This month, a small federal agency called the Access Board (also known as the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board) is scheduled to unveil proposed procurement regulations requiring that all federal computer equipment and services procured, including Web sites, must be "equally accessible" to people with disabilities, including the blind, the deaf and those with cognitive difficulties. The proposed regulations, which will become final in August, will put teeth into Section 508 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, the portion of the act that deals with accessibility issues. It is expected that they will mirror recommendations issued in May 1999 by an advisory committee -- Electronic and Information Technology Access Advisory Committee (EITAAC) -- set up by the Access Board to examine the issue. The changes to Section 508 of the 1998 amendments to the Rehabilitation Act were designed to strengthen current law to ensure that people with disabilities will have equity in the use of electronic and information technology (E&IT). When Federal departments or agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology, they are required to ensure that the technology allows Federal employees with disabilities to have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access of Federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the department or agency. Section 508 also requires that "individuals with disabilities, who are members of the public seeking information or services from a Federal department or agency, have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to the public who are not individuals with disabilities." The legislation exempts only national security systems from coverage of Section 508. In the Advisory Committee report, access is addressed for people with physical, sensory, and cognitive disabilities. The recommendations establish criteria that would allow people with disabilities to locate, identify, and operate all of the input, control and mechanical functions, and to access available information. The report also addresses compatibility with adaptive equipment people with disabilities commonly use for access. Section 508 is designed to be implemented through the Federal procurement process, through binding and enforceable standards. The purpose of the Advisory Committee’s report was to provide a set of recommended standards for Federal procurement officers and commercial suppliers of electronic and information technology and services that will result in access to and use of the technology and information by individuals with disabilities. This report represents minimally acceptable standards. An administrative complaint process becomes effective on August 7, 2000. It enables any individual with a disability to file a complaint alleging that a Federal department or agency has not complied with the accessible technology standards in a procurement made after August 7, 2000. The process provides injunctive relief and attorney's fees to the prevailing party, but does not include compensatory or punitive damages. Individuals may also file a civil action against an agency. Attorney General Janet Reno is expected to release this week a report to the President on the extent to which the electronic and information technology of the Federal Government is accessible to individuals with disabilities.