Access at the Capitol

Deaf, Deafblind, and Hard of Hearing Access At the Capitol

• ALD: Assistive Listening Device
• Sign Language Interpreters
• CART: Communication Access Real-time Translation
• TTY and Amplified Pay Phone
• CC: Closed Captioning

ALD: Assistive Listening Device

For committee rooms in

Capitol: Go to room G-1 in the Capitol (Senate Sergeant-at-Arms). If G-1 in the Capitol is closed, go to room B-4 in the Capitol (Senate Duplicating). Return the ALD to room G-1 in the Capitol when the committee is finished. If room G-1 (in the Capitol) is closed, return the ALD to room B-4 (in the Capitol).

State Office Building: Go to House Sergeant-at-Arms (190 State Office Building) or go to the committee room 30 minutes early and ask a committee staff person (example: Page) for an ALD. Return the ALD to room 190 (State Office Building) or ask a committee staff person (example: Page) to return the ALD when the meeting is finished.

For Galleries (in the Capitol)

Senate Gallery: Ask the Sergeant-at-Arms sitting at the desk in the Senate Gallery for an ALD. When finished, leave the ALD on the desk in the Senate Gallery.

House Gallery: Go to the Chief Clerk’s Office (211 in the Capitol). Return the ALD to 211 (in the Capitol) when you are done.

Sign Language Interpreters

For Meetings with a Legislator:

Please contact the legislator’s office at least 24 hours before you want to meet the legislator. Tell the Legislative Assistant that you want to schedule a meeting with the legislator and you need a Sign Language Interpreter for the meeting.

For floor sessions (House or Senate Gallery in the Capitol) or committees:

Call CSD at (651) 224-6548 v/tty or (877) 456-7589 v/tty.

• CSD cannot guarantee they will be able to find an interpreter for you. To increase the chance that CSD will be able to find an interpreter, please contact CSD at least 24 hours before you will go to the Capitol or State Office Building.

• Between 7:30 am to 4:30 pm a live person will answer. Between 4:30 to 7:00 am leave a message and a person will call you back in a few minutes.

• Give CSD:
1. your name
2. your phone/videophone/tty number (contact info)
3. date of the meeting/floor session
4. time of the meeting/floor session
5. length of the meeting/floor session
6. location of the meeting/floor session
7. name of the committee or floor session (House or Senate)
8. preferences for interpreting (ASL, Signed English, tactile, etc).

Outside the Twin Cities:

For meetings with legislators or for hearings outside the Twin Cities, contact the LCC at 651-296-1121 or by email: lcc@lcc.leg.mn. Or contact CSD at (651)224-6548 (v/tty) or (877)456-7589 (v/tty).

CART: Communication Access Real-time Translation

For Meeting with Legislators:

Please contact the legislator’s office at least 24 hours before you want to meet the legislator. Tell the Legislative Assistant that you want to schedule a meeting with the legislator and you need CART.

For floor sessions (House or Senate Gallery in the Capitol) or committees:

Contact the LCC at 651-296-1121 or by email: lcc@lcc.leg.mn

• Please contact the LCC at least 24 hours before you want to go to the Capitol or State Office Building.

• Give the LCC:
1. your name
2. your phone/tty number or email address (contact info)
3. date of the meeting/floor session
4. time of the meeting/floor session
5. length of the meeting/floor session
6. location of the meeting/floor session
7. name of the committee/floor session
8. if you are watching or testifying.

TTY and Amplified Pay Phone

The TTY and amplified pay phone are located on the first floor by the information desk near the main entrance doors in the Capitol.

CC: Closed Captioning

At the Capitol: There are TVs located in the hallways on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors of the State Capitol Building. All of those TVs can display closed captioning. Three channels (channel 7, 17, 36) show live events at the Capitol and State Office Building (ex: floor sessions, committee hearings, etc). Only channel 17 has closed captioning.

Outside the Capitol and State Office Building: During session, the Minnesota Channel and TPT17 show live events of what is going on at the Minnesota State Capitol and State Office Building Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (5 p.m. on tpt17), with some longer hours and weekend hours for very popular events. All of the events (ex: floor sessions and committee hearings) shown on TPT 17 and the Minnesota Channel are closed captioned.