The Department of Information Resources (department) adopts amendments to 1 TAC Chapter 206, §§206.1, 206.50 - 206.52, 206.55, 206.70 - 206.72, and 206.75, relating to state web sites. Comments were received in response to the proposed changes to the rules. Section 206.50 and §206.70 are adopted with changes to the proposed text as published in the November 18, 2005, issue of the Texas Register (30 TexReg 7633). Sections 206.1, 206.51, 206.52, 206.55, 206.71, 206.72, and 206.75 are adopted without changes and will not be republished.

Sections 206.1, 206.50 and 206.70 are amended to align the Texas accessibility standards with the §508 standards of the Rehabilitation Act relating to Web accessibility contained in 36 C.F.R. Part 1194. The changes are made in response to passage of House Bill 2819, which enacted §§2054.451 - 2054.465, Texas Government Code, relating to access to state electronic and information resources by individuals with disabilities. Additional changes were made to §§206.1, 205.50 - 206.52, 206.55, 206.70 - 206.72 and 206.75 to clarify language and correct grammar in the existing rules.

The following comments were received concerning the proposed amendments. Following each comment is the department's response and any resulting change(s).

Comment: One comment stated that the "fiscal impact statements are not in substantial compliance with the notice provisions required for proposed rules."

Response: The department disagrees and believes that the fiscal impact statement was in full compliance with the notice provisions required for proposed rules. On September 6, 2005 the department sent a notice to all state information resources managers and over 650 other individuals (dir-policy list) that draft copies of the proposed changes to 1 TAC Chapter 206 and to proposed new 1 TAC Chapter 213, concerning accessibility were available for public comment. The department only received a few comments. An individual at one agency indicated that "at this time we do not own any captioning equipment." The individual was contacted by department staff and informed that the software to add captions was free. The one area where the department identified a potential cost was for captioning live meetings. The department included an exception in the rule for this requirement.

Comment: Under §206.50 and §206.70, several agencies recommended that new text be added to implement the intent of the Legislature as set forth in §2054.460, Government Code. Additional comments questioned if the rule was retroactive.

Response: The department agrees to add language and make the following changes:

§206.50(1) "Effective September 1, 2006, unless an exception is approved by the executive director of the state agency, pursuant to §2054.460, Government Code, all new or redesigned Web pages/content shall comply with the following Texas Web accessibility standards/specifications, where applicable:"

§206.70(1) "Effective September 1, 2006, unless an exception is approved by the president or chancellor of the institution of higher education, pursuant to §2054.460, Government Code, all new or redesigned Web pages/content shall comply with the following Texas Web accessibility standards/specifications, where applicable:"

The effect of the changes to the rule is not retroactive. After September 1, 2006, new and redesigned pages are subject to the new standards.

Comment: Under §206.50(1)(A), a commenter proposed eliminating the requirement for a text equivalent for non-text elements via "alt," "longdesc," "or in element content."

Response: The department disagrees with the request. This is a basic accessibility issue that is required under the current rule.

Comment: Under §206.50(1)(B) and §206.70(1)(B) comments were received that indicated that providing synchronized captioning for all Web casts of open meetings and/or training would involve significant expense, and that there should be options for alternative means of compliance to minimize agency costs.

Response: The department agrees that captioning may not be appropriate in all circumstances, and that the executive director of each state agency should make the final determination as to whether to caption. In response to the comment, the department agrees to add language and make the following changes to the rule:

§206.50(1)(B) "Upon receiving a request for accommodation of a Web cast of an open meeting (as defined in the Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, Texas Government Code) or of training/informational video productions which support the agency's mission, each state agency which receives such a request for accommodation shall provide an alternative form(s) of accommodation in accordance with §2054.456 and §2054.457, Government Code. (Examples of different technologies and forms of accommodation and additional information for state agencies to consider in the development of accessible training and informational video productions are available in the Accessibility Section of the State Web Site Guidelines under "Multimedia, Audio, and Video Files" available from http://www.dir.state.tx.us)"

§206.70(1)(B) "Upon receiving a request for accommodation of a Web cast of an open meeting (as defined in the Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, Texas Government Code) or of training/informational video productions which support the institution of higher education's mission, each institution of higher education which receives such a request for accommodation shall provide an alternative form(s) of accommodation in accordance with §2054.456 and §2054.457, Government Code. (Examples of different technologies and forms of accommodation and additional information for institutions of higher education to consider in the development of accessible training and informational video productions are available in the Accessibility Section of the State Web Site Guidelines under "Multimedia, Audio, and Video Files" available from http://www.dir.state.tx.us.)"

Comment: Under §206.50(2) the rule did not address the exception by the executive director as stated in House Bill 2819, and identify who was responsible for testing.

Response: The department agrees to add language and make the following changes:

§206.50(2) "Effective September 1, 2006, unless an exception is approved by the executive director of the state agency pursuant to §2054.460, Government Code, new Web page/site designs shall be tested by the state agency using one or more §508 compliance tools in conjunction with manual procedures to validate compliance with the Texas Web accessibility standards. State agencies shall establish policies to monitor their Web site for compliance with the Texas Web accessibility standards. Additional information about testing tools and resources are in the State Web Site Guidelines that are available from http://www.dir.state.tx.us."

§206.70(2) "Effective September 1, 2006, unless an exception is approved by the president or chancellor of the institution of higher education pursuant to §2054.460, Government Code, new Web page/site designs shall be tested by the institution of higher education using one or more §508 compliance tools in conjunction with manual procedures to validate compliance with the Texas Web accessibility standards. Institutions of higher education shall establish policies to monitor their Web site for compliance with the Texas Web accessibility standards. Additional information about testing tools and resources are in the State Web Site Guidelines that are available from http://www.dir.state.tx.us."

Comment: Under §206.50(3) a commenter stated that we were unable to determine what "standard extensions" were from the department's site.

Response: The department added a new section to the associated guideline to address this comment.

Comment: Under §206.50(7), comments were received that training for staff members who provide web updates would be a significant expense if this training is not provided free-of-charge.

Response: The department has identified free training in the associated guidelines to address these concerns.

Comment: Under §206.52, the Spanish language requirement as set forth in Senate Bill (SB) 213, is based on priority and as resources permit. However, the implementation date and expectation is not clear.

Response: We disagree. The change adds the following "specific requirements for Spanish language content that are addressed in §2054.116, Government Code." §2054.116 was added by SB 213, and only requires a "reasonable effort to ensure that Spanish-speaking persons of limited English proficiency can meaningfully access state agency information online."

Comment: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is an inherently visual technology for the display of maps and remote sensing imagery of the earth and its terrain and human activity and facilities. To achieve full §508 compliance there is research underway in a few university laboratories to create tactile maps and other means for the visually impaired. However, this technology is currently not available through commercial vendors and therefore not commonly available to state agencies and universities. Moreover it will require specialized equipment for the end user to access.

Response: The department has determined that major GIS vendors are providing §508 compliant versions of their Web based products. Current assistive technology can be used to access GIS based data with the proper design of the user interface. The department will work with the GIS community to develop the necessary guidelines to assist agencies in the implementation of accessible interfaces to GIS data, or identify the types of GIS data that should have an exemption. However, the ability to identify exceptions or emerging technologies was missing from the proposed change to the rule. The department will add this new paragraph to address exceptions and emerging technology:

§206.50(8) "The lack of commercial availability of products, including computer software, and specific technologies that would impose a significant difficulty or expense on state agencies are identified under "Exceptions and Emerging Technologies" in the Accessibility Section of the State Web Site Guidelines available from http://www.dir.state.tx.us."

§206.70(8) "The lack of commercial availability of products, including computer software, and specific technologies that would impose a significant difficulty or expense on institutions of higher education are identified under "Exceptions and Emerging Technologies" in the Accessibility Section of the State Web Site Guidelines available from http://www.dir.state.tx.us."

The amendments are adopted under §§2054.453 - 2054.459, Texas Government Code, which require the department to consider the provisions contained in 36 C.F.R. Part 1194 in the adoption of rules and to assist state agencies in complying with the requirements of §2054.116, Texas Government Code. The rules are authorized by §2054.052(a), Texas Government Code, which authorizes the department to adopt rules necessary to implement its responsibilities under the Information Resources Management Act.