Advocacy

Stay informed and involved. Visit this page to for current legislative issues that impact the hearing-impaired.

New ADA Rules Went Into Effect on March 15
The Department of Justice announced that revised regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) took effect March 15, 2011. The revised rules are the department’s first major revision of its guidance on accessibility in 20 years. The regulations apply to the activities of more than 80,000 units of state and local government, and more than seven million places of public accommodation, including stores, restaurants, shopping malls, libraries, museums, sporting arenas, movie theaters, doctors’ and dentists’ offices, hotels, jails and prisons, polling places, and emergency preparedness shelters. In addition, the department has released a new publication explaining when the various provisions of its amended regulations will take effect. Documents are available on the department’s ADA website.

This information is from the AG Bell Update

For more information about the ADA, contact the Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TTY), or online at www.ada.gov. You may also contact your local ADA Center at (800) 949-4232 with any questions regarding these revised regulations.

A Boost to Consumers as Television Commercials Must Quiet Down
The CALM (Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation) Act was passed, which creates a standard for the volume of cable and broadcast commercials. The law eliminates obtrusively loud television commercials that aim to grab viewers’ attention by boosting the volume level over the surrounding programming.  Click here for more information.

This information is from the American Academy of Audiology

For more information visit http://www.audiology.org/advocacy/grnews/Pages/CongressPassesCalmAct.aspx

President Obama Signs Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Act of 2010
On Wednesday, December 22, President Obama signed the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Act of 2010 (H.R. 1246/S. 3199) into law. The bill, which was passed earlier this month by the Senate, was passed by the House on December 15. Click here for more information.

This information is from the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

For more information visit www.agbell.org

Congress Passes the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Act (EHDI)
On Tuesday, December 7, 2010, the U.S. Senate passed by unanimous consent, the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Act. Although this bill was passed in March of 2009 by the U.S. House, it was amended slightly in the Senate version and therefore required House reconsideration and was passed by that chamber today. This bill reauthorizes and increases federal funding for early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) programs and is awaiting signature by the President. Continue to visit the American Academy of Audiology’s Website for updates on the implementation of this reauthorization.

This information is from the American Academy of Audiology

For more information visit http://www.audiology.org/Pages/default.aspx.