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NC passes law requiring disabled Access to State services provided by IT

for

From: Michael R. Burks
Date: Oct 10, 2002 9:41AM


All,

this may be of some interest


NEW LAW WILL ALLOW PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

INTO THE 21ST CENTURY

RALEIGH - Until last week, people in North Carolina who happened to have a
disability were in danger of being left behind by the 21st century,
high-tech, information-driven world. Many aspects of life are protected by
law -- ramps to public buildings, assistance dogs for those who are blind,
closed-captioned TV and elevators with Braille instructions. But there was
no state law requiring that people with disabilities have access to
electronic media. All that is about to change.

The General Assembly passed Senate Bill 866, "Changes to Persons with
Disabilities Protection Law," which guarantees the right of persons with
disabilities in accessing electronic information, including Web sites,
computers in public libraries, etc. The bill requires compliance by
municipalities, counties, community colleges, universities and any agencies
in state government. Now they must make electronic media accessible.

Senators Brad Miller, Bill Martin and Tony Rand introduced the bill, at the
request of the Governor