The Department of Information Resources (department) adopts 1 TAC Chapter 213, §§213.1 - 213.3, 213.10 - 213.17, and 213.30 - 213.37 to align the Texas Accessibility Standards with the §508 standards of the Rehabilitation Act relating to the accessibility of electronic and information resources contained in 36 C.F.R. Part 1194. Sections 213.1, 213.12, 213.17, 213.32 and 213.37 are adopted with changes to the proposed text as published in the November 18, 2005, issue of the Texas Register (30 TexReg 7639). Sections 213.2, 213.3, 213.10, 213.11, 213.13 - 213.16, 213.30, 213.31, and 213.33 - 213.36 are adopted without changes and will not be republished.

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

Comment: As currently drafted, it is unclear if state agencies could use the new Buy Accessible Data Center that was just added by GSA. What about any other new tools/resources?

Response: The department agrees and proposes the following change:

§213.1(4) Buy Accessible Wizard--A web-based application (http://www.buyaccessible.gov) that guides users through a process of gathering data and providing information about Electronic and Information Resources and §508 compliance, or other tools/resources developed by or for the federal government to indicate product/service compliance with the Section 508 standards (http://www.section508.gov).

Comment: Under §213.12 and §213.32 indicated that providing open or closed captions for all training would involve significant expense, and that agencies should have options for alternative means of compliance to minimize agency costs.

Response: The department agrees that captioning may not be appropriate in all circumstances, and proposes the following changes:

§213.12(b) "Upon receiving a request for accommodation of a Web cast 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.)"

§213.32(b) "Upon receiving a request for accommodation of a Web cast 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 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.)"

Comments: The rule did not address the exception by the executive director as stated in House Bill 2819 or the ability to identify exceptions or emerging technologies.

Response: The department agrees, and is making the following clarifying change:

§213.17(a) "As of September 1, 2006, unless an exception is approved by the executive director of the state agency pursuant to §2054.460, Government Code, all electronic and information resources products developed or procured by a state agency for each project begun after August 31, 2006, shall comply with the applicable provisions of this subchapter, unless it would impose a significant difficulty or expense for the state agency. The lack of the 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."

§213.37(a) "As of 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 electronic and information resources products developed or procured by a the institution of higher education for each project begun after August 31, 2006, shall comply with the applicable provisions of this subchapter, unless it would impose a significant difficulty or expense for the institution of higher education. The lack of the commercial availability of products, including computer software, and specific technologies that would impose a significant difficulty or expense on the 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."

Comments: That the §508 language of "substantially equivalent or greater access" went beyond the intent of House Bill 2819 ("ensure that state employees with disabilities have access to and the use of those resources comparable to the access and use available to state employees without disabilities").

The department agrees and is making the following change:

§213.17(d) "Nothing in this subchapter is intended to prevent the use of designs or technologies as alternatives to those prescribed in this subchapter provided they result in substantially equivalent access to and use of a product for people with disabilities."

§213.37(d) "Nothing in this subchapter is intended to prevent the use of designs or technologies as alternatives to those prescribed in this subchapter provided they result in substantially equivalent access to and use of a product for people with disabilities."

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.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is the lead agency in the federal government for geospatial technology, and most likely in the forefront on research on §508 compliance for GIS and GIS web accessibility. Amy Berger, the USGS §508 Coordinator reports that her agency currently provides USGS divisions a partial exemption to Section 508 for GIS web accessibility and the procurement of electronic and information resources related to GIS, as compliant software and several type specialized hardware is not commercially available in the marketplace.

Response: The department agrees that GIS computer software under Chapter 213 should have a partial exemption. The exemption is included in the new version of the Department of Information Resources (DIR) guidelines.

Comment: The proposed rules require each state agency and institution of higher education to implement the proposed DIR rules independently of all other agencies and institutions. This approach by DIR will result in unnecessary duplication of effort, the possibility of inconsistent application of the rules and the inefficient use of state resources. Even though numerous state agencies and institutions of higher education may purchase the same IT product, each will be required to independently evaluate whether the product complies with the standards set out in these rules. We request that DIR amend the proposed rules to provide for a mechanism to create a DIR managed registry listing "pre-approved" commonly purchased products so that state agencies and institutions of higher education could rely on the registry and avoid duplication of effort.

Response: The department disagrees as the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) provides this information in a consistent method by the responsible vendor. The department's commodity contracts will require the vendor to provide the URL of the VPAT for each product.

The new sections are adopted under the Texas Accessibility Standards with the §508 standards of the Rehabilitation Act relating to the accessibility of electronic and information resources contained in 36 C.F.R. Part 1195. The new sections implement §§2054.453 - 2054.459, Texas Government Code, which require the department to consider the accessibility provisions contained in 36 C.F.R. Part 1195.