Effective April 18, 2020 [September 1, 2006],
all EIR developed, procured, or changed by a state agency
shall comply with the standards and specifications of Chapter 206
and/or Chapter 213 of this title, unless an exception is approved
by the agency head [executive director of the agency,]
or an exemption is granted by the department.
(1)Legacy EIR. Any component or portion
of existing EIR that complies with an earlier standard issued pursuant
to Chapter 206 or Chapter 213 of this title, and the user interface
has not been altered on or after April 18, 2020, shall not be required
to be modified to conform to this revised rule.
(2)[(1)] In its accessibility
policy, an agency shall include standards and processes for handling
exception requests for all EIR, including those subject to exceptions
for a significant difficulty or expense contained in Texas Government
Code §2054.460[, Texas Government Code].
(3)[(2)] Exceptions for a material
[significant] difficulty or expense pertaining
to significant barriers to users under Texas Government
Code §2054.460[, Texas Government Code] must
be approved in writing by the agency head for EIR that does not
comply with the standards and specifications described in Chapter
206 and/or Chapter 213 of this title, pursuant to Texas Government
Code §2054.460: [executive director of an agency for
each EIR development or procurement, including outsourced development,
which does not comply with the standards and specifications described
in Chapter 206 and/or Chapter 213 of this title, pursuant to §2054.460.,
Texas Government Code].
(A)prior to the procurement, completion,
use, or deployment;
(B)or at the point the barrier is
identified if the vendor is unable to immediately remedy the failure
to comply with Chapter 206 and/or Chapter 213 of this title.
(4)[(3)] An approved exception
for a significant difficulty or expense under Texas Government
Code §2054.460[, Texas Government Code] shall
include the following:
(A)a date of expiration or duration of the exception;
(B)a plan for alternate means of access for persons
with disabilities;
(C)justification for the exception including technical
barriers, cost of remediation, fiscal impact for bringing the EIR
into compliance, and other identified risks; and
(D)documentation of how the agency considered alternative
solutions and all agency resources available to the program
or program component for which the product is being developed, procured,
maintained, or used. Examples may include, but are not limited to,
agency budget, grants, and alternative vendor or product selections.
(5)[(4)] Agencies shall maintain
records of approved exceptions in accordance with the agency's records
retention schedule.
(6)[(5)] The department shall
establish and maintain a list of electronic and information technology
resources which are determined to be exempt from the standards and
specifications of all or part of Chapter 206 and/or Chapter 213 of
this title.
(7)[(6)] The list of exempt
EIR will be posted under the Accessibility section of the department's
website.
(8)[(7)] The following information
shall be provided for each exemption listed:
(A)a date of expiration or duration of the exemption;
(B)a plan for alternate means of access for persons
with disabilities;
(C)justification for the exemption including technical
barriers, cost of remediation, fiscal impact for bringing the EIR
into compliance, and other identified risks; and
(D)written approval of the department's executive
director.
(9)[(8)] The department shall
establish and publish a policy under the Accessibility section of
its website which defines the procedures and standards used to determine
which electronic or information resources are exempt from the standards
and specifications described in Chapter 206 and/or Chapter 213 of
this title.
The agency certifies that legal counsel
has reviewed
the proposal and found it to be within the state agency's legal authority
to adopt.
Filed
with the Office of the Secretary of State on September 9, 2019
TRD-201903133 Amanda Crawford
Executive Director
Department of Information Resources
Earliest possible date of adoption: October 20, 2019
For further information, please call: (512) 475-4552
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