[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1255 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1255

To amend the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to establish certain additional 
    requirements relating to electronic and information technology 
  accessibility guidelines for individuals with disabilities, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 9, 1997

Ms. Eshoo (for herself, Mr. Frost, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Farr of California, 
 Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mr. Miller of California, Mr. McGovern, and 
Ms. Slaughter) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to establish certain additional 
    requirements relating to electronic and information technology 
  accessibility guidelines for individuals with disabilities, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Electronic and Information 
Technology Accessibility Compliance Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) There are approximately 145,000 Federal employees with 
        disabilities and these employees comprise 7.5 percent of the 
        Federal workforce.
            (2)(A) Although section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 
        1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d) requires Federal agencies to comply with 
        Federal guidelines to ensure that electronic and information 
        technology used by such agencies is accessible to individuals 
        with disabilities, there is no enforcement mechanism in such 
        Act to provide for compliance.
            (B) As a result, Federal agencies have an uneven record of 
        offering accessible technologies to their employees with 
        disabilities.
            (3)(A) States or other recipients of assistance under 
        section 102 of the Technology-Related Assistance for 
        Individuals With Disabilities Act of 1988 (29 U.S.C. 2212) 
        currently are required to comply with the guidelines 
        established under section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 
        1973.
            (B) However, this provision of law is expected to expire in 
        1999, eliminating the link between the States and the 
        guidelines under section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to strengthen compliance by Federal agencies with the 
        guidelines established under section 508 of the Rehabilitation 
        Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d); and
            (2) to require States to continue to comply with such 
        guidelines.

SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT THAT FEDERAL AGENCIES PROVIDE CERTIFICATION OF 
              COMPLIANCE WITH ELECTRONIC AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 
              ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES UNDER THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 
              1973.

    Section 508(b) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C 794d(b)) 
is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b) Compliance.--
            ``(1) In general.--Each Federal agency shall comply with 
        the guidelines established under this section.
            ``(2) Certification.--
                    ``(A) Establishment of certification procedures.--
                The Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
                shall establish uniform procedures under which the head 
                of each Federal agency shall submit to the Director a 
                written certification, containing such information as 
                the Director may reasonably require, that such agency 
                is in compliance with the guidelines established under 
                this section.
                    ``(B) Submission of certification.--Not later than 
                September 30 of each year, the head of each Federal 
                agency shall submit to the Director of the Office of 
                Management and Budget a written certification in 
                accordance with the procedures established under 
                subparagraph (A).
                    ``(C) Review of certification.--The Director of the 
                Office of Management and Budget--
                            ``(i) shall review each certification 
                        submitted by each Federal agency under 
                        subparagraph (B); and
                            ``(ii) shall provide notice to each such 
                        Federal agency that such agency is either in 
                        compliance or not in compliance with the 
                        guidelines established under this section, as 
                        the case may be.
                    ``(D) Assistance for and monitoring of agencies not 
                in compliance.--In the case of a Federal agency that is 
                not in compliance with the guidelines established under 
                this section, the Director of the Office of Management 
                and Budget--
                            ``(i) shall assist such agency in its 
                        efforts to comply with such guidelines; and
                            ``(ii) shall monitor the progress of such 
                        agency to comply with such guidelines.''.

SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT THAT STATES CONTINUE TO COMPLY WITH ELECTRONIC AND 
              INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES UNDER 
              TITLE I OF THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973.

    (a) In General.--Section 101(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 
(29 U.S.C 721(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (35), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (36), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(37) provide assurances that the State, or any recipient of funds 
made available to the State under this title, will comply with the 
guidelines established under section 508(a) of this Act.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--Paragraph (37) of section 101(a) of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as added by subsection (a), shall take 
effect one year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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