Sec. 8. Agency accountability
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Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with the Access Board, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs shall establish guidelines relating to the programs for compliance with section 508 and compliance officers of departments and agencies, including— the role of such programs and authority of compliance officers in departments and agencies; the relationship of compliance officers with department and agency information technology officers; and the relationship of compliance officers with department and agency acquisition officers, including the authority of compliance officers to intervene in the acquisition process if the information and communications technology a department or agency is seeking to procure is not compliant with section 508.
The Administrator, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Access Board, shall establish standardized continuous accessibility testing and evaluation requirements with respect to department and agency information and communications technology that is acquired, developed, maintained, or used by a department or agency, including information and communications technology acquired, developed, maintained, or used before the date of enactment of this Act.
Such standardized continuous accessibility testing and evaluation requirements shall include regression testing. The General Services Administration shall provide technical assistance to departments and agencies with continuous testing and evaluation required pursuant to paragraph (1), including through the establishment of an online hub that includes tools and guidance relating to such testing and evaluation. In the case of information and communications technology acquired, developed, maintained, or used before the date of enactment of this Act that is found to not be compliant with section 508, as amended by this Act, the applicable department or agency shall remediate or remove that information and communications technology not later than 90 days after the determination of noncompliance.
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ( 29 U.S.C. 794d ), as amended by sections 3 and 4, is further amended by inserting after subsection (h), as added by section 4, the following: Not later than 90 days after the date that the Administrator establishes guidelines pursuant to section 8 of the Section 508 Refresh Act of 2024 , the head of each Federal department or agency to which this section applies shall, consistent with such guidelines, appoint a compliance officer who shall have knowledge and experience with website accessibility, the requirements of this section, and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines that are current as of the date of the appointment.
Each compliance officer appointed under subparagraph
(A)shall— be responsible for ensuring the Federal department or agency is meeting the requirements of this section; be responsible for remaining up-to-date on changes to web content accessibility requirements and other requirements concerning the accessibility of information and communications technology; and report directly to the head of the Federal department or agency. Beginning not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Section 508 Refresh Act of 2024 , and annually thereafter, the head of each Federal department or agency to which this section applies shall— post on the home page of the department or agency’s website a signed certification that the department or agency is in compliance with the requirements under this section; or submit to Congress, and post on the home page of the department or agency’s website, a plan with a timeline to ensure the department or agency’s compliance with the requirements under this section. With respect to a Federal department or agency to which this section applies that has multiple units within such department or agency headed by Assistant Secretaries or Directors, the head of each such unit shall appoint a compliance officer who shall be responsible for ensuring the unit is meeting the requirements of this section. The head of a Federal department or agency to which this section applies that has fewer than 20 full-time employees may appoint one of such full-time employees as the compliance officer for the department or agency, if the majority of the employee’s work duties are related to work as the compliance officer. . Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Administrator, and the Access Board, shall issue guidelines for including compliance with section 508 as a critical element in performance appraisals for all members of the Senior Executive Service. The guidelines issued under paragraph
(1)shall determine the factors to be included in the appraisal described in paragraph (1). Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, each department or agency shall establish a Federal Advisory Committee on Equal Access if— the department or agency fails to appoint a compliance officer under section 508(i) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ( 29 U.S.C. 794d ), as added by this Act, or allows the position of compliance officer to go unfilled for more than 6 months; the department or agency fails to publish on the website of the department or agency a signed certification of compliance with the requirements of section 508, or, if unable to publish a signed certification of compliance, a plan to ensure compliance by the department or agency within a specified timeframe; the department or agency fails to publish a signed certification of compliance or update documentation, pursuant to a plan published under subparagraph
(B)within the specified timeframe provided under that plan; or the Administrator, in consultation with the Access Board, determines that the department or agency— is habitually non-compliant with section 508; has failed to provide appropriate, continuous testing for information and communications technology compliance under the requirements of this Act; or has failed to appropriately evaluate employees, including senior executives, for compliance with section 508, pursuant to the guidelines issued under subsection (d); or has made inadequate progress toward carrying out the compliance plan described in section 508(i)(2)(B) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (as added by this Act). The Administrator, in consultation with the Access Board, shall determine the size of each Federal Advisory Committee on Equal Access and membership criteria, which shall include a requirement that a majority of the members be individuals with a disability, and represent a variety of disabilities. The Administrator, in consultation with the Access Board, shall determine the frequency of meetings and termination date of each Federal Advisory Committee on Equal Access. Each Federal Advisory Committee on Equal Access of a department or agency shall submit to the Administrator, Access Board, and the Inspector General an annual report relating to— compliance of the department or agency with section 508; compliance of the department or agency with other Federal accessibility laws, prioritized by area of greatest need, as determined by the Federal Advisory Committee on Equal Access; and recommendations of the Federal Advisory Committee on Equal Access for improving the department or agency’s compliance with section 508 and any other Federal accessibility laws the Federal Advisory Committee on Equal Access examines.
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Sec. 8
Agency accountability
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