BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Senator Isadore Hall, III
Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 624 Hearing Date: 4/28/2015
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Author: |Anderson |
|-----------+-----------------------------------------------------|
|Version: |2/27/2015 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------
|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Consultant:|Felipe Lopez |
| | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUBJECT: Accessible state technology
DIGEST: This bill establishes the Office of Accessible
Technology (OAT) to monitor and facilitate compliance of state
electronic and information technology with the requirements of
certain state and federal laws relating to the accessibility of
technology.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Establishes the Department of Technology (CalTech), within the
Government Operations Agency, headed by the Director of
Technology, who is known as the State Chief Information
Officer.
2)Specifies that Caltech is responsible for the approval and
oversight of information technology projects by, among other
things, consulting with agencies during initial project
planning to ensure that project proposals are based on
well-defined programmatic needs and consider feasible
alternatives to address the identified needs and benefits
consistent with statewide strategies, policies, and
procedures.
3)Requires each state agency and each state entity to have a
chief information officer with specified duties relating to
SB 624 (Anderson) Page 2 of ?
information technology.
4)Defines a "state agency" to mean the Transportation Agency,
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Department of
Veteran Affairs, Business, Consumer Services, and Housing
Agency, Natural Resources Agency, California Health and Human
Services Agency, California Environmental Protection Agency,
Labor and Workforce Development Agency, and Department of Food
and Agriculture.
5)Defines a "state entity" to mean an entity within the
executive branch that is under the direct authority of the
Governor, including, but not limited to, all departments,
boards, bureaus, commissions, councils, and offices that are
not including in the definition of a state agency.
This bill:
1)Establishes the Office of Accessible Technology (OAT) to
monitor and facilitate compliance of state electronic and
information technology with the requirements of certain state
and federal laws relating to the accessibility of technology.
2)Specifies that the OAT shall be under the direction of a
chief, who shall be appointed by, and serve at the pleasure of
the Governor, subject to Senate confirmation. The chief shall
report to the Director of CalTech and shall lead the office in
carrying out its mission. The chief shall possess knowledge
and expertise in evaluating compliance with the accessibility
requirements of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
3)Specifies that the Chief shall do all of the following:
a) Develop and update statewide policies, standards, and
procedures for ensuring that everyone has the ability to
utilize electronic or information technology.
b) Provide training to appointed chief information
officers.
c) Audit compliance of state electronic and information
technology to ensure access to electronic or information
technology and cooperate with chief information officers,
as necessary, to develop corrective action plans for
achieving compliance.
d) Manage complaints from state employees and members of
the public.
SB 624 (Anderson) Page 3 of ?
4) Requires the chief to post the results of all audits
conducted on the OAT Internet Web site.
5)Requires the OAT to consult with the Director of Technology,
the Director of Rehabilitation, the Director of General
Services, the Chancellor of the California State University,
and any other relevant agencies concerning policies,
standards, and procedures related to accessible technology.
6)Specifies that this bill shall become operative only upon the
Legislature making an appropriation to implement the
provisions of this bill, and thereafter shall remain
operative.
Background
Purpose of the bill: According to the author, despite existing
laws and policies, state agencies are failing to provide an
acceptable level of accessibility for their technology products.
The author argues that an automated review of 360 state agency
home pages linked from the state's main portal revealed that 84
percent appear to have at least two Section 508 compliance
issues that would restrict access for users with disabilities.
Many sites, for example, provide files in inaccessible formats,
forms that cannot be completed with assistive technologies, or
links using only graphics.
The author concludes that by ensuring the state meets its
accessibility obligations, this bill will improve access to
government services for person with disabilities, enhance
opportunities for state employees, and improve government
transparency.
American with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA): The ADA was
enacted by the United States Congress in 1990. The ADA is a
wide ranging civil rights law that prohibits discrimination
based on disability. It affords similar protections against
discrimination to American with disabilities as the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, which made discrimination based on race, religion,
sex, national origin, and other characteristics illegal. In
addition, the ADA required employers to provide reasonable
accommodations to employees with disabilities, and imposes
accessibility requirements on public accommodations. The ADA
disabilities include both mental and physical medical
SB 624 (Anderson) Page 4 of ?
conditions.
Rehabilitation Act of 1973: The Rehabilitation Act of 1973
prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs
conducted by federal agencies, in programs receiving federal
financial assistance, in federal employment, and in the
employment practices of federal contractors.
In 1998, Section 508 was added to establish requirements for
electronic and information technology developed, maintained,
procured, or used by the Federal government. Section 508
requires Federal electronic and information technology to be
accessible to people with disabilities, including employees and
members of the public.
Department of Technology (CalTech): The Department of
Technology is the result of three Governor's Reorganization
Plans (GRPs)-in 2005, 2009, and 2012-and related legislation
that ultimately consolidated statewide IT functions into a
single entity. The most recent GRP established CalTech within
the newly created Government Operations Agency with a
department-level head-the Director of Technology-who reports
directly to the Governor on issues relating to IT. It has lead
responsibility for approval and oversight of state IT projects,
providing data center and telecommunications services, managing
IT procurement, and establishing and enforcing IT plans and
policies.
On April 29, 2015, the Office of Technology Services (OTech), an
office within CalTech, will be conducting an advance look at the
new California Web Publishing platform. According to OTech, the
enterprise-level content management system will be offered as a
service within the state data center and will include 24/7
support, maintenance and operation, templates and themes, role
based access controls, and will meet federal Section 508
accessibility requirements.
Prior/Related Legislation
SB 199 (Hall), 2015-2016 Legislative Session. The bill expands
the scope of services available under the In Home Supportive
Services program to include assistance in reading and completing
financial and other documents for a recipient who is blind, when
that assistance is necessary for the recipient to remain in his
or her home, and limits the service to two hours per month.
SB 624 (Anderson) Page 5 of ?
(Pending in Senate Appropriations Committee)
SB 105 (Burton), Chapter 1102, Statutes of 2002. The bill
established within the State Department of Rehabilitation, a
Division of Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the
Deaf and hard of Hearing with the purpose of enlarging economic
opportunities and enhancing the self-sufficiency of persons who
are blind, visually impaired, deaf, and hard of hearing, and
assisting them to gain competitive employment.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.: Yes Local: No
SUPPORT:
California Council of the Blind
Disability Rights California
Friends of Committee on Legislation of California
OPPOSITION:
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the California Council of
the Blind, SB 624 is a positive step toward ensuring that all
state websites finally meet state and federal accessibility
requirements. Similarly, the Friends of Committee on
Legislation of California argue that the information age means
that there is a plethora of information that is easily
accessible on line. Unfortunately, even though assistive
technology is available, many Californians with disabilities are
unable to access information on state government websites. The
new OTA shall monitor compliance will develop policies to ensure
that state government is making access available in accordance
with federal and state law.