§ 25-26-204 - Procurement requirements.

25-26-204. Procurement requirements.

(a) The technology access clause specified in 25-26-203 shall be developed by the Department of Information Systems and shall require compliance with nonvisual access standards established by the state. The clause shall be included in all contracts for the procurement of information technology by or for the use of entities covered by this subchapter on or after July 30, 1999.

(b) The nonvisual access standards established by the state pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall include such specifications as are necessary to fulfill the assurances in 25-26-203 and shall include the following minimum specifications:

(1) That effective, interactive control and use of the technology, including, but not limited to, the operating system, applications programs, and format of the data presented, is readily achievable by nonvisual means;

(2) That the technology equipped for nonvisual access must be compatible with information technology used by other individuals with whom the blind or visually impaired individual must interact;

(3) That nonvisual access technology must be integrated into networks used to share communications among employees, program participants, and the public; and

(4) That the technology for nonvisual access must have the capability of providing equivalent access by nonvisual means to telecommunications or other interconnected network services used by persons who are not blind or visually impaired.

(c) The minimum specifications under subsection (b) of this section do not prohibit the purchase or use of an information technology product that does not meet these standards if the information manipulated or presented by the product is inherently visual in nature, so that its meaning cannot be conveyed nonvisually.