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[Federal Register: April 2, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 63)]
[Proposed Rules]               
[Page 15509-15510]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02ap02-27]                         

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ARCHITECTURAL AND TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS COMPLIANCE BOARD

36 CFR Parts 1190 and 1191

[Docket No. 99-1]
RIN 3014-AA20

 
Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Guidelines 
for Buildings and Facilities; Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) 
Accessibility Guidelines

AGENCY: Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board.

ACTION: Availability of draft final guidelines.

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SUMMARY: The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board 
(Access Board) has placed in the docket for public review a draft of 
the final guidelines revising the Americans with Disabilities Act and 
Architectural Barriers Act Accessibility Guidelines. The Board has 
placed this document in the docket to inform the building codes 
community of the actions taken by the Board to promote the 
harmonization of the Board's guidelines with the International Code 
Council/American National Standards Institute A117.1 Standard on 
Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities and the International 
Building Code.

ADDRESSES: The draft final guidelines will be available for inspection 
at the offices of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers 
Compliance Board, 1331 F Street NW., suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004-
1111 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on regular business days.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marsha Mazz, Office of Technical and 
Information Services, Architectural and Transportation Barriers 
Compliance Board, 1331 F Street, NW., suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004-
1111. Telephone number (202) 272-0020 (Voice); (202) 272-0082 (TTY). 
These are not toll-free numbers. Electronic mail address: <A HREF="mailto:mazz@access-board.gov">mazz@access-
board.gov</A>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 16, 1999, the Architectural and 
Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) published a 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to amend the accessibility guidelines for 
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the Architectural 
Barriers Act (ABA) of 1968. 64 FR 62248 (November 16, 1999). The 
proposed rule was based on recommendations made by the Board's ADAAG 
Review Advisory Committee. The committee was established in 1994 by the 
Board to conduct a complete review of the guidelines and to recommend 
changes. The committee was charged with reviewing ADAAG in its entirety 
and making recommendations to the Board on:
    <bullet> Improving the format and usability of ADAAG;
    <bullet> Reconciling differences between ADAAG and national 
consensus standards, including model codes and industry standards;
    <bullet> Updating ADAAG to reflect technological developments and 
to continue to meet the needs of persons with disabilities; and
    <bullet> Coordinating future ADAAG revisions with national 
standards and model code organizations.
    The committee recommended significant changes to the format and 
style of ADAAG. The changes were recommended to provide a guideline 
that is organized and written in a manner that can be more readily 
understood, interpreted and applied. The recommended changes would also 
make the arrangement and format of ADAAG more consistent with model 
building codes and industry standards.
    Subsequent to the committee's recommendations, the 1998 edition of 
the International Code Council (ICC)/American National Standards 
Institute (ANSI) A117.1 Standard on Accessible and Usable Buildings and 
Facilities was published. Its requirements were ``harmonized'' with the 
committee's recommendations. An important goal of the Board throughout 
this rulemaking has been to promote the harmonization of its guidelines 
and private sector standards.
    At its March 13, 2002, meeting, the Access Board decided to place 
in the rulemaking docket for public review a draft of the guidelines 
revising the ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines. The Board expects to 
complete action on the final guidelines in the next few months. The 
final guidelines will then be submitted to the Office of Management and 
Budget for review in accordance with Executive Order 12866. The Board 
expects to publish the final guidelines

[[Page 15510]]

in the Federal Register later this summer.
    The Board is not soliciting comments on the draft of the final 
guidelines, but has placed the document in the docket for public 
inspection to promote the harmonization of the Board's guidelines with 
the ICC/ANSI standards and the International Building Code. The ANSI 
Committee and the International Codes Council are currently in the 
process of revising the private sector accessibility provisions and 
proposed changes must be submitted during the Spring of 2002. Without 
taking this step, an important opportunity would have been missed to 
harmonize the Board's guidelines with those of the private sector.

Lawrence W. Roffee,
Executive Director.
[FR Doc. 02-7884 Filed 4-1-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8150-01-P

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