Three years ago, a law was passed to give grants to television stations for an accessible electronic information service for persons who are blind or disabled, including real-time captioning of local news programming. These grants are funded through a telephone bill surcharge.
In order to assess the progress and effectiveness of the program, a sunset date of June 30, 2010, was set. With the program now proven successful, Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed a new law on April 4 repealing the sunset.
Sponsored by Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-Virginia) and Senate President James Metzen (DFL-South St. Paul), the law takes effect Aug. 1, 2008.
HF3739/SF3147*/CH171
First Reading: Expanding the band
Public television stations want state help for digital changes
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Published 3/28/2008