[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 39 (Monday, March 1, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9967-9968]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-4992]


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ARCHITECTURAL AND TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS COMPLIANCE BOARD


Electronic and Information Technology Access Advisory Committee; 
Meeting

AGENCY: Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board 
(Access Board) has established an advisory committee to assist it in 
developing a proposed rule on accessibility standards for electronic 
and information technology covered by the Rehabilitation Act Amendments 
of 1998. This document gives notice of the dates, times, and location 
of the next meeting of the Electronic and Information Technology Access 
Advisory Committee (Committee).

DATES: The next meeting of the Committee is scheduled for March 29 and 
30, 1999, beginning at 9:30 a.m. and ending at 5:00 p.m. each day.

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held at 1331 F Street, NW., Washington, 
DC, in the third floor training room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doug Wakefield, Office of Technical 
and Information Services, Architectural and Transportation Barriers 
Compliance Board, 1331 F Street, NW., suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004-
1111. Telephone number (202) 272-5434 extension 39 (Voice); (202) 272-
5449 (TTY). E-mail address: [email protected]. This document 
is available in alternate formats (cassette tape, Braille, large print, 
or computer disk) upon request. This document is also available on the 
Board's Internet Site at http://www.access-board.gov/notices/
eitaacmtg.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 29, 1998, the Access Board 
published a notice appointing 23 members to its Electronic and 
Information Technology Access

[[Page 9968]]

Advisory Committee (Committee). 63 FR 51891 (September 29, 1998). The 
Committee will make recommendations to the Access Board on 
accessibility standards for electronic and information technology 
covered by the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998. The Committee is 
composed of Federal agencies and Federal contractors; the electronic 
and information technology industry; organizations representing the 
access needs of individuals with disabilities; and other persons 
affected by accessibility standards for electronic and information 
technology. At its first meeting on October 15 and 16, 1998, the 
Committee took the following actions:
     Added Compaq Computers, Pitney Bowes, Sun Microsystems, 
and the Information Technology Industry Council to the Committee;
     Formed three subcommittees. One subcommittee will examine 
the definitions needed for the recommended standards. Another 
subcommittees will examine the various functions that are performed by 
electronic and information technology. These functions include 
creating, processing, transmitting, and interacting with information 
and the technology involved. A third subcommittee will begin the 
process of classifying the variety of products covered by the standards 
into product families;
     Created a listserv to facilitate communications between 
meetings. To subscribe to the listserv send an e-mail message to: 
[email protected].; and
     Established a schedule of meeting dates. In addition to 
the meeting on March 29-30, 1999, the Committee will meet again on May 
11-12, 1999.
    At its second meeting on December 1 and 2, 1998, the Committee 
addressed the scope of the standards it will be recommending to the 
Access Board. This included defining the term ``electronic and 
information technology''. A three person group was appointed to develop 
a recommended definition and present it to the Committee at its January 
meeting. Additionally, four subcommittees were formed. These include: 
installation and setup, information presentation, control and 
operation, and user information. The subcommittees will examine these 
specific areas and identify access barriers in each area, and recommend 
standards that could lower or eliminate these barriers. The 
subcommittees will continue their work on the listserv.
    At its third meeting on January 5-6, 1999, the Committee adopted a 
working definition for electronic and information technology based on 
the definition of information technology in the Clinger-Cohen Act of 
1996 (40 U.S.C. 1401(3)). The four subcommittees, created during the 
December meeting, continued work on their specified areas.
    The Committee met for the fourth time on February 8-9, 1999, and 
shifted from identifying access barriers to developing functional 
standards to address the access barriers. A draft final report is 
expected to be discussed at the Committee's next meeting in March. The 
Committee also heard presentations from the Federal Acquisition 
Regulatory Council on how the Federal Acquisition Regulations are 
promulgated; a presentation by a vice president of the American 
National Standards Institute on how conformity to standards takes 
place; and, a member of the Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council 
who briefed the Committee on the duties of an agency's CIO.
    The meetings are open to the public. There will be a public comment 
period each day for persons interested in presenting their views to the 
Committee. The facility is accessible to individuals with disabilities. 
Sign language interpreters, assistive listening systems and real-time 
transcription will be available.
Lawrence W. Roffee,
Executive Director.
[FR Doc. 99-4992 Filed 2-26-99; 8:45 am]
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