Revised Guidelines
Won't Emerge Until After 2004 Elections
Regulatory Inefficiencies Negate
Attempts To Revise The ADAAG
By Steven John Fellman
NATO Washington Counsel
In 1995, the
federal government appointed an advisory committee to review the
Americans With Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG)
and propose revisions to the Access Board. In the fall of 1996,
the committee completed its tasks and proposed a comprehensive set
of revised ADAAG guidelines. These revised guidelines were in turn
reviewed by the Access Board which in 1999 then published its version
of a revised ADAAG for public comment. Over 4,000 comments were
received. This April, the Access Board published a draft of the
Revised ADAAG. This "Draft" has to be finalized and then
voted on by all of the representatives of the government agencies
which serve as members of the Access Board and all the public representatives
on the Access Board. Once a final regulation is approved by the
Access Board, it must go to Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for review.
It is now estimated
that OMB review of the Access Board document will not be completed
until 2003.
But wait, that
doesn't give you a revised ADAAG. In order for the ADAAG to be revised,
it must be put into a regulatory framework by the Department of
Justice and again published for notice and comment. In addition,
the Department of Justice must do an evaluation as to the economic
costs and the effect on small business of the revised ADAAG. These
evaluations must be published in the public record with the proposed
revision. The Department of Justice must then review the comments
and issue a final rule. Prior to publication of the final rule it
will be necessary for the Department of Justice to again obtain
OMB review and then give Congress the opportunity to hold hearings.
It will take the Department of Justice more than 12 months from
the time it receives a final rule from the Access Board to publish
its final rule. Conservatively, a revised ADAAG will not come out
until 2005. With the elections in 2004, who knows what position
the federal agencies will take in 2005.
We are talking
about a process that began in 1996 and will not be finished until
2005. This regulatory proceeding demonstrates that government inefficiency
and archaic rulemaking procedures do not work in today's economy.
What use is a regulation published in 2005 based on recommendations
made in 1996? It makes no sense.
To some extent,
the problem of the revised ADAAG will become moot as many state
disability rights laws and the model building codes are changing
at a much faster pace than the federal regulators. By the time the
new ADAAG becomes law, the 2003 version of the revised building
codes will be established and adopted in many states.
This fall, the
Congress held hearings on Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) reform. At the hearings, both Republicans and Democrats expressed
concern over the length of time it takes OSHA to get out a rule.
When Congress recognizes the farce of the ADA regulatory process,
it could well be that a new series of oversight hearings will be
scheduled to find out why the administration of this well-intentioned
law has become such a fiasco. It is costing taxpayers millions of
dollars to pay for a system that, from a "process" standpoint,
does not work. When you move from process to substance, the inadequacy
of the system is even more apparent. How much money has the government
spent on wheelchair seating issues involving stadium-style motion
picture theatres? By the time the litigation is over millions of
taxpayers dollars will be thrown down the drain, and for what purpose?
NATO's proposal for wheelchair seating in new construction offers
wheelchair patrons a great location. Wheelchair patrons recognize
this. The press recognizes this. Why does the Department of Justice
close its eyes to reality? 
