversion of files to
Braille, such as DAISY 3.0.

        C.  If no nationally recognized or generally accepted standard is
appropriate, publishers shall provide the file in another mutually agreed
upon computer or electronic format, such as Microsoft Word or LaTex.

        D.  The educational institution may:

                (1) use the computer or electronic version of the printed
instructional materials that is provided by the publisher to produce the
accessible version of the instructional materials;

                (2) supply the material to a third-party transcription
company which will in turn produce the accessible version of the
instructional materials; or

                (3) supply the electronic or computer file directly to the
eligible student.

In any case, when the publisher does not supply the accessible instructional
materials directly to the eligible student, the educational institution must
supply the instructional material to the eligible student in the accessible
format of the student's choice.

        E.  The computer or electronic version of the printed instructional
materials supplied by the publisher shall:

                (1) comply with any applicable federal standard;

                (2) otherwise maintain the structural integrity of the
printed instructional materials;

                (3) include copies of all pictures, illustrations, graphs,
and charts, organized in a manner consistent with the original printed
instructional materials; and

(4) include corrections and revisions as necessary.

        F.  The publisher shall provide the computer or electronic version
of the printed instructional materials to the eligible student or
educational institution, at no additional cost, and within ten business days
after receipt of a written request that does all of the following:

                (1) certifies that the eligible student has purchased the
printed instructional materials;

                (2) certifies that the student is an eligible student as
defined in section 3 of this Act; and

                (3) certifies that the printed instructional materials are
for use by the eligible student in connection with a course at the
educational institution.

        G.  A publisher may require that the request include a statement
signed by both the eligible student and the educational institution agreeing
that:

                (1) the educational institution will not copy, publish, or
in any other way distribute the accessible version of the instructional
materials for use by anyone other than the original eligible student, except
that the educational institution may provide the accessible version of the
instructional materials to another eligible student who has made a request
pursuant to F above and who has signed a statement agreeing to the terms
contained in this section, unless it is otherwise permitted by federal law;
and

                (2) the eligible student will not copy, publish, or in any
other way distribute the accessible version of the printed instructional
materials to any other person.

        H.  A publisher who manufactures instructional materials using any
type of video or audio format, CD ROM, or other digital format for eligible
students attending educational institutions shall, upon request, provide an
accessible version of the instructional materials, subject to the same
conditions and limitations as for printed instructional materials.

        I.  Nothing in the Equal Access to Instructional Materials in Higher
Education Act shall be deemed to authorize any use of instructional
materials that would constitute an infringement of copyright pursuant to
applicable federal copyright law.

SECTION 5.  GUIDELINES-The department, in consultation with representatives
from educational institutions, shall adopt guidelines consistent with the
Equal Access to Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act for the
implementation and administration of this Act.  The guidelines shall address
all of the following:

        A.  procedures for the suspension of publishers that fail to comply
with the provisions of the Equal Access to Instructional Materials in Higher
Education Act;

        B.  an administrative complaint process to be followed for
complaints against a publisher or institution of higher education;

        C.  development of a list of approved third party transcription
companies for use by educational institutions; and

        D.  any other matters the department deems necessary or appropriate
to carry out the purposes of the Equal Access to Instructional Materials in
Higher Education Act.

SECTION 6.  PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION-An eligible student who contends that
there has been a violation of the Equal Access to Instructional Materials in
Higher Education Act has the right to pursue a private right of action in a
court of competent jurisdiction if the eligible student has exhausted the
administrative complaint process.  Organizations representing the interests
of persons who are blind or of other eligible students shall have standing
to assert any right afforded in the Equal Access to Instructional Materials
in Higher Education Act and shall be subject to the same requirements and
terms as an eligible student.  If the eligible student or organization
should prevail in a lawsuit, the eligible student or organization shall be
entitled to injunctive and monetary relief and attorney's fees and costs
incurred in the litigation.

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