APR 12 1996


XX
Petaluma, California XX
Dear Mr. XX

        Congresswoman Woolsey forwarded your correspondence
regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) to
this office for response. Your letter expressed concern that
films shown in movie theaters are not accessible to people with
hearing impairments. We apologize for our delay in responding.

        The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability
in employment, the provision of public services, places of public
accommodation, and transportation. The ADA also requires all new
construction and alterations in public buildings, places of
public accommodation, and commercial facilities to be accessible,
and it mandates the establishment of telephone relay services.

        You are correct in your understanding that the ADA does not
require movie theaters to show films with open captions. Under
the Telecommunications Act of 1996, however, the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) will investigate the extent to
which video programming is currently closed captioned and then
promulgate regulations requiring video producers to incorporate
captions into production. For more information regarding the
Telecommunications Act of 1996, you may contact:

        The Federal Communications Commission
        1919 M Street, N.W.
        Washington, D.C. 20554
        Attention: Richard Engleman
        (202) 653-6288 (Voice)
        (The FCC requests that persons with speech or hearing
impairments use the relay service to contact their offices).

        I hope that this information proves useful to you.

                                Sincerely,

                             John L. Wodatch
                                  Chief
                        Disability Rights Section

cc:     Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey

cc:     Records; Chrono; Wodatch; Hill; Deykes; McDowney; FOIA
        udd\deykes\congrsnlXX
01-04208
    LYNN WOOLSEY                                            DISTRICT OFFICES:
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woolsey@hr.house.gov
TELEPHONE: (202) 225-5161

                                February 22, 1996

Attorney General Janet Reno
Department of Justice
Constitution Avenue and Tenth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20530
Attn: Congressional Liaison

Dear Attorney General Reno:

Enclosed please find comments from my constituent, XX
regarding the limited availability of movie theaters offering
open captioned films. Mr. XX        is concerned that deaf and
hard of hearing Americans are currently unable to enjoy many
movies because they lack captions. I would appreciate it if you
would respond to Mr. XX         concerns in writing.

Please respond directly to Mr. XX         at the following address:

XX
XX
XX
XX

and forward a copy of your letter to my Washington, DC office. If
you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Greg
Harrison of my staff at (202)225-5161. Thank you for your
attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Lynn Woolsey
Member of Congress

01-04209

Date: Thu, 7 Dec 1995 21:43:28 -0800
From: XX
To: Brownvk@assembly.ca.gov
Subject: I need your help

Dear Valerie,

There seems to be a minor loophole in the American Disabilities Act that
prevents million of Americans from enjoying the fun and excitement that
everyone else takes for granted. This would be going to the Movies. I need
somebody that cares and is a public figure to help support a petition that I
have started. In its rough draft form, I have included a copy of it here.
Would you please review it and give me any suggestions, comments, ideas for
improvement that you can think of. A word of endorsement with permission to
quote you would also be of great help.

Thank you for your support and I look forward to hearing from you.

XX
XX
XX
XX

Intent of Petition:

To provide open captions at movie theaters on first run movies during special
engagements.

Reasons:

The American Disabilities Act, ADA, does not provide for direct provisions
for the hard of hearing and deaf as indicated in Senate Report 101-116, pg
64. The report does state that:

"Filmmakers are, however, 'encouraged' to produce and distribute open
captioned versions of films and theaters are 'encouraged' to have at least
some preannounced screenings of a captioned version of eature films."

Results:

When was the last time you went to a theater and saw an open captioned movie?

Reality:

The theaters show, on average, 0% open captioned screening of feature films.
In the sense of the ADA, this meets the requirment for 'encouraged to
produce' and 'encouraged to have some preannounced screenings'.

By signing this petition, you are agreeing that the ADA must amend the two
words 'encouraged' and replace them with 'required' on Senate Report 101-116,
page 64, as noted above.
01-04210