28 CFR Part 36 Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations and in Commercial Facilities NPRM: Preamble (2008 Title III NPRM Preamble)

Organization of This NPRM

The subsequent sections of this NPRM deal with the Department's response to comments and its proposals for changes to its current regulation that derive from the required, periodic review that it performed.  The proposed standards and the Department's response to comments regarding the 2004 ADAAG are contained in Appendix A to the NPRM.  Appendix B to the NPRM contains the Department's initial, formal benefit-cost analysis.

The section of the NPRM entitled, "General Issues" briefly introduces topics that are noteworthy because they are new to the title III regulation or have been the subject of attention or comment.  The topics introduced in the general issues section include:  safe harbor and other proposed limitations on barrier removal, service animals, equipment, wheelchairs and other power-driven mobility devices, auxiliary aids and services (including captioning and video interpreting services), and certification of state and local building codes.

Following the "General Issues" section, there is a section entitled, "Section-By-Section Analysis and Response to Comments."  This section provides a detailed discussion of the proposed changes to the title III regulation.  The section-by-section analysis follows the order of the current regulation, except that regulatory sections that remain unchanged are not indicated.  The discussion within each section explains the proposals and the reasoning behind them, as well as the Department's response to related public comments.  Subject areas that deal with more than one section of the regulation include references to the related sections, where appropriate.

Both the "General Issues" section and the "Section-By-Section Analysis" include specific questions to which the Department requests public response.  These questions are numbered and italicized so that they are easier for readers to locate and reference.  The Department emphasizes, however, that the public may comment on any aspect of this NPRM and is not required to respond solely to questions specifically posed by the Department.

The Department's proposed changes to the actual regulatory text of title III, that follow the section-by-section analysis are entitled, "Part 36:  Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations and in Commercial Facilities."