Digital Accessibility
In This Section
House Bill 21-1110, Colorado Laws For Persons With Disabilities, passed by the state legislature in 2021 and amended in 2023 by Senate Bill 23-244, strengthens protections against discrimination based on disability, specifically for laws relating to government information technology accessibility. The law requires state and local public entities, including municipalities, to meet sweeping digital accessibility standards, such as offering text descriptions of images and transcriptions of video and audio content.
If municipalities do not meet the digital accessibility standards outlined by the Colorado Governor's Office of Information Technology by July 1, 2024, they could face a court order requiring compliance, monetary damages, or a fine of $3,500 if a person is subject to discrimination on the basis of disability as it relates to information technology accessibility. HB24-1454, Grace Period Noncompliance Digital Accessibility, provides a defense to claim made prior to July 2025 if the public entity proves that it has made good faith efforts towards compliance.
Under HB21-1110, municipalities are required to create a digital accessibility plan outlining accessibility standards and implementation methodology. A selection of digital accessibility plans completed by municipalities across Colorado are linked below.
- City of Englewood
- City of Evans
- City of Grand Junction
- City of Greenwood Village
- City of Lakewood
- City of Longmont
- City of Manitou Springs
- Town of Mead
- Town of Parker
- City of Rifle
If your city or town would like to share its digital accessibility plan as a resource for other municipalities, please email the plan to rwoolworth@cml.org.