Withdrawn: 28 CFR Parts 35 and 36, Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability; Accessibility of Web Information and Services of State and Local Government Entities and Public Accommodations (ANPRM)

D. Effective date

Following the publication of a final rule, the Department must set an effective date for the application of any new title II or title III regulations requiring the websites of entities covered by the ADA to be accessible. When the ADA was enacted, the effective dates for various provisions were delayed in order to provide time for covered entities to become familiar with their new obligations. Under the 1991 regulations, new construction under title II and alterations under either title II or title III had to comply with the design standards of the Department´s new regulations by January 26, 1992, six months after the regulations were published. See 28 CFR 35.151(a)-(b); 28 CFR 36.402(a). For new construction under title III, the ADA requirements applied to facilities of public accommodations designed and constructed for first occupancy after January 26, 1993––eighteen months after the ADA Standards were published by the Department. See 28 CFR 36.401(a).

The Department is considering an effective date of six months after the publication of the final rule for newly created websites or pages, i.e., those that have been placed online for the first time six months after the publication of the final rule. Under such a proposal, newly created or completely redesigned websites will have to come into total compliance with any Web access requirements adopted by the Department. New pages on existing websites would need to comply with the Web access requirements to the maximum extent feasible. The Department is considering this provision for new pages on existing websites because the Department recognizes that certain features on existing websites—such as navigation components or use of integrated Web technology with limited capacity for accessibility—cannot be completely altered or replaced without a complete redesign of the entire site. For this reason, the Department is considering requiring new pages on existing websites to comply with the accessibility requirements to the maximum extent feasible. The Department recognizes, however, that in some cases this may result in incomplete accessibility of new pages. For existing websites or pages, the Department is considering having the website access requirement apply two years after the date of publication of the final rule. The Department is considering this period of time for existing websites because it recognizes that many websites have hundreds (and some thousands) of pages that will need to be made accessible.

Question 9. The Department seeks comment on the proposed time frames for compliance. Are the proposed effective dates for the regulations reasonable or should the Department adopt shorter or longer periods for compliance? Please provide as much detail as possible in support of your view.

Question 10. The Department seeks comment regarding whether such a requirement would cause some businesses to remove older material rather than change the content into an accessible format. Should the Department adopt a safe harbor for such content so long as it is not updated or modified?

Question 11. Should the Department take an incremental approach in adopting accessibility regulations applicable to websites and adopt a different effective date for covered entities based on certain criteria? For instance, should the Department´s regulation initially apply to entities of a certain size (e.g., entities with 15 or more employees or earning a certain amount of revenue) or certain categories of entities (e.g., retail websites)? Please provide as much detail and information as possible in support of your view.