(a)The department, in establishing commodity procurement contracts, for which the solicitation is issued on or after January 1, 2015, shall obtain and make available to state agencies: [The department, in establishing commodity procurement contracts for state agencies and institutions of higher education, and in compliance with the State of Texas Accessibility requirements (based on the federal standards established under §508 of the Rehabilitation Act), shall require vendors make accessibility information available for every product under contract through one of the following methods:] (1)accessibility information for products or services, where applicable, through one of the following methods: (A) [(1)] the URL to [a] completed Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPATs) or equivalent reporting templates [Template (VPAT) (Refer to the Resources web page of the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) website for a sample VPAT)]; [(2)the URL to the product accessibility information available from the General Services Administration "Buy Accessible Wizard" (http://www.buyaccessible.gov);] (B) [(3)] accessible [ an] electronic documents [document] that address [addresses] the same accessibility criteria in substantively the same format as VPATs or equivalent reporting templates [the VPAT]; or (C) [(4)] the [The] URL to a web [Web] page which explains how to request [a] completed VPATs, or equivalent reporting templates, [VPAT] for any products [product ] under contract;[.] (2)evidence of the vendor's capability or ability to produce accessible EIR products and services. Such evidence may include, but is not limited to, a vendor's internal accessibility policy documents, accessibility testing documents, and examples of prior work results. (b)For the procurement of EIR made directly by an agency or through the department's commodity procurement contracts for which the solicitation is issued on or after January 1, 2015, the agency shall require a vendor to provide all that apply: (1)accessibility information for the purchased products or services, where applicable, through one of the following methods: (A)the URL to completed VPATs or equivalent reporting templates; (B)an accessible electronic document that addresses the same accessibility criteria in substantially the same format as VPATs or equivalent reporting templates; or (C)the URL to a web page which explains how to request completed VPATs, or equivalent reporting templates, for any products under contract; (2)credible evidence of the vendor's capability or ability to produce accessible EIR products and services. Such evidence may include, but is not limited to, a vendor's internal accessibility policy documents, contractual warranties for accessibility, accessibility testing documents, and examples of prior work results. (c)An agency shall implement a procurement accessibility policy, and supporting business processes and contract terms, for making procurement decisions. An agency shall monitor the procurement processes and contracts for accessibility compliance. (d)This subchapter applies to EIR developed, procured, or materially changed by an agency, or developed, procured, or materially changed by a contractor under a contract with an agency which requires the use of such product, or requires the use, to a significant extent, of such product in the performance of a service or the furnishing of a product. (e)This subchapter does not apply to information technology that is acquired by a contractor or grantee incidental to a contract or grant, provided the technology does not become State property upon the completion of the contract. [(b) Each state agency shall include in its accessibility policy standards and processes for making agency procurement decisions pursuant to §2054.453, Texas Government Code.] (f) [(1)] Unless an exception is approved by the executive director of the state agency pursuant to §2054.460, Texas Government Code, and §213.17 of this chapter, or unless an exemption is approved by the department, pursuant to §2054.460, Texas Government Code, and §213.17 of this chapter, all EIR [electronic and information resources] products developed, procured or materially changed through a procured services contract, and all electronic and information resource services provided through hosted or managed services contracts, shall comply with the provisions of Chapter 206 and Chapter 213 of this title, as applicable. [(2)Agencies may develop a procurement accessibility policy for making procurement decisions. Such policy must be approved by the executive director. In the absence of an approved procurement accessibility policy, the agencies shall use either the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) or the Buy Accessible Wizard to assess the degree of accessibility of a given product when making procurement decisions according to the agency's accessibility policy.] [(3)This subchapter applies to electronic and information resources developed, procured, or changed by an agency, or developed, procured, or changed by a contractor under a contract with an agency which requires the use of such product, or requires the use, to a significant extent, of such product in the performance of a service or the furnishing of a product.]. [(4)This subchapter does not apply to information technology that is acquired by a contractor or grantee incidental to a contract or grant, provided the technology does not become State property upon the completion of the contract.] (g)[(5)] 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 or greater access to and use of a product for people with disabilities. (h)For projects which meet the criteria of a major information resource project (MIRP), accessibility testing shall be documented by a knowledgeable agency staff member or third party testing resource to validate compliance with §206.50 of this title and this chapter.
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 May 23, 2014
TRD-201402463 Martin H. Zelinsky
General Counsel
Department of Information Resources
Earliest possible date of adoption: July 6, 2014
For further information, please call: (512) 475-4700
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