,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #hdgh ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,october #a1 #bjbj ,mr4 ,budd 7for himself and ,mr4 ,correa7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,americans with ,disabilities ,act of #aiij to include consumer facing websites and mobile applications owned or operated by a private entity1 to establish web accessibility compliance standards for such websites and mobile applications1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,online ,accessibility ,act4 #b4 ,amendment to the ,americans with ,disabilities ,act of #aiij relating to consumer facing websites and mobile applications owned or operated by a private entity ,the ,americans with ,disabilities ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #abaja et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following new title3 ,,vi ,consumer ,facing ,websites and ,mobile ,applications ,owned or ,operated by a ,private ,entity #fja4 ,requirements for consumer facing websites and mobile applications owned or operated by a private entity 7a7 ,general rule ,no individual1 by reason of a disability1 shall be excluded from participation in or be denied the full and equal benefits of the services of a consumer facing website or mobile application1 or be subjected to discrimination by any private owner or operator of a consumer facing website or mobile application4 7b7 ,standard for compliance 7#a7 ,in general ,a consumer facing website or mobile application shall be considered compliant under the requirements of this section if such website or mobile application is in substantial compliance with the ,web ,content ,accessibility ,guidelines 7referred to in this title as ,,wcag7 #b4j ,level ,a and ,level ,,aa standard established by the ,accessibility ,guidelines ,working ,group1 or any subsequent update1 revision1 or replacement to the ,,wcag #b4j ,level ,a and ,level ,,aa standard published by the ,world ,wide ,web ,consortium or successor organization4 7#b7 ,alternative means of access ,a private entity that owns or operates a consumer facing website or mobile application that is not in substantial compliance with the standard set forth under paragraph 7#a7 shall provide an alternative means of access for individuals with disabilities that is equivalent to access the content available on such website or mobile application4 7c7 ,regulation 7#a7 ,access ,board 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,architectural and ,transportation ,barriers ,compliance ,board 7referred to in this title as the ,access ,board71 shall issue and publish standards setting forth-- 7i7 for purposes of this title1 a definition of substantial compliance1 alternative means of access1 and consumer facing website or mobile application2 and 7ii7 regulations necessary to implement the standard set forth in subsection 7b74 7,b7 ,timing of regulations ,for purposes of this title3 7i7 ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,access ,board shall promulgate a notice of proposed rulemaking4 7ii7 ,upon issuance of the notice under clause 7i71 the ,access ,board shall solicit comments from the public on such proposed rule for a period of #ij days4 7iii7 ,after the ,access ,board has reviewed the comments solicited under clause 7ii7 and revised such proposed rule1 the ,office of ,management and ,budget shall conduct a regulatory assessment of the rule for a period not to exceed #ij days4 7iv7 ,not later than #cfe days after the ,office of ,management and ,budget has completed the regulatory assessment under clause 7iii71 the ,access ,board shall issue final regulations4 7,c7 ,review and amendment ,the ,access ,board shall periodically review and1 as appropriate1 amend the standard required under subsection 7b7 to reflect technological advances or changes in electronic and information technology4 7#b7 ,department of ,justice ,no later than #cfe days after the end of the comment period under subparagraph 7,b77ii71 the ,attorney ,general shall establish a procedure for receiving and investigating complaints filed under this title4 7#c7 ,flexibility for small business concerns ,regulations established under this section shall include flexibility for small business concerns to comply with the standard under subsection 7b74 #fjb4 ,administrative remedies 7a7 ,exhaustion of administrative remedies ,no individual may bring an action before a civil court to enforce the provisions of this title until all administrative remedies under this section have been exhausted4 7b7 ,notice to owner or operator ,prior to filing a complaint with the ,attorney ,general under subsection 7c71 an individual must first notify the private owner or operator of a consumer facing website or mobile application that such website or mobile application is not in compliance with the standard for compliance under section #fja of this title4 7#a7 ,if within #ij days of receiving notice under subsection 7b7 the owner or operator of a consumer facing website or mobile application fails to bring such website or such application into compliance with the requirement under section #fja of this title1 an individual may file a complaint with the ,department4 7#b7 ,if an individual files a complaint with the ,department of ,justice 7referred to in this title as the ,department7 under paragraph 7#a71 a copy of such complaint shall be provided to the owner or operator of a consumer facing website or mobile application4 7c7 ,reporting of violations to ,attorney ,general 7#a7 ,deadline to file complaint ,if an individual files a complaint with the ,department1 such complaint shall be filed within the #ij-;day period beginning on the date after the #ij-;day period under subsection 7b77#a7 has terminated4 7#b7 ,investigation by ,attorney ,general ,upon receiving a complaint of an alleged violation1 the ,attorney ,general shall complete an investigation within #ahj days to determine whether a violation exists4 7#c7 ,final agency determination ,the ,attorney ,general shall be considered to have made a final determination on a complaint if-- 7,a7 during the #ahj-;day period after a complaint has been filed with the ,department1 the ,attorney ,general determines the owner or operator of a consumer facing website or mobile application is not in compliance with the standard set forth under section #fja2 or 7,b7 the #ahj-;day period expires without the ,attorney ,general having made such a final determination4 7d7 ,enforcement by attorney general 7#a7 ,denial of rights 7,a7 ,duty to investigate 7i7 ,in general ,the ,attorney ,general shall investigate alleged violations of this title1 and shall undertake periodic reviews of compliance of consumer facing websites and mobile applications under this title4 7ii7 ,attorney general certification ,on the application of a ,state or local government1 the ,attorney ,general may1 in consultation with the ,access ,board1 and after prior notice and a public hearing at which persons1 including individuals with disabilities1 are provided an opportunity to testify against such certification1 certify that a ,state law or local ordinance that establishes accessibility requirements that meets or exceeds the minimum requirements of this ,act for the accessibility and usability of consumer facing websites and mobile applications under this title4 ,at any enforcement proceeding under this section1 such certification by the ,attorney ,general shall be rebuttable evidence that such ,state law or local ordinance does meet or exceed the minimum requirements of this ,act4 7,b7 ,potential violation ,if the ,attorney ,general has reasonable cause to believe that-- 7i7 any person or group of persons is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination under this title2 or 7ii7 any person or group of persons has been discriminated against under this title and such discrimination raises an issue of general public importance1 the ,attorney ,general may commence a civil action in any appropriate ,united ,states district court4 7#b7 ,authority of court ,in a civil action under paragraph 7#a77;,b71 the court may-- 7,a7 grant any equitable relief that such court considers to be appropriate2 7,b7 order monetary damages to persons aggrieved when requested by the ,attorney ,general2 and 7,c7 assess a civil penalty against the entity in an amount-- 7i7 not to exceed #bj1jjj for a first violation2 and 7ii7 not to exceed #ej1jjj for any subsequent violation4 7#c7 ,punitive damages ,for purposes of paragraph 7#b77;,b71 the term monetary damages and such other relief does not include punitive damages4 7#d7 ,single violation ,for purposes of paragraph 7#b77;,c71 in determining whether a first or subsequent violation has occurred1 a determination in a single action1 by judgment or settlement1 that the consumer facing website or mobile application has engaged in more than one discriminatory act shall be counted as a single violation4 7#e7 ,judicial consideration ,in a civil action under paragraph 7#a77;,b71 the court1 when considering what amount of civil penalty1 if any1 is appropriate1 shall give consideration to any good faith effort or attempt to comply with this ,act by the entity4 #fjc4 ,private right of action 7a7 ,in general ,upon exhausting all administrative remedies under section #fjb1 any individual aggrieved by a violation of this title may commence a civil action in any appropriate court of the ,united ,states against the owner or operator of a consumer facing website or mobile application that engages in such a violation1 unless the ,attorney ,general has instituted an enforcement action under this title4 ,a civil action under this title is the sole and exclusive remedy for any person aggrieved by the failure of any consumer facing website or mobile application to meet the requirements of section #fja4 ,in any action filed under this title1 the complaint shall plead with particularity each element of the plaintiff's claim1 including the specific barriers to access a consumer facing website or mobile application4 7b7 ,tolling ,with respect to the running of the statutory periods of limitation for such action1 the running of such statutory periods shall be deemed suspended during the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this ,act and ending #ahj days after the date the ,access ,board has issued final regulations under section #fja4 #fjd4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,consumer facing website ,the term consumer facing website means any website that is purposefully made accessible to the public for commercial purposes4 7#b7 ,mobile applications ,the term mobile application means a consumer facing software application that can be executed on a mobile platform1 or a web-based software application that is tailored to a mobile platform but is executed on a server4 7#c7 ,small business ,the term small business concern has the meaning given such term in section #c7;a7 of the ,small ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fcb7;a774 4 #c4 ,clerical amendment ,the table of contents of the ,americans with ,disabilities ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #abaja et seq47 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #eae the following new item3 ,title ,,vi--,consumer ,facing ,websites and ,mobile ,applications ,sec4 #fja4 ,requirements for consumer facing websites and mobile applications owned or operated by a private entity4 ,sec4 #fjb4 ,administrative remedies4 ,sec4 #fjc4 ,private right of action4 ,sec4 #fjd4 ,definitions4 4