Final Regulatory Assessment and Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Final Rule - Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations - Movie Theaters; Movie Captioning and Audio Description

Under the final rule, movie theaters will have 18 months to purchase the necessary captioning and audio description equipment to comply with the rule.  The analysis begins in mid-2016, the expected publication date of the rulemaking.  With an 18 month compliance period, the Final RA assumes that all auditoriums will be equipped to provide closed movie captioning and audio description by the end of 2017, the “compliance year.” 

Movie theaters are assumed to purchase equipment throughout the 18 months leading up to the compliance date.  For the primary analysis, it is assumed that 33 percent of movie theaters with auditoriums not already equipped to provide closed movie captioning and audio description will purchase the required equipment in 2016, and the remaining 67 percent will purchase equipment in 2017.  This assumption is determined by the amount of time movie theaters will have to purchase the equipment in each year, relevant to the 18-month compliance date (i.e., six months in 2016 and 12 months in 2017).