JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES PROPOSED REVISIONS TO
DISABILITY-RELATED REGULATIONS

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today announced that it has published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to begin the process of revising the Department’s regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The proposal seeks to adopt design standards consistent with the revised ADA Accessibility Guidelines published by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (also known as the Access Board) on July 23, 2004.

The revised guidelines would apply to the design, construction, and alteration of certain private and public facilities. They result from more than ten years of collaborative efforts between the federal government, disability groups, the design and construction industry, state and local government entities, and building code organizations.

The ADA requires the Justice Department to publish regulations that include accessibility standards that are consistent with the guidelines published by the Access Board. The Access Board’s revised guidelines have no legal effect on the public until the Department issues a final rule adopting them as enforceable ADA Standards. The Department adopted the current ADA Standards for Accessible Design in 1991, based upon the guidelines published by the Access Board at that time. The notice issued today is only the first of three steps in the regulatory process; it will be followed by a notice of proposed rulemaking and then a final rule.

The Department is issuing the notice in order to solicit public comment on several issues relating to the potential application of the revised guidelines. The Department also seeks to obtain background information in order to analyze the economic costs and benefits of the new rules. Members of the public may submit comments until January 28, 2005. Comments may be submitted electronically to www.adaanprm.org, www.regulations.gov, or by mail to P.O. Box 1032, Merrifield, VA 22116-1032. All comments will be available to the public online at www.adaanprm.org and, by appointment, at the offices of the Civil Rights Division’s Disability Rights Section.

The ANPRM is available online at www.regulations.gov <http://www.regulations.gov> and in an accessible format on the ADA home page at www.ada.gov. Interested persons may request copies of the document in large print or on audiotape or computer disk by calling the ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 (voice) and (800) 514-0383 (TTY).

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