[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3473 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3473
To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve the accessibility of
airline information and entertainment programming provided by air
carriers on passenger flights, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 12, 2020
Mr. Casey (for himself, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Markey, Mr. Brown, Ms.
Duckworth, and Mr. Blumenthal) introduced the following bill; which was
read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve the accessibility of
airline information and entertainment programming provided by air
carriers on passenger flights, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Airline Information and
Entertainment Access Act''.
SEC. 2. ACCESSIBILITY OF IN-FLIGHT SAFETY AND ENTERTAINMENT
PROGRAMMING.
(a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 417 of title 49, United
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 41705 the following
new section:
``Sec. 41705a. Accessibility of in-flight airline information and
entertainment programming
``(a) Requirement.--
``(1) Programming.--On and after the date that is 180 days
after the date of the enactment of the Airline Information and
Entertainment Access Act, in providing air transportation, an
air carrier, including (subject to section 40105(b)) any
foreign air carrier, shall ensure that all visually displayed
airline information and entertainment programming available to
passengers on a flight is accessible to persons with
disabilities, including by providing (or making available)--
``(A) open captioning and American Sign Language
option for persons with disabilities when such
programming is available to passengers through shared
video displays, such as a monitor located in a
passenger access aisle;
``(B) closed captioning and American Sign Language
option for persons with disabilities when such
programming is available to passengers through
individual video displays;
``(C) video description for persons with
disabilities when such programming is available to
passengers through individual video displays or shared
video displays; and
``(D) any aural PA announcement in textual format
through individual video displays or shared video
displays.
``(2) Video displays.--Not later than the effective date of
the regulations prescribed under subsection (c)(2), in
providing air transportation, an air carrier, including
(subject to section 40105(b)) any foreign air carrier, shall
ensure that all individual video displays of visually displayed
airline information and entertainment programming to passengers
on a flight that are operated primarily by using touchscreens
or other contact-sensitive controls include a mechanism that
allows persons with disabilities to nonvisually operate the
displays in accordance with the standards prescribed under
subsection (c).
``(b) Civil Action.--
``(1) Aggrieved persons.--
``(A) In general.--Any person aggrieved by the
violation by an air carrier of this section or a
regulation prescribed under this section may, during
the 2-year period beginning on the date of the
violation, bring a civil action in an appropriate
district court of the United States.
``(B) Available relief.--If a court finds in favor
of the plaintiff in a civil action brought under
subparagraph (A), the court may award to the plaintiff
equitable and legal relief, including compensatory and
punitive damages, and shall, in addition to any such
relief, award reasonable attorney's fees, reasonable
expert fees, and cost of the action to the plaintiff.
``(C) No requirement to exhaust administrative
remedies.--Any person aggrieved by the violation by an
air carrier of this section or a regulation prescribed
under this section shall not be required to exhaust
administrative remedies before bringing a civil action
under subparagraph (A).
``(D) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this
paragraph shall be construed to invalidate or limit
other Federal or State laws affording to people with
disabilities greater legal rights or protections than
those granted by this section.
``(2) Enforcement by attorney general.--
``(A) In general.--The Attorney General may bring a
civil action on behalf of persons aggrieved by the
violation by an air carrier of this section or a
regulation prescribed under this section in any
appropriate district court of the United States.
``(B) Authority of court.--In a civil action under
subparagraph (A), the court may--
``(i) grant any equitable relief that the
court considers to be appropriate;
``(ii) award such other relief as the court
considers to be appropriate, including monetary
damages to persons aggrieved by the violation
by an air carrier of this section or a
regulation prescribed under this section, when
requested by the Attorney General; and
``(iii) assess a civil penalty against the
air carrier.
``(c) Establishment of Standards for Operation of Individual Video
Displays.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date
of the enactment of the Airline Information and Entertainment
Access Act, the Architectural and Transportation Barriers
Compliance Board shall, in consultation with the Secretary of
Transportation, prescribe standards in accordance with chapter
5 of title 5 (commonly known as the `Administrative Procedure
Act') setting forth the minimum technical criteria for
individual video displays described in subsection (a)(2) to
ensure that such video displays include a mechanism that allows
persons with disabilities to operate the displays nonvisually.
``(2) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the
Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
issues standards under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall
prescribe such regulations as are necessary to implement those
standards and shall publish those regulations in an accessible
format.
``(3) Review and amendment.--The Architectural and
Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, in consultation with
the Secretary, shall periodically review and, as appropriate,
amend the standards prescribed under paragraph (1) in
accordance with chapter 5 of title 5. Not later than 180 days
after the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance
Board issues amended standards under this paragraph, the
Secretary shall make such revisions to the regulations
prescribed under paragraph (2) as are necessary to implement
the amended standards.
``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Closed captioning.--The term `closed captioning'
means a method, process, or mechanism, which may include a
device, that--
``(A) allows an individual who is deaf or hard of
hearing to have access to the content of visually
displayed airline information and entertainment
programming; and
``(B) allows that access by displaying, through an
individual device or individually used technology, all
of the audio portion of the programming (including
displaying the dialogue and any narration, as well as
descriptions of on- and off-screen sounds such as sound
effects, music, or lyrics for music, and information
identifying the character who is speaking) as text that
can be effectively viewed and controlled by that
individual while the individual simultaneously watches
the programming.
``(2) Person with a disability.--The term `person with a
disability' means any person who has a disability as defined in
section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42
U.S.C. 12102), including a person with a sensory disability.
``(3) Open captioning.--The term `open captioning' means a
method, process, or mechanism that--
``(A) allows an individual who is deaf or hard of
hearing to have access to the content of visually
displayed airline information and entertainment
programming; and
``(B) allows that access by openly displaying on
the video display on which the programming is displayed
all of the audio portion of the programming (including
displaying the dialogue and any narration, as well as
descriptions of on- and off-screen sounds such as sound
effects, music, or lyrics for music, and information
identifying the character who is speaking) as text that
can be effectively viewed by that individual and other
passengers while the individual and passengers
simultaneously watch the programming.
``(4) Video description.--The term `video description'
means a method, process, or mechanism, including a device,
that--
``(A) allows an individual who is blind or visually
impaired to have access to the key visual elements of
visually displayed airline information and
entertainment programming (such as actions, settings,
facial expressions, costumes, and scene changes); and
``(B) allows that access through the provision of
contemporaneous audio narrated descriptions of those
elements during the natural pauses in the audio portion
of the programming, or during the audio portion if
necessary.
``(5) Visually displayed airline information and
entertainment programming.--The term `visually displayed
airline information and entertaining programming' means pre-
flight safety briefing videos, live televised events, recorded
programming (including television programs), or motion pictures
that are available to passengers, for a fee or without cost, on
a flight in air transportation.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 417 of title 49,
United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to
section 41705 the following:
``41705a. Accessibility of in-flight airline information and
entertainment programming.''.
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