Vermont committee hears how legislature and courts are preparing for new federal web-accessibility rule

The House Energy and Digital Infrastructure committee on April 10 heard briefings from legislative counsel, General Assembly IT and the Vermont Judiciary on how state websites and apps will meet a new Department of Justice rule on accessibility.

"It is the new federal rule on web content and mobile app accessibility," said Rick Segal of the Office of Legislative Counsel, summarizing the regulation he identified by its full title, "Nondiscrimination on the basis of disability, accessibility of web information, and services of state and local government entities," which he said was issued April 24, 2024. Segal told the committee the rule points agencies to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard and that the rule covers web pages, documents, mobile apps and third‑party platforms used to publish official information.

Why it matters: Segal said the rule applies to state and local governments under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and that noncompliance could lead to civil penalties and remediation obligations. He walked members through commonly discussed exceptions in the rule — archived content preserved without changes, certain…