[NFBC-Info] AB 2190

Tue Mar 31 17:43:03 UTC 2026

Hi Mike,

Excellent questions.  

On the issue of maps I would highlight that current California law requires all government procured maps to be accessible.  Combined with the new ADA Title II rule that is about to be enforceable, we have solid legal grounds to require access to digital maps.  I'm interested in this issue of online maps being accessible via GIS and user interfaces.  I've not seen any cases on this issue.  Send me your examples of inaccessible government maps and we will see what can be done.  

As for AB 2190 and maps on websites of private businesses, section 55.58.3 would allow you to challenge the underlying developer of the map module. It makes it unlawful to  "Construct, license, distribute, or maintain for online use a resource or part of an internet website that causes an entity’s internet website to be inaccessible."  

Further, under section 55.58.4,, you could get damages for intentional discrimination if the business operating its website fails to fix your complaint about an inaccessible map.  Intentional discrimination triggering Unruh damages would mean:
(1) user with a disability sent written notice to the entity describing a specific accessibility barrier on the entity’s internet website that explains how the barrier made the internet website inaccessible to that user.
(2) The entity failed to remediate that specific accessibility barrier within 45 days of receiving notice from the user with the disability.

In the bill text there are separate definitions for accessible and conforms.  When WCAG is required it is paired with the general accessible obligation.  I call this the belt and suspenders approach, which seems appropriate to cover any gaps in WCAG: both a technical (WCAG) and functional (accessible) requirement.

Here is the current posted version of the bill.  I fear that a couple individuals in the community have raised alarms about this bill without thoroughly understanding it or its implications for strategic enforcement in litigation.  

Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1. Part 2.54 (commencing with Section 55.58.1) is added to Division 1 of the Civil Code, to read:
PART 2.54. Attorney’s Fees and Statutory Damages In Internet Website Accessibility Claims
55.58.1. As used in this part:
(a) “Accessibility” means the degree to which an internet website is accessible.
(b) “Accessibility page” means a publicly available page on an internet website that meets all of the following criteria:
(1) The page is labeled “accessibility” and is displayed and linked from and to the primary domain directory and home page of an entity’s internet website.
(2) The page is referred to using the term “accessibility” for any linked text or text descriptions leading to that page.
(3) The page conforms to an internet website accessibility standard.
(4) The page contains the following text, with the last sentence containing a hyperlink to a digital accessibility report, if any disability accessibility report has been published:
“On this page, you can download our digital accessibility report. The digital accessibility report has information about specific accessibility barriers that we know about on our website or app, along with the date by which we expect each barrier to be fixed. We will update the digital accessibility report any time that a barrier listed in the report is fixed.
We may not be liable for certain kinds of damages under California law if a specific accessibility barrier is listed on our digital accessibility report, and we fix that specific accessibility barrier within ____ days of that listing, unless you filed a lawsuit about that specific accessibility barrier or told us that you intended to make a claim for damages about that specific accessibility barrier before we listed it in our digital accessibility report. If we do not fix a specific accessibility barrier within ____ days of the barrier being listed in our digital accessibility report, we will not have protection from damages. For more information about the scope of our protection from damages, you can look at Section 55.58.52 of the California Civil Code. You can download our digital accessibility report here.”
(c) “Accessible” means that an internet website provides equally effective communication to individuals with disabilities and facilitates full and equal access to, and enjoyment of, an entity’s goods and services such that an individual with a disability can do all of the following with substantially equivalent timeliness, privacy, independence, and ease of use as an individual without a disability:
(1) Access information.
(2) Engage in interactions.
(3) Conduct the transactions.
(4) Otherwise participate in or benefit from services, programs, and activities.
(d) “Conformant” means that an internet website does either of the following:
(1) Meets the criteria specified by the applicable internet accessibility standard.
(2) Does not meet the criteria specified by the applicable internet accessibility standard but doing so is not necessary, or not possible, due to the nature of the data sought to be presented on the internet website or failing to do so has such a minimal impact on a user of the internet website that the failure does not affect the accessibility of the internet website.
(e) “Digital accessibility report” means a date-stamped and downloadable report that contains all of the following information about a specific accessibility barrier identified in the report in an accessible and conformant, nonproprietary tabular format that can be fully viewed offline without dependence upon an external database:
(1) The identifiable location on the internet website where a user of the internet website would encounter the specific accessibility barrier and the function or component of the internet website at that location.
(2) A short description of the specific accessibility barrier and how it affects the ability of a user, particularly a user who is a person with a disability, to access or use the internet website and, if applicable, the provisions and success criteria of the internet website accessibility standard to which the location, function, or component of the internet website fails to conform.
(3) The names of either the entity or resource service provider that the entity believes to be responsible for the specific accessibility barrier or a list of any resource provider who contributed to or developed the inaccessible content identified in the report.
(4) The date when the specific accessibility barrier was first displayed on the entity’s accessibility page in a disability access report.
(5) The date when the specific accessibility barrier is expected to be remediated that is within ____ days of the violation first being published in a disability access report on the entity’s accessibility page.
(6) Upon remediation of the specific accessibility barrier, the date when the specific accessibility barrier was remediated.
(7) A cumulative history of the specific accessibility barriers included in past digital accessibility reports within at least the three years before the date of the report.
(f) “Entity” means a business establishment of any kind whatsoever, firm or corporation, person, or persons, that are subject to the provisions of Section 51, 54, or 54.1.
(g) “Inaccessible” means the inverse of accessible.
(h) “Internet website” includes, but is not limited to, any internet web-based technology, including a mobile internet website, an application that can be accessed by a personal mobile device or other personal consumer electronic device, any of which makes information about an entity’s goods, services, or presentations available to the public, regardless of whether payment, membership, or other eligibility criteria are required.
(i) “Internet website accessibility standard” means any of the following:
(1) Subject to paragraph (3), before January 1, 2027, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standard for the accessibility of internet websites established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Accessibility Guidelines Working Group on June 5, 2018, or the accessibility standards for Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794d) in Part 1194 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), on or after January 1, 2027, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Level AA standard for the accessibility of internet websites established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Accessibility Guidelines Working Group on June 12, 2023, or the accessibility standards for Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794d) in Part 1194 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(3) If there is an accessibility standard in federal law regarding the accessibility of a particular type of data that results in greater accessibility, that federal standard shall apply instead of a standard described by paragraph (1) or (2).
(j) (1) “Resource service provider” means an entity that, in exchange for money or any other form of remuneration, constructs, licenses, distributes, or maintains for online use an internet website or resource to be used within, or in conjunction with, an internet website.
(2) “Resource service provider” does not mean either of the following:
(A) A person or entity that does not design, construct, or control the internet website, or resource to be used within or in conjunction with an internet website, in a manner that affects the ability of the internet website or resource to provide equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of an entity’s goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.
(B) An individual, including a manual accessibility tester, who does not have a contract directly with the entity who owns the internet website.
(k) “Small business entity” means an entity that meets all of the following criteria at the time the relevant action is filed with the court:
(1) The entity employs less than 25 full-time employees.
(2) The entity earns less than five million dollars ($5,000,000) in annual revenue.
(3) Ownership shares of the entity are not publicly traded on a stock exchange.
(l) “Specific accessibility barrier” means the specific aspect of an internet website’s content design, functionality, interactive control, or behavior that causes the internet website to not be conformant or accessible to users with disabilities.
55.58.2. An entity shall have an affirmative defense to a claim seeking statutory damages under subdivision (a) of Section 52 or 54.3 on the basis of a specific accessibility barrier on an entity’s internet website if either of the following apply, and the entity provided evidence to the plaintiff demonstrating that fact within ____ days of receiving a written pre-lawsuit demand from the plaintiff:
(a) Before receiving a written pre-lawsuit demand from the plaintiff through the time the affirmative defense under this subdivision is asserted, both of the following apply:
(1) The entity published a digital accessibility report on the accessibility page of its internet website disclosing the specific access barrier.
(2) The entity published an updated digital accessibility report disclosing that the specific access barrier was remediated within ____ days of the initial digital accessibility report.
(b) Before receiving a written pre-lawsuit demand from the plaintiff through the time the affirmative defense under this subdivision is asserted, all of the following apply:
(1) The entity had a reasonable and good faith basis to believe that the internet website was accessible and conformed with the internet website accessibility standard.
(2) The entity documented the regular use of automated and manual testing mechanisms to monitor the internet website on the same frequency that it is updated to ensure that the internet website is accessible and conforms to the internet website accessibility standard.
(3) The entity remediated any specific accessibility barrier identified by testing within ____ days of identification.
(4) (A) The entity posts on its accessibility page its policy and general practices for ensuring that the entity’s internet website is accessible, including the frequency of reviewing or monitoring and testing content on the internet website.
(B) The post described in subparagraph (A) shall specify the extent to which the entity relies on manual testing by users with disabilities and the extent to which the entity uses automated testing mechanisms.
(5) The entity ensures that if a user of the internet website is required to utilize either a link to third-party content, or a resource developed or controlled by a third party, to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions, or interact with the entity or the entity’s goods, services, or presentations via the internet, the required third-party content or resource is accessible.
(6) The entity maintains an accessibility page.
(7) The entity’s accessibility page provides an accessible process for a user of the internet website, including a user with a disability, to contact the entity to do both of the following:
(A) Obtain immediate assistance with inaccessible content on the internet website or to otherwise access, view, utilize, or conduct transactions with respect to the entity or the entity’s goods, services, or presentations.
(B) Report in writing specific accessibility barriers that users encounter on the internet website.
(8) The entity reviews each report made pursuant to the process described in paragraph (7) within five business days to determine whether the report identifies a specific accessibility barrier and responds to the person making the report within 48 hours of receiving the report by acknowledging its receipt and providing a copy of the report.
(9) No later than ____ days after the date of a report pursuant to the process described in paragraph (7), the entity remediates each reported specific accessibility barrier and notifies the reporting party of its determination and remediation, as applicable.
(10) The entity retains all records related to any report pursuant to the process described in paragraph (7) for at least three years after the date on which the report is submitted to the entity.
55.58.3. (a) A resource service provider shall not, in exchange for money or any other form of remuneration, negligently, recklessly, or knowingly do either of the following:
(1) Construct, license, distribute, or maintain for online use a resource or part of an internet website that causes an entity’s internet website to be inaccessible or not conformant with the internet accessibility standard if the resource or part of the internet website is within the control of the resource service provider to remediate.
(2) Make a false representation that a resource or part of an internet website is accessible or conforms to the internet accessibility standard.
(b) All of the following may bring a civil action for a violation of this section:
(1) (A) A small business entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with the resource service provider to construct, license, distribute, or maintain an internet website and is injured as a result of the violation.
(B) A plaintiff who prevails under this paragraph shall be entitled to collect any damages, including, but not limited to, any statutory damages and attorney’s fees and costs paid by the small business entity as a result of a lawsuit against the small business entity pursuant to Section 51, 54, or 54.1 based upon the inaccessibility of the person or small business entity’s internet website.
(2) The Attorney General, the Civil Rights Department, or a district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney to obtain the following:
(A) Injunctive or declaratory relief.
(B) Attorney’s fees and costs.
(3) (A) A person who is harmed as a result of a violation of this section if the resource service provider caused the same specific accessibility barrier on multiple internet websites or caused specific accessibility barriers on multiple internet websites that are so similar that they have the same effect on a user of the internet websites. If the person is a prevailing plaintiff, the person may obtain all of the following:
(i) Injunctive or declaratory relief.
(ii) Attorney’s fees and costs.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph:
(i) “Person” means either of the following
(I) An individual with a disability that is harmed as a result of a violation of this section.
(II) A nonprofit organization that is comprised of, or that represents, individuals with disabilities, at least one of which was harmed as a result of a violation of this section, or was injured by a violation of this section due to diversion of the organization’s resources or frustration of purpose.
(ii) “Prevailing plaintiff” means a person who obtains a judgment in a civil action pursuant to this section or brings an action under this section that is a catalyst for, or otherwise results in, the remediation of one or more specific accessibility barriers or other violations of this section while the action is pending resolution.
(c) A provision within a contract that seeks to waive liability under this section, or otherwise shift the liability to a person or small business entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with the resource service provider is void as a matter of public policy.
(d) This section does not limit or alter the application of other laws, including, but not limited to, Sections 51, 54, 54.1, and 55, or the ability of a plaintiff to bring a civil action under any other theory of the law, including, but not limited to, breach of contract, implied warranty of merchantability, or false or deceptive advertising.
55.58.4. An entity shall be deemed to have intentionally discriminated under subdivision (a) of Section 52 or 54.3 if both of the following are true:
(1) A user with a disability sent written notice to the entity describing a specific accessibility barrier on the entity’s internet website that explains how the barrier made the internet website inaccessible to that user.
(2) The entity failed to remediate that specific accessibility barrier within ____ days of receiving notice from the user with the disability.
55.58.5. (a) Any federal law granting written notice and a corresponding opportunity to cure under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-336) shall not be required for any civil action under subdivision (a) of Section 52 or 54.3 based on federal access standards.
(b) This part applies to any civil action filed on or after January 1, 2026.
(c) This part does not do any of the following:
(1) Limit the rights and remedies available to persons with a disability under federal law or any other state law.
(2) Demonstrate an intent by the Legislature, in enacting this section, to deprive or limit the exercise of jurisdiction by federal courts over state law claims brought in conjunction with any federal claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.) or other federal law.
(3) Impose liability on a distributor of video programming with respect to the closed captioning or audio description of the video programming if all of the following apply:
(A) The video programming is subject to the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-260) and the implementing Federal Communications Commission regulations.
(B) The video programming, including the closed captioning and audio description of the video programming, complies with the accessibility requirements of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-260) and the implementing Federal Communications Commission regulations.
(C) Individuals have the right to obtain a decision from the Enforcement Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission regarding the accessibility of the video programming, including the closed captioning and audio description of the video programming.

-----Original Message-----
From: NFBC-Info <nfbc-info-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of mike--- via NFBC-Info
Sent: Monday, March 30, 2026 5:39 PM
To: NFB of California List <nfbc-info at nfbnet.org>
Cc: mike at michaelhingson.com; president at nfbcal.org
Subject: Re: [NFBC-Info] AB 2190

Hi Tim et al,

I have two concerns this bill does not seem to address.

First, One concept that should be in this bill is something which enables somebody who believes there is an accessibility problem to ask for a reasonable way to address the problem that works around or through the inaccessibility that is encountered. What, for example, is to be done about purely visual maps?
Tactile maps? Hardly. What about a way to contact by phone/email to have problems addressed? If, for example, a website displays a map showing locations of fires by putting them on a visual map we can't see, what is the process to provide a more accessible way for us to get the same information?

The second concern I have regards using basically only WCAG2.2 or whatever version is selected. The fact is that the web content accessibility guidelines define "accessibility", but the guidelines do not insure full usability of a website. Accessibility does NOT mean usability. If we are going to codify accessibility mandates we must insure that more is required than just WCAG.

Best Regards,

Michael Hingson 

-----Original Message-----
From: NFBC-Info <nfbc-info-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of president--- via NFBC-Info
Sent: Monday, March 30, 2026 11:07 AM
To: NFB of California List <nfbc-info at nfbnet.org>
Cc: president at nfbcal.org
Subject: [NFBC-Info] AB 2190

We are pleased to join the many other disability rights organizations and leaders supporting AB 2190 for website accessibility. This bill preserves all existing rights to enforce against companies that don't make their websites accessible. It creates new tools to enforce our rights. While the bill is a bit hard to understand, it is in the best interest of blind, low vision and DeafBlind individuals who want more websites to become accessible without serial litigation. Please share and ask your fellow Californians to support AB 2190.

You can read more about the bill here:

https://trackbill.com/bill/california-assembly-bill-2190-internet-website-ac
cessibility/2818711/

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