Law / United States / 
Texas
Texas state agency accessibility of electronic and information resources for employees and the public with disabilities
Tex. Gov't Code secs. 2054.451 to 2054.465
In force since .
An accessibility requirements rule binding government bodies.
- Private right of action
- No
- Obligation class
- Governance
What it requires
- If you are a state agency, including a university system or institution of higher education, ensure that state employees with disabilities have access to and the use of the electronic and information resources you develop, procure, maintain or use comparable to the access and use available to employees without disabilities, unless compliance imposes a significant difficulty or expense (Tex. Gov't Code sec. 2054.456(a)).
- Provide members of the public with disabilities who are seeking information or other services from the agency access to and the use of electronic and information resources comparable to that provided to members of the public without disabilities, including Internet websites, unless compliance imposes a significant difficulty or expense (Tex. Gov't Code secs. 2054.451(1) and 2054.457(a)).
- If the Department of Information Resources requires it, develop, procure, maintain and use accessible electronic and information resources that conform to the department's rules under the subchapter (Tex. Gov't Code sec. 2054.454(a)).
- Where compliance would impose a significant difficulty or expense, you need not comply with that provision but may use alternate methods, such as voice, fax, teletypewriter, Internet posting, captioning, text-to-speech synthesis and audio description, to give individuals with disabilities timely access (Tex. Gov't Code sec. 2054.460(a) and (b)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
What this law does
A state agency is a department, commission, board, office, council, authority, or other agency in the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of state government that is created by the constitution or a statute of this state, including a university system or institution of higher education as defined by section 61.003 of the Education Code.
Electronic and information resources include telephones and other telecommunications products, information kiosks, transaction machines, Internet websites, multimedia resources, and office equipment.
Each state agency must, in developing, procuring, maintaining, or using electronic and information resources, ensure that state employees with disabilities have access to and the use of those resources comparable to the access and use available to state employees without disabilities, unless compliance imposes a significant difficulty or expense on the agency.
The agency must take reasonable steps to ensure that an employee with a disability has reasonable access to perform the employee's duties, but the section does not require it to install specific accessibility-related software or attach an assistive technology device at a state employee's workstation.
Each state agency must provide members of the public with disabilities who are seeking information or other services from the agency access to and the use of electronic and information resources comparable to the access and use provided to members of the public without disabilities, unless compliance imposes a significant difficulty or expense on the agency.
The Department of Information Resources must adopt rules regarding the development and monitoring of state agency Internet websites to provide access to individuals with disabilities. A state agency for which compliance with a provision imposes a significant difficulty or expense is not required to comply with that provision, but may provide individuals with disabilities an alternate method of access.
The executive director of the state agency makes the final decision on whether that exception applies, and the decision may not be appealed.
The subchapter does not apply to electronic and information resources equipment containing embedded information resources used as an integral part of a product whose principal function is not the acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of information, such as thermostats or other heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment, or to an item of medical equipment in which electronic and information resources are integral to its operation.
The subchapter does not create a cause of action. Subchapter M was added by Acts 2005, 79th Legislature, chapter 750 (House Bill 2819), effective .
Rules in chapter 213 of title 1 of the Texas Administrative Code are adopted under section 2054.453 of the Government Code, which requires the department to establish rules on the development, procurement, maintenance, and use of electronic and information resources by state agencies to provide access to individuals with disabilities and on a procurement accessibility policy.
When LexLint raises it
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