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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 792. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
(a) Establishment; membership; chairperson; vice-chairperson; term
of office; termination of membership; reappointment; compensation
and travel expenses; bylaws; quorum requirements
(1) There is established within the Federal Government the
Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
(hereinafter referred to as the "Access Board") which shall be
composed as follows:
(A) Thirteen members shall be appointed by the President from
among members of the general public of whom at least a majority
shall be individuals with disabilities.
(B) The remaining members shall be the heads of each of the
following departments or agencies (or their designees whose
positions are executive level IV or higher):
(i) Department of Health and Human Services.
(ii) Department of Transportation.
(iii) Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(iv) Department of Labor.
(v) Department of the Interior.
(vi) Department of Defense.
(vii) Department of Justice.
(viii) General Services Administration.
(ix) Department of Veterans Affairs.
(x) United States Postal Service.
(xi) Department of Education.
(xii) Department of Commerce.
The chairperson and vice-chairperson of the Access Board shall be
elected by majority vote of the members of the Access Board to
serve for terms of one year. When the chairperson is a member of
the general public, the vice-chairperson shall be a Federal
official; and when the chairperson is a Federal official, the
vice-chairperson shall be a member of the general public. Upon the
expiration of the term as chairperson of a member who is a Federal
official, the subsequent chairperson shall be a member of the
general public; and vice versa.
(2)(A)(i) The term of office of each appointed member of the
Access Board shall be 4 years, except as provided in clause (ii).
Each year, the terms of office of at least three appointed members
of the board (!1) shall expire.
(ii)(I) One member appointed for a term beginning December 4,
1992 shall serve for a term of 3 years.
(II) One member appointed for a term beginning December 4, 1993
shall serve for a term of 2 years.
(III) One member appointed for a term beginning December 4, 1994
shall serve for a term of 1 year.
(IV) Members appointed for terms beginning before December 4,
1992 shall serve for terms of 3 years.
(B) A member whose term has expired may continue to serve until a
successor has been appointed.
(C) A member appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve for the
remainder of the term to which that member's predecessor was
appointed.
(3) If any appointed member of the Access Board becomes a Federal
employee, such member may continue as a member of the Access Board
for not longer than the sixty-day period beginning on the date the
member becomes a Federal employee.
(4) No individual appointed under paragraph (1)(A) of this
subsection who has served as a member of the Access Board may be
reappointed to the Access Board more than once unless such
individual has not served on the Access Board for a period of two
years prior to the effective date of such individual's appointment.
(5)(A) Members of the Access Board who are not regular full-time
employees of the United States shall, while serving on the business
of the Access Board, be entitled to receive compensation at rates
fixed by the President, but not to exceed the daily equivalent of
the rate of pay for level IV of the Executive Schedule under
section 5315 of title 5, including travel time, for each day they
are engaged in the performance of their duties as members of the
Access Board; and shall be entitled to reimbursement for travel,
subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred by them in
carrying out their duties under this section.
(B) Members of the Access Board who are employed by the Federal
Government shall serve without compensation, but shall be
reimbursed for travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses
incurred by them in carrying out their duties under this section.
(6)(A) The Access Board shall establish such bylaws and other
rules as may be appropriate to enable the Access Board to carry out
its functions under this chapter.
(B) The bylaws shall include quorum requirements. The quorum
requirements shall provide that (i) a proxy may not be counted for
purposes of establishing a quorum, and (ii) not less than half the
members required for a quorum shall be members of the general
public appointed under paragraph (1)(A).
(b) Functions
It shall be the function of the Access Board to -
(1) ensure compliance with the standards prescribed pursuant to
the Act entitled "An Act to ensure that certain buildings
financed with Federal funds are so designed and constructed as to
be accessible to the physically handicapped", approved August 12,
1968 (commonly known as the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968;
42 U.S.C. 4151 et seq.) (including the application of such Act to
the United States Postal Service), including enforcing all
standards under such Act, and ensuring that all waivers and
modifications to the standards are based on findings of fact and
are not inconsistent with the provisions of this section;
(2) develop advisory information for, and provide appropriate
technical assistance to, individuals or entities with rights or
duties under regulations prescribed pursuant to this subchapter
or titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq. and 12181 et seq.) with respect to
overcoming architectural, transportation, and communication
barriers;
(3) establish and maintain -
(A) minimum guidelines and requirements for the standards
issued pursuant to the Act commonly known as the Architectural
Barriers Act of 1968;
(B) minimum guidelines and requirements for the standards
issued pursuant to titles II and III of the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990;
(C) guidelines for accessibility of telecommunications
equipment and customer premises equipment under section 255 of
title 47; and
(D) standards for accessible electronic and information
technology under section 794d of this title;
(4) promote accessibility throughout all segments of society;
(5) investigate and examine alternative approaches to the
architectural, transportation, communication, and attitudinal
barriers confronting individuals with disabilities, particularly
with respect to telecommunications devices, public buildings and
monuments, parks and parklands, public transportation (including
air, water, and surface transportation, whether interstate,
foreign, intrastate, or local), and residential and institutional
housing;
(6) determine what measures are being taken by Federal, State,
and local governments and by other public or nonprofit agencies
to eliminate the barriers described in paragraph (5);
(7) promote the use of the International Accessibility Symbol
in all public facilities that are in compliance with the
standards prescribed by the Administrator of General Services,
the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development pursuant to the Act commonly known as the
Architectural Barriers Act of 1968;
(8) make to the President and to the Congress reports that
shall describe in detail the results of its investigations under
paragraphs (5) and (6);
(9) make to the President and to the Congress such
recommendations for legislative and administrative changes as the
Access Board determines to be necessary or desirable to eliminate
the barriers described in paragraph (5);
(10) ensure that public conveyances, including rolling stock,
are readily accessible to, and usable by, individuals with
physical disabilities; and
(11) carry out the responsibilities specified for the Access
Board in section 794d of this title.
(c) Additional functions; transportation barriers and housing
needs; transportation and housing plans and proposals
The Access Board shall also (1)(A) determine how and to what
extent transportation barriers impede the mobility of individuals
with disabilities and aged individuals with disabilities and
consider ways in which travel expenses in connection with
transportation to and from work for individuals with disabilities
can be met or subsidized when such individuals are unable to use
mass transit systems or need special equipment in private
transportation, and (B) consider the housing needs of individuals
with disabilities; (2) determine what measures are being taken,
especially by public and other nonprofit agencies and groups having
an interest in and a capacity to deal with such problems, (A) to
eliminate barriers from public transportation systems (including
vehicles used in such systems), and to prevent their incorporation
in new or expanded transportation systems, and (B) to make housing
available and accessible to individuals with disabilities or to
meet sheltered housing needs; and (3) prepare plans and proposals
for such further actions as may be necessary to the goals of
adequate transportation and housing for individuals with
disabilities, including proposals for bringing together in a
cooperative effort, agencies, organizations, and groups already
working toward such goals or whose cooperation is essential to
effective and comprehensive action.
(d) Electronic and information technology accessibility training
Beginning in fiscal year 2000, the Access Board, after
consultation with the Secretary, representatives of such public and
private entities as the Access Board determines to be appropriate
(including the electronic and information technology industry),
targeted individuals (as defined in section 3002 of this title),
and State information technology officers, shall provide training
for Federal and State employees on any obligations related to
section 794d of this title.
(e) Investigations; hearings; orders; administrative procedure
applicable; final orders; judicial review; civil action;
intervention
(1) The Access Board shall conduct investigations, hold public
hearings, and issue such orders as it deems necessary to ensure
compliance with the provisions of the Acts cited in subsection (b)
of this section. Except as provided in paragraph (3) of subsection
(f) of this section, the provisions of subchapter II of chapter 5,
and chapter 7 of title 5 shall apply to procedures under this
subsection, and an order of compliance issued by the Access Board
shall be a final order for purposes of judicial review. Any such
order affecting any Federal department, agency, or instrumentality
of the United States shall be final and binding on such department,
agency, or instrumentality. An order of compliance may include the
withholding or suspension of Federal funds with respect to any
building or public conveyance or rolling stock found not to be in
compliance with standards enforced under this section. Pursuant to
chapter 7 of title 5, any complainant or participant in a
proceeding under this subsection may obtain review of a final order
issued in such proceeding.
(2) The executive director is authorized, at the direction of the
Access Board -
(A) to bring a civil action in any appropriate United States
district court to enforce, in whole or in part, any final order
of the Access Board under this subsection; and
(B) to intervene, appear, and participate, or to appear as
amicus curiae, in any court of the United States or in any court
of a State in civil actions that relate to this section or to the
Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 [42 U.S.C. 4151 et seq.].
Except as provided in section 518(a) of title 28, relating to
litigation before the Supreme Court, the executive director may
appear for and represent the Access Board in any civil litigation
brought under this section.
(f) Appointment of executive director, administrative law judges,
and other personnel; provisions applicable to administrative law
judges; authority and duties of executive director; finality of
orders of compliance
(1) There shall be appointed by the Access Board an executive
director and such other professional and clerical personnel as are
necessary to carry out its functions under this chapter. The Access
Board is authorized to appoint as many administrative law judges as
are necessary for proceedings required to be conducted under this
section. The provisions applicable to administrative law judges
appointed under section 3105 of title 5 shall apply to
administrative law judges appointed under this subsection.
(2) The Executive Director shall exercise general supervision
over all personnel employed by the Access Board (other than
administrative law judges and their assistants). The Executive
Director shall have final authority on behalf of the Access Board,
with respect to the investigation of alleged noncompliance and in
the issuance of formal complaints before the Access Board, and
shall have such other duties as the Access Board may prescribe.
(3) For the purpose of this section, an order of compliance
issued by an administrative law judge shall be deemed to be an
order of the Access Board and shall be the final order for the
purpose of judicial review.
(g) Technical, administrative, or other assistance; appointment,
compensation, and travel expenses of advisory and technical
experts and consultants
(1)(A) In carrying out the technical assistance responsibilities
of the Access Board under this section, the Board may enter into an
interagency agreement with another Federal department or agency.
(B) Any funds appropriated to such a department or agency for the
purpose of providing technical assistance may be transferred to the
Access Board. Any funds appropriated to the Access Board for the
purpose of providing such technical assistance may be transferred
to such department or agency.
(C) The Access Board may arrange to carry out the technical
assistance responsibilities of the Board under this section through
such other departments and agencies for such periods as the Board
determines to be appropriate.
(D) The Access Board shall establish a procedure to ensure
separation of its compliance and technical assistance
responsibilities under this section.
(2) The departments or agencies specified in subsection (a) of
this section shall make available to the Access Board such
technical, administrative, or other assistance as it may require to
carry out its functions under this section, and the Access Board
may appoint such other advisers, technical experts, and consultants
as it deems necessary to assist it in carrying out its functions
under this section. Special advisory and technical experts and
consultants appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall, while
performing their functions under this section, be entitled to
receive compensation at rates fixed by the Chairperson,(!2) but not
exceeding the daily equivalent of the rate of pay for level 4 of
the Senior Executive Service Schedule under section 5382 of title
5, including travel time, and while serving away from their homes
or regular places of business they may be allowed travel expenses,
including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by section
5703 of such title 5 for persons in the Government service employed
intermittently.
(h) Omitted
(i) Grants and contracts to aid Access Board in carrying out its
functions; acceptance of gifts, devises, and bequests of property
(1) The Access Board may make grants to, or enter into contracts
with, public or private organizations to carry out its duties under
subsections (b) and (c) of this section.
(2)(A) The Access Board may accept, hold, administer, and utilize
gifts, devises, and bequests of property, both real and personal,
for the purpose of aiding and facilitating the functions of the
Access Board under paragraphs (2) and (4) of subsection (b) of this
section. Gifts and bequests of money and proceeds from sales of
other property received as gifts, devises, or bequests shall be
deposited in the Treasury and shall be disbursed upon the order of
the Chairperson.(!2) Property accepted pursuant to this section,
and the proceeds thereof, shall be used as nearly as possible in
accordance with the terms of the gifts, devises, or bequests. For
purposes of Federal income, estate, or gift taxes, property
accepted under this section shall be considered as a gift, devise,
or bequest to the United States.
(B) The Access Board shall publish regulations setting forth the
criteria the Board will use in determining whether the acceptance
of gifts, devises, and bequests of property, both real and
personal, would reflect unfavorably upon the ability of the Board
or any employee to carry out the responsibilities or official
duties of the Board in a fair and objective manner, or would
compromise the integrity of or the appearance of the integrity of a
Government program or any official involved in that program.
(3) Omitted.
(j) Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated for the purpose of
carrying out the duties and functions of the Access Board under
this section such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal
years 1999 through 2003.
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