[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 121 (Monday, June 25, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 34652-34653]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-12205]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ARCHITECTURAL AND TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS COMPLIANCE BOARD

36 CFR Parts 1190 and 1191

[Docket No. 2007-04]


Accessibility Guidelines for Emergency Transportable Housing

AGENCY: Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board.

ACTION: Notice of intent to establish advisory committee.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board 
(Access Board) proposes to establish a Federal advisory committee to 
develop a proposed rule on accessibility guidelines for emergency 
transportable housing covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act 
and the Architectural Barriers Act. The Access Board invites comments 
on the proposal to establish the advisory committee and the proposed 
committee membership.

DATES: Comments and applications should be received by July 25, 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments and applications, identified by 
Docket No. 2007-04, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: board.gov">mazz@access-board.gov. Include Docket No. 2007-04 
in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: (202) 272-0081.
     Mail or Hand Delivery: Office of Technical and Information 
Services, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, 
1331 F Street, NW., Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004-1111.
    All submissions received must include the agency name and docket 
number for this rulemaking. Comments will also be available for 
inspection at the above address from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on regular 
business days.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marsha Mazz, 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) 272-0020 (Voice); (202) 272-0082 (TTY). 
These are not toll-free numbers. E-mail address: board.gov">mazz@access-board.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Architectural and Transportation 
Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board or Board) \1\ is responsible 
for developing accessibility guidelines under the Americans with 
Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Architectural

[[Page 34653]]

Barriers Act (ABA) to ensure that newly constructed and altered 
facilities covered by these laws are readily accessible to and usable 
by individuals with disabilities. In July 2004, the Access Board 
published revised accessibility guidelines for facilities covered by 
the ADA and ABA. 69 FR 44084 (July 23, 2004). The guidelines update 
accessibility requirements for a wide range of facilities in the public 
and private sectors. The ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines contain 
ADA scoping (Chapters 1 and 2), ABA scoping (Chapters F1 and F2) and 
common technical provisions (Chapters 3 through 10) and for the first 
time contain technical and scoping provisions for both transient 
lodging and residential dwelling units.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The Access Board is an independent Federal agency 
established by section 502 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 792) 
whose primary mission is to promote accessibility for individuals 
with disabilities. The Access Board consists of 25 members. Thirteen 
are appointed by the President from among the public, a majority of 
who are required to be individuals with disabilities. The other 
twelve are heads of the following Federal agencies or their 
designees whose positions are Executive Level IV or above: The 
Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, 
Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Interior, Defense, Justice, 
Veterans Affairs, and Commerce; General Services Administration; and 
United States Postal Services.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines did not anticipate the 
challenges associated with providing accessible and usable dwelling 
units which will meet structural and transportation criteria permitting 
them to be transported across roadways and to be installed in yards or 
on group trailer sites for emergency use. Therefore, the Access Board 
wishes to revisit the scoping provisions and technical criteria for 
residential dwelling units in its guidelines and proposes to establish 
a Federal advisory committee to develop a proposed rule on this 
subject. The following interest groups are likely to be affected by 
accessibility guidelines for emergency transportable housing:
     Federal agencies;
     Organizations representing the needs of individuals with 
disabilities;
     Trade associations;
     Manufacturers and designers of emergency transportable 
housing;
     State and local governments; and
     voluntary codes and standards groups.
    The Board proposes to appoint the following organizations to 
represent the interests identified above:
     Advocacy Center.
     Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities.
     Department of Housing and Urban Development.
     Department of Justice.
     Federal Emergency Management Agency.
     Manufactured Housing Institute.
     National Council on Independent Living.
     National Fire Protection Association.
     Recreation Park Trailer Industry Association.
     Recreation Vehicle Industry Association.
     United Spinal Association.
    Comments are invited on the proposal to establish the advisory 
committee and the proposed membership. Organizations that will be 
affected by the accessibility guidelines for emergency transportable 
housing and who believe that their interests will not be adequately 
represented by the above organizations may apply for membership on the 
committee. Applications should include the following information: (1) 
The name of the organization and the interest that the organization 
proposes to represent; (2) the reasons why the organizations specified 
above do not adequately represent the interests that the organization 
proposes to represent; (3) evidence that the person submitting the 
application is authorized to represent the organization; and (4) a 
written commitment that the organization would participate on the 
committee in good faith. There is no specific application form. See 
ADDRESSES, above, for information on where and how to submit 
applications.
    To be effective, the size of the committee will be limited. Each 
organization affected by accessibility guidelines for emergency 
transportable housing need not have its own representative on the 
advisory committee. Rather, interests must be adequately represented 
and the membership must be fairly balanced. After reviewing the 
comments received in response to this notice and any applications for 
membership, the Board will issue a notice in the Federal Register 
announcing the establishment of the committee and the committee 
membership, unless it is determined based on comments that the 
establishment of the committee would be inappropriate. The first 
committee meeting is tentatively scheduled for September 24 and 25, 
2007 at the Access Board offices in Washington, DC.
    The Board expects the committee to hold no more than three meetings 
and all meetings will be in the Washington, DC area. The meetings will 
be open to the public. Future committee meetings will be announced in 
the Federal Register. The Board will provide staff support to the 
committee. Members of the committee will not be compensated for their 
service. The Board may pay travel expenses for a limited number of 
persons who would otherwise be unable to serve on the committee. 
Members will not be considered special government employees since they 
will serve as representatives of their organizations and will not be 
required to file confidential financial disclosure reports.

Availability of Copies and Electronic Access

    Single copies of this publication may be obtained at no cost by 
calling the Access Board's automated publications order line (202) 272-
0080, by pressing 2 on the telephone keypad and then 1. Please record 
your name, address, city, State, zip code, telephone number and request 
the emergency transportable housing advisory committee notice. Persons 
using a TTY should call (202) 272-0082. This document is available in 
alternate formats upon request. Persons who want this publication in an 
alternate format should specify the type of format (cassette tape, 
Braille, large print, or ASCII disk). This document is also available 
on the Board's Web site (http://www.access-board.gov).

Tricia Mason,
Chair, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board.
 [FR Doc. E7-12205 Filed 6-22-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8150-01-P