118 S2910 IS: Federal Agency Accessibility Compliance Act of 2023 U.S. Senate 2023-09-21 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

II118th CONGRESS1st SessionS. 2910IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESSeptember 21, 2023Mr. Casey (for himself, Mr. Fetterman, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Duckworth, and Mr. Sanders) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and PensionsA BILLTo amend section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to require each Federal department or agency to have a compliance officer to ensure the department or agency is meeting the requirements of such section.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Federal Agency Accessibility Compliance Act of 2023.

2.

Compliance officer

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d) is amended by adding at the end the following:(h)

Compliance officer

(1)

In general

(A)

Appointment

Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of the Federal Agency Accessibility Compliance Act of 2023, the head of each Federal department or agency to which this section applies shall appoint a compliance officer who shall have knowledge and experience with website accessibility, the requirements of this section, and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines that are current as of the date of the appointment. (B)

Responsibilities

Each compliance officer appointed under subparagraph (A) shall—(i)be responsible for ensuring the Federal department or agency is meeting the requirements of this section; and(ii)report directly to the head of the Federal department or agency.(2)

Signed certification

Beginning not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Federal Agency Accessibility Compliance Act of 2023, and biennially thereafter, the head of each Federal department or agency to which this section applies shall—(A)post on the home page of the department or agency’s website a signed certification that the department or agency is in compliance with the requirements under this section; or(B)submit to Congress, and post on the home page of the department or agency’s website, a plan with a timeline to ensure the department or agency’s compliance with the requirements under this section. (3)

Larger departments and agencies

With respect to a Federal department or agency to which this section applies that has multiple units within such department or agency headed by Assistant Secretaries or Directors, the head of each such unit shall appoint a compliance officer who shall be responsible for ensuring the unit is meeting the requirements of this section. (4)

Flexibility for smaller departments and agencies

The head of a Federal department or agency to which this section applies that has fewer than 20 full-time employees may appoint one of such full-time employees as the compliance officer for the department or agency, if the majority of the employee's work duties are related to work as the compliance officer..