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Advocates back changes to public‑meeting notices to improve navigation and screen‑reader access
Summary
Bill to require certain information appear at the beginning of public‑meeting notices drew support from disability advocates, who urged tagging and headings so people using screen readers can navigate agendas more easily; the author and supporters called it an accessibility improvement.
The committee heard testimony in favor of SB 2349, a measure that would require certain information to appear at the beginning of public‑meeting notices. James Geshel of the National Federation of the Blind and other disability advocates said the bill would help users of screen‑reader technology by requiring agendas to be structured and tagged for quick navigation. Geshel asked the committee to add navigational headings so people who rely on screen readers can jump to topics rather than read through pages of boilerplate.
Peter Fritz, who has filed related bills, described the measure as focused on usability and accessibility and urged the committee to move it forward as a technical improvement that would make agendas easier to navigate for people with disabilities and others. "The purpose is to make this easier for people to navigate who use screen readers," Fritz said. The committee deferred final action but acknowledged accessibility concerns raised by multiple testifiers.
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