PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

The OMB Director must, within 100 days after December 29, 2022, work with the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board and the GSA Administrator to give updated criteria and instructions to the federal agencies covered by the accessibility law. The instructions must say that information technology and digital services be tested to meet the law’s technical standards and be accessible and usable by people with disabilities. Agencies must consult people with visual, hearing, touch, and cognitive disabilities or disability groups. The instructions must also explain what data to send, how to send it, what measures will be used to judge compliance, and any other steps agencies need to show they meet accessibility rules. Each agency head must, within 225 days after December 29, 2022, evaluate how accessible the agency’s technology is for people with disabilities compared with people without disabilities, follow the new criteria when doing the evaluation, and send a joint report to OMB and GSA. Within 1 year after December 29, 2022, and every year after, the GSA Administrator, consulting with OMB, must send a report to the Senate Committees on Appropriations and on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and to the House Committees on Appropriations and on Oversight and Reform. The report must include a full assessment of agency and government-wide compliance (including the metrics and data used), a description of actions taken and planned to help agencies comply, and recommendations for agencies or Congress. Those reports must be posted on a public website and kept as open government data.

Title 29, §794d–1

Labor, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Not later than 100 days after December 29, 2022, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (in this section referred to as the “Director”), in coordination with the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board and the Administrator of General Services (in this section referred to as the “Administrator”), shall disseminate amended or updated criteria and instructions to any Federal department or agency (in this section referred to as an “agency”) covered by section 794d of this title for the evaluation required pursuant to paragraph (3)(B).

(2)Such criteria and instructions shall—

(A)include, at minimum, requirements that information technologies and digital services must–

(i)conform to the technical standards referenced in subsection (a)(2)(A) of such section 794d of this title, as determined by appropriate conformance testing; and

(ii)be accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities as determined from consultation with individuals with disabilities, including those with visual, auditory, tactile, and cognitive disabilities, or members of any disability organization; and

(B)provide guidance to agencies regarding the types and format of data and information to be submitted to the Director and the Administrator pursuant to paragraph (3), including how to submit such data and information, the metrics by which compliance will be assessed in the reports required in subsection (b), and any other directions necessary for agencies to demonstrate compliance with accessibility standards for electronic and information technology procured and in use within an agency, as required by such section 794d of this title.

(3)Not later than 225 days after December 29, 2022, the head of each agency shall—

(A)evaluate the extent to which the electronic and information technology of the agency are accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities described in subsection (a)(1) of such section 794d of this title compared to the access to and use of the technology and services by individuals described in such section who are not individuals with disabilities;

(B)evaluate the electronic and information technology of the agency in accordance with the criteria and instructions provided in paragraph (1); and

(C)submit a report containing the evaluations jointly to the Director and the Administrator.

(b)(1)Not later than 1 year after December 29, 2022, and annually thereafter, the Administrator, in consultation with the Director, shall prepare and submit to the Committees on Appropriations and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committees on Appropriations and Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives a report that shall include—

(A)a comprehensive assessment (including information identifying the metrics and data used) of compliance by each agency, and by the Federal Government generally, with the criteria and instructions disseminated under subsection (a)(1);

(B)a detailed description of the actions, activities, and other efforts made by the Administrator over the year preceding submission to support such compliance at agencies and any planned efforts in the coming year to improve compliance at agencies; and

(C)a list of recommendations that agencies or Congress may take to help support that compliance.

(2)The Administrator shall ensure that the reports required under this subsection are made available on a public website and are maintained as an open Government data asset (as that term is defined in section 3502 of title 44).

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was enacted as part of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2023, and also as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, and not as part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which comprises this chapter.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Committee on Oversight and Reform of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Oversight and Accountability of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Eighteenth Congress, Jan. 9, 2023.

§794d–1 Reports on Accessibility of Electronic Information to Individuals with Disabilities