[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 555 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 555

    To amend the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to require 
      captioning and video description at certain movie theaters.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 13, 2013

  Mr. Harkin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to require 
      captioning and video description at certain movie theaters.

    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 ``Captioning and Image Narration to 
Enhance Movie Accessibility Act'' or the ``CINEMA Act''.

SEC. 2. MOVIE THEATER ACCESSIBILITY.

    Section 302(b) of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 
U.S.C. 12182(b)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
            ``(3) Movie theater accessibility.--
                    ``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
                            ``(i) Closed captioning.--The term `closed 
                        captioning' means a method, process, or 
                        mechanism, which may include a device, that--
                                    ``(I) allows an individual who is 
                                deaf or hard of hearing to have access 
                                to the content of a motion picture; and
                                    ``(II) allows that access by 
                                displaying, through an individual 
                                device or individually used technology, 
                                all of the audio portion of the motion 
                                picture (including displaying the 
                                dialogue and any narration, as well as 
                                descriptions of on- and off-screen 
                                sounds such as sound effects, music, or 
                                lyrics for music, and information 
                                identifying the character who is 
                                speaking) as text that can be 
                                effectively viewed and controlled by 
                                that individual while the individual 
                                simultaneously watches the motion 
                                picture.
                            ``(ii) Covered entity.--The term `covered 
                        entity' means an entity--
                                    ``(I) that operates a complex of 2 
                                or more movie theaters, screening 
                                rooms, or similar venues, at a single 
                                location, that are used for the 
                                exhibition of copyrighted motion 
                                pictures, if such exhibition is open to 
                                the public; and
                                    ``(II) whose operations affect 
                                commerce.
                            ``(iii) Open captioning.--The term `open 
                        captioning' means a method, process, or 
                        mechanism that--
                                    ``(I) allows an individual who is 
                                deaf or hard of hearing to have access 
                                to the content of a motion picture; and
                                    ``(II) allows that access by openly 
                                displaying on the movie screen involved 
                                all of the audio portion of the motion 
                                picture (including displaying the 
                                dialogue and any narration, as well as 
                                descriptions of on- and off-screen 
                                sounds such as sound effects, music, or 
                                lyrics for music, and information 
                                identifying the character who is 
                                speaking) as text that can be 
                                effectively viewed by that individual 
                                and other members of the audience while 
                                the individual and members 
                                simultaneously watch the motion 
                                picture.
                            ``(iv) Video description.--The term `video 
                        description' means a method, process, or 
                        mechanism, including a device, that--
                                    ``(I) allows an individual who is 
                                blind or visually impaired to have 
                                access to the key visual elements of a 
                                motion picture (such as actions, 
                                settings, facial expressions, costumes, 
                                and scene changes); and
                                    ``(II) allows that access through 
                                the provision of contemporaneous audio 
                                narrated descriptions of those elements 
                                during the natural pauses in the audio 
                                portion of the motion picture, or 
                                during the audio portion if necessary.
                    ``(B) Accessibility.--It shall be discriminatory 
                for any person who owns, leases (or leases to), or 
                operates a covered entity to fail to ensure that all 
                motion pictures shown at the complex involved are 
                accessible to individuals with disabilities, 
                including--
                            ``(i) providing, or making available, open 
                        captioning for individuals with disabilities, 
                        including individuals who are deaf or hard of 
                        hearing;
                            ``(ii) providing, or making available, 
                        closed captioning for individuals with 
                        disabilities, including individuals who are 
                        deaf or hard of hearing; and
                            ``(iii) providing, or making available, 
                        video description for individuals with 
                        disabilities, including individuals who are 
                        blind or visually impaired.
                    ``(C) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this Act 
                shall be construed to limit or prohibit an individual 
                with a disability from utilizing technology in 
                connection with a personal device in a manner that may 
                provide the individual with access to closed 
                captioning, open captioning, or video description that 
                is equivalent to or greater than the corresponding 
                access required under subparagraph (B).''.

SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

    Section 308(a)(2) of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 
(42 U.S.C. 12188(a)(2)) is amended by striking ``and section 303(a)'' 
and inserting ``, 302(b)(3), and 303(a)''.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act takes effect 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
Act.
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