[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 556 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 556

To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve the accessibility of 
    entertainment programming provided by air carriers on passenger 
                    flights, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   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 Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve the accessibility of 
    entertainment programming provided by air carriers on passenger 
                    flights, 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 ``Air Carrier Access Amendments Act''.

SEC. 2. ACCESSIBILITY OF IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMMING.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 417 of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 41705 the following:
``Sec. 41705a. Accessibility of in-flight entertainment programming
    ``(a) In General.--In providing air transportation, an air carrier, 
including (subject to section 40105(b)) any foreign air carrier, shall 
ensure that--
            ``(1) on and after the date that is 180 days after the date 
        of the enactment of the Air Carrier Access Amendments Act, all 
        visually displayed entertainment programming available to 
        passengers on a flight is accessible to individuals with 
        disabilities, including by--
                    ``(A) providing, or making available, open 
                captioning for individuals with disabilities, including 
                individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, when such 
                programming is available to passengers through shared 
                video displays, such as a monitor located in a 
                passenger access aisle;
                    ``(B) providing, or making available, closed 
                captioning for individuals with disabilities, including 
                individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, when such 
                programming is available to passengers through 
                individual video displays; and
                    ``(C) providing, or making available, video 
                description for individuals with disabilities, 
                including individuals who are blind or visually 
                impaired, when such programming is available to 
                passengers through individual video displays or shared 
                video displays; and
            ``(2) not later than the effective date of the regulations 
        prescribed under subsection (c)(2), all individual video 
        displays that display entertainment programming or information 
        to passengers on a flight that are operated primarily by using 
        touchscreens or other contact-sensitive controls include a 
        mechanism that allows individuals with disabilities, including 
        individuals who are blind or visually impaired, to 
        independently operate the displays in accordance with the 
        standards prescribed under subsection (c).
    ``(b) Enforcement.--
            ``(1) In general.--The remedies and procedures set forth in 
        section 308(a) of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 
        (42 U.S.C. 12188(a)), including the injunctive relief described 
        in paragraph (2) of that section, shall be available to any 
        person aggrieved by the failure of an air carrier to comply 
        with subsection (a).
            ``(2) Enforcement by attorney general.--The provisions of 
        section 308(b) of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 
        (42 U.S.C. 12188(b)) shall apply with respect to the compliance 
        of air carriers with subsection (a) to the same extent that 
        those provisions apply with respect to the compliance of 
        covered entities with title III of that Act (42 U.S.C. 12181 et 
        seq.).
    ``(c) Establishment of Standards for Operation of Individual Video 
Displays.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date 
        of the enactment of the Air Carrier Access Amendments Act, the 
        Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board 
        shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, 
        prescribe standards in accordance with chapter 5 of title 5 
        (commonly known as the `Administrative Procedure Act') setting 
        forth the minimum technical criteria for individual video 
        displays described in subsection (a)(2) to ensure that such 
        video displays include a mechanism that allows individuals with 
        disabilities to operate the displays independently.
            ``(2) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the 
        Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board 
        issues standards under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 
        prescribe such regulations as are necessary to implement those 
        standards and shall publish those regulations in an accessible 
        format.
            ``(3) Review and amendment.--The Architectural and 
        Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, in consultation with 
        the Secretary, shall periodically review and, as appropriate, 
        amend the standards prescribed under paragraph (1) in 
        accordance with chapter 5 of title 5. Not later than 180 days 
        after the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance 
        Board issues amended standards under this paragraph, the 
        Secretary shall make such revisions to the regulations 
        prescribed under paragraph (2) as are necessary to implement 
        the amended standards.
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Closed captioning.--The term `closed captioning' 
        means a method, process, or mechanism, which may include a 
        device, that--
                    ``(A) allows an individual who is deaf or hard of 
                hearing to have access to the content of visually 
                displayed entertainment programming; and
                    ``(B) allows that access by displaying, through an 
                individual device or individually used technology, all 
                of the audio portion of the programming (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 programming.
            ``(2) Individual with a disability.--The term `individual 
        with a disability' means any person who has a disability as 
        defined in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 
        1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102).
            ``(3) Open captioning.--The term `open captioning' means a 
        method, process, or mechanism that--
                    ``(A) allows an individual who is deaf or hard of 
                hearing to have access to the content of visually 
                displayed entertainment programming; and
                    ``(B) allows that access by openly displaying on 
                the video display on which the programming is displayed 
                all of the audio portion of the programming (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 
                passengers while the individual and passengers 
                simultaneously watch the programming.
            ``(4) Video description.--The term `video description' 
        means a method, process, or mechanism, including a device, 
        that--
                    ``(A) allows an individual who is blind or visually 
                impaired to have access to the key visual elements of 
                visually displayed entertainment programming (such as 
                actions, settings, facial expressions, costumes, and 
                scene changes); and
                    ``(B) allows that access through the provision of 
                contemporaneous audio narrated descriptions of those 
                elements during the natural pauses in the audio portion 
                of the programming, or during the audio portion if 
                necessary.
            ``(5) Visually displayed entertainment programming.--The 
        term `visually displayed entertainment programming' means live 
        televised events, recorded programming (including television 
        programs), or motion pictures that are available to passengers, 
        for a fee or without cost, on a flight in air 
        transportation.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 417 of title 49, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 41705 the following:

``41705a. Accessibility of in-flight entertainment programming.''.
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