JAN 4 1994




Mr. Thomas J. Camacho
Office of the Governor
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Developmental Disabilities Planning Office
P.O. Box 2565
Saipan, MP 96950

Dear Mr. Camacho:

     This is in response to your inquiry regarding the Americans
With Disabilities Act (ADA).

     The ADA authorizes the Department of Justice to provide
technical assistance to individuals and entities that are subject
to the Act. This letter provides informal guidance to assist you
in understanding the ADA accessibility standards. However, this
technical assistance does not constitute a legal interpretation
of the application of the statute and it is not binding on the
Department.

     Your first two inquiries concern whether it is appropriate
for an advocacy agency of a local government that is funded
entirely by federal funds through the Administration on
Developmental Disabilities Act to write a "premonition" letter on
behalf of a complainant. We presume this type of letter would be
one in which you advise the owner or operator of a facility that
he is possibly in violation of the ADA.  Your federal funding
agency should be consulted to determine whether activities of
this type are permitted.

     Even if the funding agency permits this type of activity,
the ADA itself does not authorize the State or Commonwealth
officials to enforce the ADA. However, if the Commonwealth
agency is simply representing complainants in the same manner in
which a private attorney might do so, the ADA does permit such
activity. Individuals have the right to enforce both titles II
and III of the ADA through private civil actions.

     The complainants directly or through your agency may also
file complaints with the Department of Justice. Complaints

cc:  Records, Chrono, Wodatch, Magagna, Johansen, MAF, FOIA
     udd\johansen\camacho.ltr




01-02870


                              - 2 -

regarding title III entities should be forwarded to this office
at the address on the letterhead. Complaints regarding title II
entities should be submitted on the enclosed form and mailed to
the address indicated. ADA enforcement is handled by the Civil
Rights Division in Washington rather than by the local United
States Attorneys.

     Your third question seeks information on how to deal with a
telephone company's failure to implement a relay service
operation as required by title IV of the ADA. The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) is the agency responsible for
enforcing title IV. You should write to the FCC at 1919 M
Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20554, or call at (202) 632-7260.

     Finally, you inquire whether a telephone company is a place
of public accommodation providing sales and services and,
consequently, whether the phone company must provide TDD/TTY
equipment in the same circumstances in which it makes voice
equipment available to other users. Public utility companies,
including telephone companies, are not generally considered to be
places of public accommodations within the meaning of title III.
However, if the utility maintains a customer service office which
customers visit to open accounts or pay bills, this office would
be a "service establishment" that is covered as a "place of
public accommodation" under title III.

     Similarly, if the telephone company operates a retail
establishment where it sells telephone equipment, such a facility
would be a "sales or rental establishment" that is covered by
title III as a place of public accommodation. Title III,
however, does not require public accommodations to alter their
inventory to include accessible or special goods designed for
individuals with disabilities. A public accommodation must
special order accessible goods if, in the normal course of its
operation, it makes special orders for unstocked goods and the
special goods can be obtained from a supplier with whom the
public accommodation customarily does business.

     I have enclosed copies of the Department's Technical
Assistance Manuals for titles II and III. We hope this
information is helpful to you.

                            Sincerely,



                         John L. Wodatch
                              Chief
                      Public Access Section

Enclosures
01-02871