Hawaii Electronic Information Technology Accessibility Act (state entity accessibility standards)

Act 172 of 2022, the Hawaii Electronic Information Technology Accessibility Act, directs the office of enterprise technology services to develop and publish accessibility standards, known as the Hawaii Electronic Information Technology Disability Access Standards, to be implemented by all state entities.

The Act defines a state entity as the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the State, including its departments, divisions, agencies, offices, public bodies, public elementary, secondary and postsecondary schools and the University of Hawaii. The standards must require that all electronic information technology developed, purchased, used or provided by a state entity be made accessible to individuals with a disability.

The standards must be consistent with the accessibility standards the United States Access Board issued to implement section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The standards must also be consistent with the web access standards issued by the World Wide Web Consortium Web Accessibility Initiative.

The standards must include, at a minimum, functional performance criteria and technical requirements for accessibility, recommendations for procurement language that can be incorporated into existing state procurement processes, and recommendations for planning, reporting, monitoring and enforcement processes to ensure that state entities implement the standards.

The standards may not require the installation of specific accessibility-related software or peripheral devices at the workstation of an employee who is not an individual with a disability, but must require all workstation technology used by a state entity to be compatible with accessibility-related software and peripheral devices.

The standards apply to all electronic information technology developed, purchased, used or provided by a state entity and to all substantial modifications a state entity makes to it. The Act defines electronic information technology to include Internet and intranet systems, websites and interfaces, software applications, video and multimedia, and electronic and digital kiosks.

Each state entity must, within six months after the standards are published, review them and revise its procurement and development rules, policies and procedures to incorporate them, and must do the same within six months after any amended standards are published.

The office of enterprise technology services must review the standards every three years after their initial publication, or more frequently if the chief information officer deems it necessary, and amend them to reflect advances or changes in electronic information technology. Act 172 provides that it takes effect upon its approval. Governor Ige signed Act 172 on June 27, 2022.