1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to the legislature; establishing a working group on the legislature's 
1.3 	accessibility measures; requiring the legislature to comply with accessibility 
1.4 	standards for technology; appropriating money;amending Minnesota Statutes 
1.5 	2018, section 16E.03, by adding a subdivision; proposing coding for new law in 
1.6 	Minnesota Statutes, chapter 3.
1.7 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.8 	Section 1. [3.199] ACCESSIBILITY IN THE LEGISLATURE'S INFORMATION 
1.9 	TECHNOLOGY.
1.10 		Subdivision 1.Definitions. (a) For purposes of this section, the following term has the 
1.11 	meaning given.
1.12 	(b) "Responsible authority" means:
1.13 	(1) for the house of representatives, the chief clerk of the house;
1.14 	(2) for the senate, the secretary of the senate;
1.15 	(3) for the Office of the Revisor of Statutes, the revisor of statutes;
1.16 	(4) for the Office of the Legislative Auditor, the legislative auditor;
1.17 	(5) for the Legislative Reference Library, the library director;
1.18 	(6) for the Legislative Budget Office, the director of the Legislative Budget Office; and
1.19 	(7) for any entity administered by the legislative branch not listed in clauses (1) to (6), 
1.20 	the director of the Legislative Coordinating Commission.
2.1 		Subd. 2.Accessibility standards; compliance. The senate, the house of representatives, 
2.2 	and joint legislative offices and commissions must comply with accessibility standards 
2.3 	adopted for state agencies by the chief information officer under section 16E.03, subdivision 
2.4 	9, for technology, software, and hardware procurement, unless the responsible authority for 
2.5 	a legislative body or office has approved an exception for a standard for that body or office.
2.6 		Subd. 3.Not subject to MN.IT authority. The chief information officer is not authorized 
2.7 	to manage or direct compliance of the legislature with accessibility standards.

2.8 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective September 1, 2021.

2.9 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 16E.03, is amended by adding a subdivision to 
2.10 	read:
2.11 		Subd. 11.Technical support to the legislature. The chief information officer, or a 
2.12 	designee, must provide technical support to assist the legislature to comply with accessibility 
2.13 	standards under section 3.199, subdivision 2. Support under this subdivision must include:
2.14 	(1) clarifying the requirements of the accessibility standards;
2.15 	(2) providing templates for common software applications used in developing documents 
2.16 	used by the legislature;
2.17 	(3) assisting the development of training for staff to comply with the accessibility 
2.18 	standards and assisting in providing the training; and
2.19 	(4) assisting the development of technical applications that enable legislative documents 
2.20 	to be fully accessible.
2.21 	The chief information officer must provide these services at no cost to the legislature.

2.22 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

2.23 	Sec. 3. LEGISLATIVE EMPLOYEE WORKING GROUP ON THE 
2.24 	LEGISLATURE'S ACCESSIBILITY MEASURES.
 2.25 		Subdivision 1.Membership. The legislative employee working group on the legislature's 
2.26 	accessibility measures consists of 12 members. The senate majority leader and the speaker 
2.27 	of the house must each appoint four employees from among the following offices that serve 
2.28 	the respective bodies: media offices, information technology offices, legal and fiscal analysis 
2.29 	offices, the secretary of the senate, the chief clerk of the house of representatives, and other 
2.30 	offices considered appropriate. The chair of the Legislative Coordinating Commission must 
2.31 	appoint four members from among the employees who serve in the Office of the Revisor 
3.1 	of Statutes, the Legislative Reference Library, the Legislative Coordinating Commission, 
3.2 	and the Office of the Legislative Auditor. In conducting its work, the working group may 
3.3 	consult with the MN.IT Office of Accessibility; the Commission of Deaf, Deafblind and 
3.4 	Hard of Hearing; the Minnesota Council on Disability; State Services for the Blind; and 
3.5 	other groups that may be of assistance. Appointments to the working group must be made 
3.6 	by June 1, 2019.
3.7 		Subd. 2.Duties; report. (a) The employee working group must submit a report to the 
3.8 	chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over 
3.9 	rules and to the chair and vice-chair of the Legislative Coordinating Commission by January 
3.10 	15, 2020. The report must:
3.11 	(1) identify ways the legislature's accessibility measures do not meet accessibility 
3.12 	standards applicable to state agencies under Minnesota Statutes, section 16E.03, subdivision 
3.13 	9;
3.14 	(2) identify issues and technologies that may present barriers to compliance;
3.15 	(3) suggest a compliance exception process;
3.16 	(4) describe a plan to update the legislature's accessibility measures to be comparable 
3.17 	to those required of state agencies under Minnesota Statutes, section 16E.03, subdivision 
3.18 	9; and
3.19 	(5) estimate the costs for updates to the legislature's accessibility measures.
3.20 	(b) For purposes of this report, the employee working group does not need to consider 
3.21 	making archived documents, recordings, or publications accessible.
3.22 		Subd. 3.First meeting; chair. The executive director of the Legislative Coordinating 
3.23 	Commission must convene the first meeting of the working group by July 15, 2019. At the 
3.24 	first meeting, the members must elect a chair.
3.25 		Subd. 4.Compensation; reimbursement. Members serve without compensation but 
3.26 	may be reimbursed for expenses.
3.27 		Subd. 5.Administrative support. The Legislative Coordinating Commission must 
3.28 	provide administrative support to the working group.
3.29 		Subd. 6.Expiration. The working group expires January 15, 2020, or a later date selected 
3.30 	by agreement of the appointing authorities in subdivision 1, but not later than January 15, 
3.31 	2025.

3.32 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

4.1 	Sec. 4. APPROPRIATIONS; LEGISLATIVE ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS.
 4.2 	The following amounts are appropriated in fiscal year 2020 from the general fund to 
4.3 	support the legislative employee accessibility standards working group established in section 
4.4 	3, and to implement and comply with the accessibility standards established in Minnesota 
4.5 	Statutes, section 3.199: $....... to the senate; $....... to the house of representatives; and $....... 
4.6 	to the Legislative Coordinating Commission for the joint offices and commissions of the 
4.7 	legislature.

4.8 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2019.