36 CFR Part 1194 - Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Final Standards and Guidelines Jan. 2018 Amendments - Preamble

Purpose of Direct Final Rule

On January 18, 2017, the Access Board published a final rule in the Federal Register (82 FR 5790) (hereafter, “ICT Final Rule”), which revised and updated – in a single rulemaking – the standards for Section 508-covered ICT developed, procured, maintained, or used by Federal agencies (hereafter, “508 Standards”), as well as the guidelines for telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment covered by Section 255 (hereafter, “255 Guidelines”). Because nearly two decades had passed since the original issuance of our then-existing 508 Standards and 255 Guidelines, the ICT Final Rule was aimed at “refreshing” these regulations by, among other things, addressing changing technology and harmonizing with ICT accessibility standards that had been developed worldwide in recent years.

Subsequently, we discovered several small drafting errors in the ICT Final Rule. These errors included a few typographical errors and the inadvertent deletion of then-existing provisions that require telecommunications products and systems with two-way voice communication capabilities to also provide TTY compatibility and functionality. By this rule, the Access Board corrects these typographical errors and restores mistakenly deleted TTY requirements for ICT with two-way voice communication, albeit with slightly updated organization and wording (with no change in substance) for consistency with the ICT Final Rule.

The Access Board is publishing this direct final rule without prior notice and comment. The Administrative Procedure Act permits agencies to publish final rules without prior notice and comment when, for good cause, they determine such procedures are unnecessary. See 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B). We view the minor, technical corrections in this rule as noncontroversial and do not anticipate adverse comment. Moreover, the public interest is best served by having these corrections without delay to prevent confusion concerning these errors in the ICT Final Rule and ensure that there are no gaps in accessibility requirements for ICT covered by Sections 508 or 255. Accordingly, there is good cause for waiver of prior notice and comment.

This direct final rule will take effect on the specified effective date, without further action, unless the Access Board receives adverse comment within the comment period. We consider an adverse comment to be a comment that challenges the propriety of the rule or asserts that it would be ineffective or unacceptable without material change. If the Access Board receives timely adverse comment, we will publish a notification in the Federal Register announcing full or partial withdrawal of this rule. If an adverse comment applies only to one part of this direct final rule, and it is possible to withdraw that part without defeating the purpose of the remaining parts of the rule, we may adopt, as final, those parts of this rule that received no adverse comment. Should the Access Board withdraw this rule due to adverse comment (in whole in part), we may subsequently incorporate such comment(s) into another direct final rule or publish a notice of proposed rulemaking.