HF 1962

as introduced - 91st Legislature (2019 - 2020) Posted on 04/26/2019 03:45pm

A bill for an act
relating to the legislature; establishing a working group on the legislature's
accessibility measures; requiring the legislature to comply with accessibility
standards for technology; appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes
2018, section 16E.03, by adding a subdivision; proposing coding for new law in
Minnesota Statutes, chapter 3.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [3.199] ACCESSIBILITY IN THE LEGISLATURE'S INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin (a) For purposes of this section, the following term has the
meaning given.
new text end

new text begin (b) "Responsible authority" means:
new text end

new text begin (1) for the house of representatives, the chief clerk of the house;
new text end

new text begin (2) for the senate, the secretary of the senate;
new text end

new text begin (3) for the Office of the Revisor of Statutes, the revisor of statutes;
new text end

new text begin (4) for the Office of the Legislative Auditor, the legislative auditor;
new text end

new text begin (5) for the Legislative Reference Library, the library director;
new text end

new text begin (6) for the Legislative Budget Office, the director of the Legislative Budget Office; and
new text end

new text begin (7) for any entity administered by the legislative branch not listed in clauses (1) to (6),
the director of the Legislative Coordinating Commission.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Accessibility standards; compliance. new text end

new text begin The senate, the house of representatives,
and joint legislative offices and commissions must comply with accessibility standards
adopted for state agencies by the chief information officer under section 16E.03, subdivision
9, for technology, software, and hardware procurement, unless the responsible authority for
a legislative body or office has approved an exception for a standard for that body or office.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Not subject to MN.IT authority. new text end

new text begin The chief information officer is not authorized
to manage or direct compliance of the legislature with accessibility standards.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective September 1, 2021.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 16E.03, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 11. new text end

new text begin Technical support to the legislature. new text end

new text begin The chief information officer, or a
designee, must provide technical support to assist the legislature to comply with accessibility
standards under section 3.199, subdivision 2. Support under this subdivision must include:
new text end

new text begin (1) clarifying the requirements of the accessibility standards;
new text end

new text begin (2) providing templates for common software applications used in developing documents
used by the legislature;
new text end

new text begin (3) assisting the development of training for staff to comply with the accessibility
standards and assisting in providing the training; and
new text end

new text begin (4) assisting the development of technical applications that enable legislative documents
to be fully accessible.
new text end

new text begin The chief information officer must provide these services at no cost to the legislature.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 3. new text begin LEGISLATIVE EMPLOYEE WORKING GROUP ON THE
LEGISLATURE'S ACCESSIBILITY MEASURES.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Membership. new text end

new text begin The legislative employee working group on the legislature's
accessibility measures consists of 12 members. The senate majority leader and the speaker
of the house must each appoint four employees from among the following offices that serve
the respective bodies: media offices, information technology offices, legal and fiscal analysis
offices, the secretary of the senate, the chief clerk of the house of representatives, and other
offices considered appropriate. The chair of the Legislative Coordinating Commission must
appoint four members from among the employees who serve in the Office of the Revisor
of Statutes, the Legislative Reference Library, the Legislative Coordinating Commission,
and the Office of the Legislative Auditor. In conducting its work, the working group may
consult with the MN.IT Office of Accessibility; the Commission of Deaf, Deafblind and
Hard of Hearing; the Minnesota Council on Disability; State Services for the Blind; and
other groups that may be of assistance. Appointments to the working group must be made
by June 1, 2019.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Duties; report. new text end

new text begin (a) The employee working group must submit a report to the
chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over
rules and to the chair and vice-chair of the Legislative Coordinating Commission by January
15, 2020. The report must:
new text end

new text begin (1) identify ways the legislature's accessibility measures do not meet accessibility
standards applicable to state agencies under Minnesota Statutes, section 16E.03, subdivision
9;
new text end

new text begin (2) identify issues and technologies that may present barriers to compliance;
new text end

new text begin (3) suggest a compliance exception process;
new text end

new text begin (4) describe a plan to update the legislature's accessibility measures to be comparable
to those required of state agencies under Minnesota Statutes, section 16E.03, subdivision
9; and
new text end

new text begin (5) estimate the costs for updates to the legislature's accessibility measures.
new text end

new text begin (b) For purposes of this report, the employee working group does not need to consider
making archived documents, recordings, or publications accessible.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin First meeting; chair. new text end

new text begin The executive director of the Legislative Coordinating
Commission must convene the first meeting of the working group by July 15, 2019. At the
first meeting, the members must elect a chair.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Compensation; reimbursement. new text end

new text begin Members serve without compensation but
may be reimbursed for expenses.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Administrative support. new text end

new text begin The Legislative Coordinating Commission must
provide administrative support to the working group.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Expiration. new text end

new text begin The working group expires January 15, 2020, or a later date selected
by agreement of the appointing authorities in subdivision 1, but not later than January 15,
2025.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 4. new text begin APPROPRIATIONS; LEGISLATIVE ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS.
new text end

new text begin The following amounts are appropriated in fiscal year 2020 from the general fund to
support the legislative employee accessibility standards working group established in section
3, and to implement and comply with the accessibility standards established in Minnesota
Statutes, section 3.199: $....... to the senate; $....... to the house of representatives; and $.......
to the Legislative Coordinating Commission for the joint offices and commissions of the
legislature.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective July 1, 2019.
new text end