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

Subpart F-Certification of State Laws or Local Building Codes

15. Remove §36.603

§ 36.603 [Removed]

16. Redesignate §36.604 as §36.603 and revise to read as follows:

§36.604 [Redesignated as §36.603]

§ 36.603 Preliminary determination.

Upon receipt and review of all information relevant to a request filed by a submitting official for certification of a code, and after consultation with the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, the Assistant Attorney General shall make a preliminary determination of equivalency or a preliminary determination to deny certification.

17. Redesignate §36.605 as §36.604 and revise paragraphs (a), (a)(2), and (b) to read as follows:

§ 36.605 [Redesignated as § 36.604.]

§ 36.604 Procedure following preliminary determination of equivalency.

(a) If the Assistant Attorney General makes a preliminary determination of equivalency under § 36.603, he or she shall inform the submitting official, in writing, of that preliminary determination.  The Assistant Attorney General also shall:

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(2) After considering the information received in response to the notice described in paragraph (a) of this section, and after publishing a separate notice in the Federal Register, hold an informal hearing, in the State or local jurisdiction charged with administration and enforcement of the code, at which interested individuals, including individuals with disabilities, are provided an opportunity to express their views with respect to the preliminary determination of equivalency; and

(b) The Assistant Attorney General--after consultation with the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board and consideration of the materials and information submitted pursuant to this section, as well as information previously provided by the submitting official--shall issue either a certification of equivalency or a final determination to deny the request for certification.  The Assistant Attorney General shall publish notice of the certification of equivalency or denial of certification in the Federal Register.

18. Redesignate § 36.606 as §36.605 and revise the first paragraph (a) to read as follows:

§36.606 [Redesignated as §36.605]

§ 36.605 Procedure following preliminary denial of certification.

(a) If the Assistant Attorney General makes a preliminary determination to deny certification of a code under § 36.603, he or she shall notify the submitting official of the determination. * * *

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19. Redesignate § 36.607 as §36.606 and add a new paragraph (d) to read as follows:

[Redesignated as § 36.606]

§ 36.606 Effect of certification.

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(d) When the standards of the Act against which a code is deemed equivalent are substantially revised or amended, a certification of equivalency issued under the preexisting standards is no longer effective, as of the date the revised standards take effect.  However, construction in compliance with a certified code during the period when a certification of equivalency was effective shall be considered rebuttable evidence of compliance with the Standards then in effect as to those elements of buildings and facilities that comply with the certified code.  A submitting official may reapply for certification pursuant to the Act's revised standards, and, to the extent possible, priority will be afforded the request in the review process.

20. Redesignate § 36.608 as § 36.607.