April 5, 2004—At its January meeting, the U.S. Access Board unanimously approved new guidelines covering access to facilities covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The approved rule overhauls the existing ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG), which were first published in 1991. The rule also revises guidelines for federally funded facilities required to be accessible under the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA). Both the ADA guidelines and the ABA guidelines specify access in new construction and alterations and provide detailed provisions for various building elements including ramps, elevators, restrooms, parking, and signage, among others.
The new guidelines are based on recommendations developed by an advisory committee the Board had chartered to review the existing ADAAG. The ADAAG Review Advisory Committee consisted of 22 members representing the design and construction industry, the building code community, state and local government entities, and people with disabilities.
BOMA International served on this Advisory Committee. Based on this committee’s report, the Board published in FY 2000 a proposed set of guidelines that featured a host of updated provisions and clarifying revisions, as well as a new look and format. This proposal, which was made available for public comment for six months, attracted over 2,500 comments. These comments provided considerable input on the substance of the guidelines. The Board made a variety of changes to the guidelines based on this feedback from the public.
The Board’s recent action allows the finalized guidelines to move on to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which serves as a clearinghouse for federal regulations. The new guidelines were formally submitted to OMB in late February. OMB has 90 days to complete its review. The Board will proceed to publish the new guidelines once approved by OMB.
The Board’s guidelines, by themselves, are not enforceable or mandatory for entities covered by the ADA or ABA. Other agencies, such as the departments of Justice and Transportation under the ADA, and several others under the ABA, are authorized to set the design standards that must be met. Their standards are to be consistent with the Board’s guidelines. These agencies will update their enforceable standards based on the Board’s final guidelines. As part of this action, the agencies will specify when the updated standards take effect.
To receive updates by e-mail on the progress of this and other Board rulemakings, visit the U.S. Access Board.
