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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Dear Senate President Garcia:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>My name is Curtis Chong. I am a totally blind person who, in the fall of 2018, moved to Colorado from the state of New Mexico. My friends and colleagues in the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado told me when I got here that the Colorado General Assembly was incredibly supportive of programs and initiatives to enable people with disabilities, including the blind, to achieve equal status with other Coloradans. I was gratified, therefore, when, in 2019, the General Assembly made Colorado’s printed mail ballot accessible to the blind by passing SB19-202; and, in more recent times (just this year, in fact) the House and Senate voted in favor of SB21-188, a bill which was signed into law by Governor Polis on May 21.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>When I heard at last Friday’s Senate Appropriations Committee hearing that HB21-1110 was laid over, I was disappointed that this landmark piece of legislation was being delayed (if not blocked) because of a $331,000 appropriation which is critical if people with disabilities in Colorado are to be able to use online government services through the Web to the same extent as everybody else. HB21-1110 passed the House with almost no opposition. I hope that you will help us to get this through Senate Appropriations and on to the Governor’s desk.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been around for more than 30 years, and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) have been used for more than two decades to help developers of websites to ensure equal access by people who use assistive technology to do what everybody else takes for granted. In the general scheme of things, $331,000 is a small fraction of the over-all Colorado state budget. Since equal access to electronic information and technology is vital for everyone, including people with disabilities, I hope that HB21-1110 can move forward without delay.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Thank you for your kind attention to what is, for me and other people with disabilities, an important bill: HB21-1110.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Yours sincerely,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Curtis Chong<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>