Electronic and Information Technology Access Advisory Committee; Meeting

On September 29, 1998, the Access Board published a notice appointing 23 members to its Electronic and Information Technology Access

Advisory Committee (Committee). 63 FR 51891 (September 29, 1998). The Committee will make recommendations to the Access Board on accessibility standards for electronic and information technology covered by the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998. The Committee is composed of Federal agencies and Federal contractors; the electronic and information technology industry; organizations representing the access needs of individuals with disabilities; and other persons affected by accessibility standards for electronic and information technology. At its first meeting on October 15 and 16, 1998, the Committee took the following actions: • Added Compaq Computers, Pitney Bowes, Sun Microsystems, and the Information Technology Industry Council to the Committee; • Formed three subcommittees. One subcommittee will examine the definitions needed for the recommended standards. Another subcommittees will examine the various functions that are performed by electronic and information technology. These functions include creating, processing, transmitting, and interacting with information and the technology involved. A third subcommittee will begin the process of classifying the variety of products covered by the standards into product families; • Created a listserv to facilitate communications between meetings. To subscribe to the listserv send an e-mail message to: listproc@trace.wisc.edu.; and • Established a schedule of meeting dates. In addition to the meeting on March 29-30, 1999, the Committee will meet again on May 11-12, 1999. At its second meeting on December 1 and 2, 1998, the Committee addressed the scope of the standards it will be recommending to the Access Board. This included defining the term ``electronic and information technology''. A three person group was appointed to develop a recommended definition and present it to the Committee at its January meeting. Additionally, four subcommittees were formed. These include: installation and setup, information presentation, control and operation, and user information. The subcommittees will examine these specific areas and identify access barriers in each area, and recommend standards that could lower or eliminate these barriers. The subcommittees will continue their work on the listserv. At its third meeting on January 5-6, 1999, the Committee adopted a working definition for electronic and information technology based on the definition of information technology in the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 (40 U.S.C. 1401(3)). The four subcommittees, created during the December meeting, continued work on their specified areas. The Committee met for the fourth time on February 8-9, 1999, and shifted from identifying access barriers to developing functional standards to address the access barriers. A draft final report is expected to be discussed at the Committee's next meeting in March. The Committee also heard presentations from the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council on how the Federal Acquisition Regulations are promulgated; a presentation by a vice president of the American National Standards Institute on how conformity to standards takes place; and, a member of the Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council who briefed the Committee on the duties of an agency's CIO. The meetings are open to the public. There will be a public comment period each day for persons interested in presenting their views to the Committee. The facility is accessible to individuals with disabilities. Sign language interpreters, assistive listening systems and real-time transcription will be available. Lawrence W. Roffee, Executive Director. [FR Doc. 99-4992 Filed 2-26-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8150-01-P