Law / United States / 
Maine
Digital Accessibility and Usability Policy: State agency digital content, software and hardware
Maine Digital Accessibility and Usability Policy secs. 2.1, 3.2 and 4.2 to 4.5
In force since .
An accessibility requirements rule binding government bodies.
- Obligation class
- Governance, Contract terms
- Conformance standard
- WCAG 2.1 AA, US Section 508 standards
What it requires
- If you are a State of Maine executive branch agency within the Chief Information Officer's domain, make your public-facing digital content, with its support documentation and services, comply with the revised Section 508 Standards and the WCAG Version 2.1 Level A and AA Success Criteria (policy section 4.2).
- Make your nonpublic-facing digital content comply with the same standards where it is an emergency notification, an initial or final decision adjudicating an administrative claim or proceeding, a program or policy announcement, a notice of benefits, program eligibility, employment opportunity or personnel action, a formal acknowledgement of receipt, a survey questionnaire, a template or form, educational or training material, or intranet content designed on a web page (policy section 4.3).
- Make your software, with its support documentation and services, conform to the revised Section 508 Standards and the WCAG Version 2.1 Level A and AA Success Criteria, and your hardware conform to the revised Section 508 Standards (policy sections 4.4 and 4.5).
- Ensure that contractual agreements for vendor-developed or vendor-delivered digital information and services adhere to the pertinent federal and state regulations and Office of Information Technology policies and standards (policy section 3.2.2).
- Establish a mechanism for users to report digital accessibility issues, and respond to a request from an individual with a disability for an accessible alternative format or an equally effective accommodation within a reasonable time (policy sections 3.2.4 and 3.2.5).
- Ensure that agency personnel who develop, procure, modify or share digital information and services receive appropriate and regular accessibility training consistent with their roles, and develop an equally effective alternative access plan for inaccessible agency digital information and services (policy sections 3.2.6 and 3.2.9).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
What this law does
Title 5, section 1973, subsection 1, paragraph B directs the Chief Information Officer to set policies and standards for the implementation and use of information and telecommunications technologies, including standards of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Office of Information Technology's Digital Accessibility and Usability Policy applies to digital information and services that fall under the purview of the Chief Information Officer and are made available to members of the public or employees, with exceptions for archived digital information and services and for legacy ones that have not been substantially modified or enhanced since the policy was first issued.
An approved waiver of all or part of the policy does not absolve an agency from compliance with federal regulations, state regulations or other legal obligations. The policy defines an agency as an executive branch or other organizational entity established to provide specific services that falls within the Chief Information Officer's domain.
All agency public-facing digital content, with its support documentation and services, must comply with the revised Section 508 Standards and the WCAG Version 2.1, Level A and AA Success Criteria. Agency content that is not public-facing must meet the same standards where it falls into one of nine listed categories. All agency software, with its support documentation and services, must conform to the revised Section 508 Standards and the WCAG Version 2.1 Level A and AA Success Criteria.
All agency hardware, with its support documentation and services, must conform to the revised Section 508 Standards. The policy expects accessibility to be addressed natively, without relying on third-party products to improve accessibility that could interfere with an inclusive user experience.
Agency leadership must ensure that personnel who develop, procure, modify or share digital information and services receive appropriate and regular accessibility training, and that equally effective alternative access plans are developed for inaccessible agency digital information and services. The Chief Information Officer is responsible for enforcing the policy. Version 3.1 of the policy is dated , and its initial issue date is .
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app ships a consumer interface.
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