Bridal — The Senate Committee on Government Operations on Jan. 16 approved an amendment to the disclosure requirement in draft legislation, endorsing wording that requires disclosures to be "easily readable" and "inclusive to the greatest extent possible of individuals with disabilities." The committee voted to adopt amendment draft 1.4 and ordered it on notice for the calendar.

Rick Segal of the Office of Legislative Council told the committee they were reviewing draft 1.3 (which he said would be posted to the committee web page) and that the principal change on page 2 concerns the disclosure requirement. "There was discussion about bringing in universal design," Segal said, but he cautioned that adopting the federal universal-design definition could pull in other federal requirements that might be impossible to comply with for some content producers. "I don't feel comfortable bringing in that definition because there's other requirements in that federal law that would be made impossible for someone to comply with," he said.

Members discussed competing goals: how to ensure disclosures are readable for the "average viewer and average listener" while also making the rule inclusive of people with disabilities. One participant argued that if text is legible to people with disabilities, "it will also be legible to the average viewer." Several speakers urged caution about prescribing technical accessibility standards, and Segal warned that the more the committee specifies the form of speech, the more it may raise First Amendment concerns.

The committee agreed on a compromise phrase that uses "easily readable" and an explicit inclusion clause for people with disabilities. A committee member moved to "adopt the amendment draft number 1.4 for S.23"; the motion was adopted in a roll-call vote. The clerk recorded votes including Senator Clarkson, John Morley, Senator White and Senator Caldwell and announced the tally as "5 0 0." The chair said he would forward the revised draft to Melissa so it could be placed on notice Tuesday and the calendar likely Wednesday.

The change is procedural for the bill's disclosure section; committee staff said they will circulate the updated draft (1.4) and the item will return if additional changes or challenges arise. The committee adjourned and will reconvene Tuesday.