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KY AIT Law

Kentucky Accessible Information Technology (AIT) Law

61.980 Definitions for KRS 61.980 to 61.988

As used in KRS 61.980 to 61.988:

  1. “Access” means the ability to receive, use, and manipulate data and operate controls included in information technology to be in compliance with nationally accepted accessibility and usability standards such as those established by Section 255 of the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 and Section 508 of the Federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998;
  2. “Individual with a Disability” means an individual who is considered to have a disability for the purpose of any federal or state law, and who is or would be able by information-access-assistive technology to maintain a level of functioning or to achieve a greater level of functioning in any major life activity;
  3. “Blind or Visually Impaired Individual” means an individual who:
    1. Has a visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with correcting lenses or has a limited field of vision so that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than twenty (20) degrees;
    2. Has a medically indicated expectation of visual deterioration; or
    3. Has a medically diagnosed limitation in visual functioning that restricts the individual’s ability to read and write standard print at levels expected of individuals of comparable ability;
  4. “Covered Entity” means the state or any state-assisted organization;
  5. “Deaf or Hard of Hearing” means persons who have hearing disorders and includes people who cannot hear and understand speech clearly through the ear alone, with or without hearing aids;
  6. “Information Technology” means all electronic information processing hardware and software, including but not limited to telecommunications and any electronic information equipment or interconnected system that is used in the acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of audio, video, graphics, and text;
  7. “Assistive Technology” means any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, customized, fabricated, or is otherwise an alternative means that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities;
  8. “Non-visual” means output methods not requiring sight, including but not limited to synthesized speech and Braille;
  9. “State” means the Commonwealth of Kentucky or any of its departments, agencies, public bodies, or other instrumentalities;
  10. “State-assisted Organization” means a college, university, nonprofit organization, person, political subdivision, school system, or other entity supported in whole or in part by state funds;
  11. “Telecommunication” means the transmission of information, images, pictures, voice, or data by radio, video, or other electronic or impulse means; and
  12. “Undue Burden” means significant difficulty or expense, including but not limited to a difficulty or expense associated with technical feasibility.

Effective: July 14, 2000
History: Created 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 536, sec. 32, effective July 14, 2000.

61.982 Access requirements for state information technology equipment and software.

The head of each covered entity shall ensure that information technology equipment and software used by the entity’s employees, program participants, and the general public:

  1. Provide individuals with disabilities, including blind or visually impaired, or deaf or hard of hearing, with access, including but not limited to interactive use of equipment and services, that is equivalent to the access provided individuals who are not disabled, blind or visually impaired, or deaf or hard of hearing;
  2. Are designed to present information, including but not limited to prompts used for interactive communication, in formats intended for both visual and non-visual use; and
  3. Have been purchased under a contract that includes the technology access clause required by KRS 61.984.

Effective: July 14, 2000
History: Created 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 536, sec. 33, effective July 14, 2000.

61.984 Procurement of information technology — Technology access contract clause — Alternative and nonvisual access standards.

The Finance and Administration Cabinet shall develop a technology access clause which shall be in compliance with Section 255 of the Federal Telecommunication Act of 1996 and with Section 508 of the Federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and shall establish alternative, including non-visual, access standards for use in the procurement of information technology by covered entities in accordance with the following requirements:

  1. The technology access clause shall require compliance with the standards established under this section. Except as otherwise provided in KRS 61.986, the technology access clause shall be included in all contracts entered into after July 14, 2000, for the procurement of information technology by, or for the use of, covered entities.
  2. The alternative and non-visual access standards shall include the specifications necessary to meet the requirements of KRS 61.982. The standards shall include the following minimum specifications:
    1. Effective, interactive control and use of technology, including the operating system, applications programs, and format of the data presented shall be readily achievable by alternative and non-visual means;
    2. The technology equipped for alternative and non-visual access shall be compatible with information technology used by other individuals with whom the person with a disability, including the blind or visually impaired individual, must interact;
    3. Alternative and non-visual access technology shall be integrated into networks used to share communications among employees, program participants, and the public; and
    4. The technology for alternative or non-visual access shall have the capability of providing equivalent access by non-visual or other alternative means to telecommunications or other interconnected network services used by persons who are not disabled.

Effective: July 14, 2000
History: Created 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 536, sec. 34, effective July 14, 2000.

61.986 Exclusion of technology access clause — Conditions — Exempting from access requirements — Compliance of existing equipment or software.

  1. For the purpose of procurement, the head of any covered entity may, with respect to access software or peripheral devices and other assistive technology pertinent to individuals with disabilities access to information technology obtained following July 14, 2000, approve the exclusion of the technology access clause if the cost of the software or peripheral devices or other assistive technology for the covered entity presents an undue burden.
  2. The head of any covered entity shall not approve the exclusion of the technology access clause from any contract with respect to:
    1. The compatibility of standard operating systems and software with non-visual access or other assistive software, peripheral devices, or any assistive technology; or
    2. The initial design, development, and installation of information systems, including the design and procurement of interactive equipment and software.
  3. Nothing in this section shall require the installation of software or peripheral devices for non-visual or alternative access if the information technology is being used by individuals who are not blind, visually impaired, or otherwise disabled. However, the applications programs and underlying operating system, including the format of the data, used for the manipulation and presentation of information shall permit the installation and effective use of non-visual access software and peripheral devices.
  4. Information technology purchased prior to July 14, 2000, shall be brought into compliance with KRS 61.980 to 61.988 when the covered entity upgrades or replaces the existing equipment or software. Nothing in KRS 61.980 to 61.988 shall be construed or interpreted to require the replacement or upgrade of existing equipment or software.

Effective: July 14, 2000
History: Created 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 536, sec. 35, effective July 14, 2000.

61.988 Action for injunctive relief for injury due to violation of KRS 61.980 to 61.988.

Any person injured by a violation of KRS 61.980 to 61.988 may bring an action for injunctive relief in the Circuit Court of the county in which the person resides or in which the covered entity is located. An action for injunctive relief shall be commenced within four (4) years after the cause of action accrues. A cause of action for a continuing violation of KRS 61.980 to 61.988 shall accrue at the time of the latest occurrence of the violation.

Effective: July 14, 2000
History: Created 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 536, sec. 36, effective July 14, 2000.