II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1835 

To reauthorize the Assistive Technology Act of 1998, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 13, 2019 

Mr. CASEY (for himself and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Assistive Technology Act of 1998, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘21st Century Assistive 

5 Technology Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION. 

7 The Assistive Technology Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 

8 3001 et seq.) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 ‘‘(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘Assistive Technology Act of 1998’. 

4 ‘‘(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents 

5 of this Act is as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

‘‘Sec. 2. Findings and purposes. 

‘‘Sec. 3. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 4. Grants for State assistive technology programs. 

‘‘Sec. 5. State grants for protection and advocacy services related to assistive 

technology. 

‘‘Sec. 6. Technical assistance and data collection support. 

‘‘Sec. 7. Projects of national significance. 

‘‘Sec. 8. Administrative provisions. 

‘‘Sec. 9. Authorization of appropriations; reservations and distribution of funds. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 ‘‘(1) Over 54,000,000 individuals in the United 

9 States have disabilities, with almost half experi10 encing severe disabilities that affect their ability to 

11 see, hear, communicate, reason, walk, or perform 

12 other basic life functions. 

13 ‘‘(2) Disability is a natural part of the human 

14 experience and in no way diminishes the right of in15 dividuals to— 

16 ‘‘(A) live independently; 

17 ‘‘(B) enjoy self-determination and make 

18 choices; 

19 ‘‘(C) benefit from an education; 

20 ‘‘(D) pursue competitive, integrated em21 ployment; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) enjoy full inclusion and integration in 

2 the economic, political, social, cultural, and edu3 cational mainstream of society in the United 

4 States. 

5 ‘‘(3) Technology is one of the primary engines 

6 for economic activity, education, and innovation in 

7 the Nation, and throughout the world. The commit8 ment of the United States to the development and 

9 utilization of technology is one of the main factors 

10 underlying the strength and vibrancy of the economy 

11 of the United States. 

12 ‘‘(4) As technology has come to play an increas13 ingly important role in the lives of all persons in the 

14 United States, in the conduct of business, in the 

15 functioning of government, in the fostering of com16 munication, in the conduct of commerce, and in the 

17 provision of education, its impact upon the lives of 

18 individuals with disabilities in the United States has 

19 been comparable to its impact upon the remainder 

20 of the citizens of the United States. Any develop21 ment in mainstream technology will have profound 

22 implications for individuals with disabilities in the 

23 United States. 

24 ‘‘(5) Substantial progress has been made in the 

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1 ing adaptations to existing devices that facilitate ac2 tivities of daily living that significantly benefit indi3 viduals with disabilities of all ages. These devices, 

4 including adaptations, increase involvement in, and 

5 reduce expenditures associated with, programs and 

6 activities that facilitate communication, ensure inde7 pendent functioning, enable early childhood develop8 ment, support educational achievement, provide and 

9 enhance employment options, and enable full partici10 pation in community living for individuals with dis11 abilities. Access to such devices can also reduce ex12 penditures associated with early childhood interven13 tion, education, rehabilitation and training, health 

14 care, employment, residential living, independent liv15 ing, recreation opportunities, and other aspects of 

16 daily living. 

17 ‘‘(6) Over the last 15 years, the Federal Gov18 ernment has invested in the development of com19 prehensive statewide programs of technology-related 

20 assistance, which have proven effective in assisting 

21 individuals with disabilities in accessing assistive 

22 technology devices and assistive technology services. 

23 This partnership between the Federal Government 

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1 ity of each State to assist individuals with disabil2 ities of all ages meet their assistive technology 

3 needs. 

4 ‘‘(7) Despite the success of the Federal-State 

5 partnership in providing access to assistive tech6 nology devices and assistive technology services, 

7 there is a continued need to provide information and 

8 legally based advocacy about the availability of as9 sistive technology, advances in improving accessi10 bility and functionality of assistive technology, and 

11 appropriate methods to secure and utilize assistive 

12 technology in order to maximize the independence 

13 and participation of individuals with disabilities in 

14 society. 

15 ‘‘(8) The combination of significant recent 

16 changes in Federal policy (including changes to sec17 tion 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 

18 U.S.C. 794d), accessibility provisions of the Help 

19 America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15301 et 

20 seq.), and the amendments made to the Elementary 

21 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

22 6301 et seq.) by the No Child Left Behind Act of 

23 2001 (Public Law 107–110; 115 Stat. 1425) and 

24 the rapid and unending evolution of technology re25 quire a Federal-State investment in State assistive 


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1 technology programs, as well as an investment in 

2 protection and advocacy systems, to continue to en3 sure that individuals with disabilities reap the bene4 fits of the technological revolution and participate 

5 fully in life in their communities. 

6 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

7 ‘‘(1) to support State efforts to improve the 

8 provision of assistive technology to individuals with 

9 disabilities through a comprehensive statewide con10 tinuum of integrated activities, for individuals with 

11 disabilities of all ages, that are designed to— 

12 ‘‘(A) increase the availability of, funding 

13 for, access to, provision of, and training about 

14 assistive technology devices and assistive tech15 nology services; 

16 ‘‘(B) increase the ability of individuals 

17 with disabilities of all ages to secure and main18 tain possession of assistive technology devices 

19 as such individuals make the transition between 

20 services offered by educational or human service 

21 agencies or between settings of daily living (for 

22 example, between home and work); 

23 ‘‘(C) increase the capacity of public agen24 cies and private entities to provide and pay for 

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1 nology services on a statewide basis for individ2 uals with disabilities of all ages; 

3 ‘‘(D) increase the involvement of individ4 uals with disabilities and, if appropriate, their 

5 family members, guardians, advocates, and au6 thorized representatives, in decisions related to 

7 the provision of assistive technology devices and 

8 assistive technology services; 

9 ‘‘(E) increase and promote coordination 

10 among State agencies, between State and local 

11 agencies, among local agencies, and between 

12 State and local agencies and private entities 

13 (such as managed care providers), that are in14 volved or are eligible to be involved in carrying 

15 out activities under this Act; 

16 ‘‘(F) increase the awareness and facilitate 

17 the change of laws, regulations, policies, prac18 tices, procedures, and organizational structures, 

19 that facilitate the availability or provision of as20 sistive technology devices and assistive tech21 nology services; and 

22 ‘‘(G) increase awareness and knowledge of 

23 the benefits of assistive technology devices and 

24 assistive technology services among individuals 

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1 viduals and their families, and the general pop2 ulation; and 

3 ‘‘(2) to provide States and protection and advo4 cacy systems with financial assistance that supports 

5 programs designed to maximize the ability of indi6 viduals with disabilities and their family members, 

7 guardians, advocates, and authorized representatives 

8 to obtain assistive technology devices and assistive 

9 technology services. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

11 ‘‘In this Act: 

12 ‘‘(1) ADULT SERVICE PROGRAM.—The term 

13 ‘adult service program’ means a program that pro14 vides services to, or is otherwise substantially in15 volved with the major life functions of, individuals 

16 with disabilities. Such term includes— 

17 ‘‘(A) a program providing residential, sup18 portive, or employment services, or employment19 related services, to individuals with disabilities; 

20 ‘‘(B) a program carried out by a center for 

21 independent living, such as a center described 

22 in part C of title VII of the Rehabilitation Act 

23 of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796f et seq.); 

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1 tional rehabilitation, such as a one-stop partner, 

2 as defined in section 3 of the Workforce Inno3 vation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102); 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(D) a program carried out by another or6 ganization or vender licensed or registered by 

7 the designated State agency, as defined in sec8 tion 7 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 

9 U.S.C. 705). 

10 ‘‘(2) AMERICAN INDIAN CONSORTIUM.—The 

11 term ‘American Indian consortium’ means an entity 

12 that is an American Indian Consortium (as defined 

13 in section 102 of the Developmental Disabilities As14 sistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 

15 15002)), and that is established to provide protec16 tion and advocacy services for purposes of receiving 

17 funding under subtitle C of title I of such Act (42 

18 U.S.C. 15041 et seq.). 

19 ‘‘(3) ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY.—The term ‘as20 sistive technology’ means technology designed to be 

21 utilized in an assistive technology device or assistive 

22 technology service. 

23 ‘‘(4) ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY DEVICE.—The 

24 term ‘assistive technology device’ means any item, 

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1 quired commercially, modified, or customized, that is 

2 used to increase, maintain, or improve functional ca3 pabilities of individuals with disabilities. 

4 ‘‘(5) ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY SERVICE.—The 

5 term ‘assistive technology service’ means any service 

6 that directly assists an individual with a disability in 

7 the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive tech8 nology device. Such term includes— 

9 ‘‘(A) the evaluation of the assistive tech10 nology needs of an individual with a disability, 

11 including a functional evaluation of the impact 

12 of the provision of appropriate assistive tech13 nology and appropriate services to the indi14 vidual in the customary environment of the in15 dividual; 

16 ‘‘(B) a service consisting of purchasing, 

17 leasing, or otherwise providing for the acquisi18 tion of assistive technology devices by individ19 uals with disabilities; 

20 ‘‘(C) a service consisting of selecting, de21 signing, fitting, customizing, adapting, apply22 ing, maintaining, repairing, replacing, or donat23 ing assistive technology devices; 

24 ‘‘(D) coordination and use of necessary 

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1 ive technology devices, such as therapies, inter2 ventions, or services associated with education 

3 and rehabilitation plans and programs; 

4 ‘‘(E) training or technical assistance for an 

5 individual with a disability or, where appro6 priate, the family members, guardians, advo7 cates, or authorized representatives of such an 

8 individual; 

9 ‘‘(F) training or technical assistance for 

10 professionals (including individuals providing 

11 education and rehabilitation services and enti12 ties that manufacture or sell assistive tech13 nology devices), employers, providers of employ14 ment and training services, or other individuals 

15 who provide services to, employ, or are other16 wise substantially involved in the major life 

17 functions of individuals with disabilities; and 

18 ‘‘(G) a service consisting of expanding the 

19 availability of access to technology, including 

20 electronic and information technology, to indi21 viduals with disabilities. 

22 ‘‘(6) CAPACITY BUILDING AND ADVOCACY AC23 TIVITIES.—The term ‘capacity building and advo24 cacy activities’ means efforts that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) result in laws, regulations, policies, 

2 practices, procedures, or organizational struc3 tures that promote consumer-responsive pro4 grams or entities; and 

5 ‘‘(B) facilitate and increase access to, pro6 vision of, and funding for, assistive technology 

7 devices and assistive technology services, in 

8 order to empower individuals with disabilities to 

9 achieve greater independence, productivity, and 

10 integration and inclusion within the community 

11 and the workforce. 

12 ‘‘(7) COMPREHENSIVE STATEWIDE PROGRAM OF

13 TECHNOLOGY-RELATED ASSISTANCE.—The term 

14 ‘comprehensive statewide program of technology-re15 lated assistance’ means a consumer-responsive pro16 gram of technology-related assistance for individuals 

17 with disabilities— 

18 ‘‘(A) implemented by a State; 

19 ‘‘(B) equally available to all individuals 

20 with disabilities residing in the State, regardless 

21 of their type of disability, age, income level, or 

22 location of residence in the State, or the type 

23 of assistive technology device or assistive tech24 nology service required; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) that incorporates all of the activities 

2 described in section 4(e) (unless excluded pur3 suant to section 4(e)(6)). 

4 ‘‘(8) CONSUMER-RESPONSIVE.—The term ‘con5 sumer-responsive’— 

6 ‘‘(A) with regard to policies, means that 

7 the policies are consistent with the principles 

8 of— 

9 ‘‘(i) respect for individual dignity, per10 sonal responsibility, self-determination, and 

11 pursuit of meaningful careers, based on in12 formed choice, of individuals with disabil13 ities; 

14 ‘‘(ii) respect for the privacy, rights, 

15 and equal access (including the use of ac16 cessible formats) of such individuals; 

17 ‘‘(iii) inclusion, integration, and full 

18 participation of such individuals in society; 

19 ‘‘(iv) support for the involvement in 

20 decisions of a family member, a guardian, 

21 an advocate, or an authorized representa22 tive, if an individual with a disability re23 quests, desires, or needs such involvement; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(v) support for individual and sys2 tems advocacy and community involve3 ment; and 

4 ‘‘(B) with respect to an entity, program, or 

5 activity, means that the entity, program, or ac6 tivity— 

7 ‘‘(i) is easily accessible to, and usable 

8 by, individuals with disabilities and, when 

9 appropriate, their family members, guard10 ians, advocates, or authorized representa11 tives; 

12 ‘‘(ii) responds to the needs of individ13 uals with disabilities in a timely and appro14 priate manner; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) facilitates the full and meaning16 ful participation of individuals with disabil17 ities (including individuals from underrep18 resented populations and rural popu19 lations) and their family members, guard20 ians, advocates, and authorized representa21 tives, in— 

22 ‘‘(I) decisions relating to the pro23 vision of assistive technology devices 

24 and assistive technology services to 

25 such individuals; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) decisions related to the 

2 maintenance, improvement, and eval3 uation of the comprehensive statewide 

4 program of technology-related assist5 ance, including decisions that affect 

6 capacity building and advocacy activi7 ties. 

8 ‘‘(9) DISABILITY.—The term ‘disability’ has the 

9 meaning given the term under section 3 of the 

10 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

11 12102). 

12 ‘‘(10) INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY; INDI13 VIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.— 

14 ‘‘(A) INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY.— 

15 The term ‘individual with a disability’ means 

16 any individual of any age, race, or ethnicity— 

17 ‘‘(i) who has a disability; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) who is or would be enabled by an 

19 assistive technology device or an assistive 

20 technology service to minimize deteriora21 tion in functioning, to maintain a level of 

22 functioning, or to achieve a greater level of 

23 functioning in any major life activity. 


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1 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.— 

2 The term ‘individuals with disabilities’ means 

3 more than 1 individual with a disability. 

4 ‘‘(11) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

5 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

6 meaning given such term in section 101(a) of the 

7 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)), 

8 and includes a community college receiving funding 

9 under the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Univer10 sities Assistance Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1801 et 

11 seq.). 

12 ‘‘(12) PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY SERV13 ICES.—The term ‘protection and advocacy services’ 

14 means services that— 

15 ‘‘(A) are described in subtitle C of title I 

16 of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance 

17 and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 

18 15041 et seq.), the Protection and Advocacy for 

19 Individuals with Mental Illness Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 10801 et seq.), or section 509 of the Rehabilita21 tion Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794e); and 

22 ‘‘(B) assist individuals with disabilities 

23 with respect to assistive technology devices and 

24 assistive technology services. 


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1 ‘‘(13) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

2 means the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 

3 acting through the Administrator for Community 

4 Living. 

5 ‘‘(14) STATE.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

7 subparagraph (B), the term ‘State’ means each 

8 of the 50 States of the United States, the Dis9 trict of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 

10 Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, 

11 American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of 

12 the Northern Mariana Islands. 

13 ‘‘(B) OUTLYING AREAS.—In section 4(b): 

14 ‘‘(i) OUTLYING AREA.—The term ‘out15 lying area’ means the United States Virgin 

16 Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the 

17 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

18 Islands. 

19 ‘‘(ii) STATE.—The term ‘State’ does 

20 not include the United States Virgin Is21 lands, Guam, American Samoa, and the 

22 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

23 Islands. 


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1 ‘‘(15) STATE ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY PRO2 GRAM.—The term ‘State assistive technology pro3 gram’ means a program authorized under section 4. 

4 ‘‘(16) TARGETED INDIVIDUALS AND ENTI5 TIES.—The term ‘targeted individuals and entities’ 

6 means— 

7 ‘‘(A) individuals with disabilities of all ages 

8 and their family members, guardians, advo9 cates, and authorized representatives; 

10 ‘‘(B) underrepresented populations, includ11 ing the aging workforce; 

12 ‘‘(C) individuals who work for public or 

13 private entities (including centers for inde14 pendent living described in part C of title VII 

15 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 

16 796f et seq.), insurers, or managed care pro17 viders) that have contact, or provide services to, 

18 with individuals with disabilities; 

19 ‘‘(D) educators at all levels (including pro20 viders of early intervention services, elementary 

21 schools, secondary schools, community colleges, 

22 and vocational and other institutions of higher 

23 education) and related services personnel; 

24 ‘‘(E) technology experts (including web de25 signers and procurement officials); 


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1 ‘‘(F) health, allied health, and rehabilita2 tion professionals and hospital employees (in3 cluding discharge planners); 

4 ‘‘(G) employers, especially small business 

5 employers, and providers of employment and 

6 training services; 

7 ‘‘(H) entities that manufacture or sell as8 sistive technology devices; 

9 ‘‘(I) entities that carry out community pro10 grams designed to develop essential community 

11 services in rural and urban areas; and 

12 ‘‘(J) other appropriate individuals and en13 tities, as determined for a State by the State. 

14 ‘‘(17) UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATION.— 

15 The term ‘underrepresented population’ means a 

16 population that is typically underrepresented in serv17 ice provision, and includes populations such as indi18 viduals who have low-incidence disabilities, individ19 uals who are minorities, individuals with a total fam20 ily income that is below the poverty line (as defined 

21 in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor22 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102)), individuals with lim23 ited English proficiency, older individuals, or individ24 uals from rural areas. 


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1 ‘‘(18) UNIVERSAL DESIGN.—The term ‘uni2 versal design’ means a concept or philosophy for de3 signing and delivering products and services that are 

4 usable by people with the widest possible range of 

5 functional capabilities, which include products and 

6 services that are directly accessible (without requir7 ing assistive technologies) and products and services 

8 that are interoperable with assistive technologies. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR STATE ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY PRO10 GRAMS. 

11 ‘‘(a) GRANTS TO STATES.—The Secretary shall 

12 award grants under subsection (b) to States to maintain 

13 a comprehensive statewide continuum of integrated assist14 ive technology activities described in subsection (d) 

15 through State assistive technology programs that are de16 signed to— 

17 ‘‘(1) maximize the ability of individuals with 

18 disabilities across the human lifespan and across the 

19 wide array of disabilities, and their family members, 

20 guardians, advocates, and authorized representa21 tives, to obtain assistive technology; and 

22 ‘‘(2) to increase access to assistive technology. 

23 ‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From funds made available 

25 to carry out this section, the Secretary shall award 


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1 a grant to each eligible State and eligible outlying 

2 area from an allotment determined in accordance 

3 with paragraph (2). 

4 ‘‘(2) CALCULATION OF STATE GRANTS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) BASE YEAR.—Except as provided in 

6 subparagraphs (B) and (C), the Secretary shall 

7 allot to each State and outlying area for a fiscal 

8 year an amount that is not less than the 

9 amount the State or outlying area received 

10 under the grants provided under section 4 of 

11 this Act (as in effect on the day before the ef12 fective date of the 21st Century Assistive Tech13 nology Act) for fiscal year 2019. 

14 ‘‘(B) RATABLE REDUCTION.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If funds made 

16 available to carry out this section for any 

17 fiscal year are insufficient to make the al18 lotments required for each State and out19 lying area under subparagraph (A) for 

20 such fiscal year, the Secretary shall ratably 

21 reduce the allotments for such fiscal year. 

22 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—If, after 

23 the Secretary makes the reductions de24 scribed in clause (i), additional funds be25 come available to carry out this section for 


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1 the fiscal year, the Secretary shall ratably 

2 increase the allotments, until the Secretary 

3 has allotted the entire base year amount 

4 under this paragraph. 

5 ‘‘(C) HIGHER APPROPRIATION YEARS.— 

6 For a fiscal year for which the amount of funds 

7 made available to carry out this section is 

8 greater than the base year amount described in 

9 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) make the allotments described in 

11 subparagraph (A); 

12 ‘‘(ii) from the funds remaining after 

13 the allotments described in clause (i), allot 

14 to each State or outlying area an equal 

15 amount of such funds, until each State has 

16 received an allotment under clause (i) and 

17 this clause of not less than $550,000, and 

18 each outlying area has received an allot19 ment of $167,500; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) from the remainder of the funds 

21 after the Secretary makes the allotments 

22 described in clause (ii)— 

23 ‘‘(I) from 80 percent of the re24 mainder allot to each State an 

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1 ship to such 80 percent as the popu2 lation of the State bears to the popu3 lation of all States; and 

4 ‘‘(II) from 20 percent of the re5 mainder, allot to each State an equal 

6 amount. 

7 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts made 

8 available for an award year under this section shall 

9 be available for the award year and the year fol10 lowing the award year. 

11 ‘‘(c) LEAD AGENCY, IMPLEMENTING ENTITY, AND

12 ADVISORY COUNCIL.— 

13 ‘‘(1) LEAD AGENCY AND IMPLEMENTING ENTI14 TY.— 

15 ‘‘(A) LEAD AGENCY.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Governor of a 

17 State shall designate a public agency as a 

18 lead agency— 

19 ‘‘(I) to control and administer 

20 the funds made available through the 

21 grant awarded to the State under this 

22 section; and 

23 ‘‘(II) to submit the application 

24 described in subsection (d) on behalf 

25 of the State, to ensure conformance 


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1 with Federal and State accounting re2 quirements. 

3 ‘‘(ii) DUTIES.—The duties of the lead 

4 agency shall include— 

5 ‘‘(I) preparing the application de6 scribed in subsection (d) and carrying 

7 out State activities described in that 

8 application, including making pro9 grammatic and resource allocation de10 cisions necessary to implement the 

11 comprehensive statewide program of 

12 technology-related assistance; 

13 ‘‘(II) coordinating the activities 

14 of the comprehensive statewide pro15 gram of technology-related assistance 

16 among public and private entities, in17 cluding coordinating efforts related to 

18 entering into interagency agreements, 

19 and maintaining and evaluating the 

20 program; and 

21 ‘‘(III) coordinating culturally 

22 competent efforts related to the ac23 tive, timely, and meaningful participa24 tion by individuals with disabilities 

25 and their family members, guardians, 


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1 advocates, or authorized representa2 tives, and other appropriate individ3 uals, with respect to activities carried 

4 out through the grant. 

5 ‘‘(B) IMPLEMENTING ENTITY.—The Gov6 ernor or lead agency may designate an agency, 

7 office, or other entity to carry out all State ac8 tivities under this section (referred to in this 

9 section as the ‘implementing entity’), if such 

10 implementing entity is different from the lead 

11 agency. The implementing entity shall carry out 

12 responsibilities under this Act through a sub13 contract or another administrative agreement 

14 with the lead agency. 

15 ‘‘(C) CHANGE IN AGENCY OR ENTITY.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—On obtaining the 

17 approval of the Secretary— 

18 ‘‘(I) the Governor may redesig19 nate the lead agency of a State, if the 

20 Governor shows to the Secretary good 

21 cause why the entity designated as the 

22 lead agency should not serve as that 

23 agency; and 

24 ‘‘(II) the Governor or the lead 

25 agency may redesignate the impleVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:29 Jun 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1835.IS S1835

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1 menting entity of a State, if the Gov2 ernor or lead agency shows to the Sec3 retary, in accordance with subsection 

4 (d)(2)(B), good cause why the entity 

5 designated as the implementing entity 

6 should not serve as that entity. 

7 ‘‘(ii) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

8 this paragraph shall be construed to re9 quire the Governor of a State to change 

10 the lead agency or implementing entity of 

11 the State to an agency other than the lead 

12 agency or implementing entity of such 

13 State as of the date of enactment of the 

14 Assistive Technology Act of 2004 (Public 

15 Law 108–364; 118 Stat. 1707). 

16 ‘‘(2) ADVISORY COUNCIL.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There shall be estab18 lished an advisory council to provide consumer19 responsive, consumer-driven advice to the State 

20 for, planning of, implementation of, and evalua21 tion of the activities carried out through the 

22 grant, including setting the measurable goals 

23 described in subsection (d)(3)(C). 

24 ‘‘(B) COMPOSITION AND REPRESENTA25 TION.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) COMPOSITION.—The advisory 

2 council shall be composed of— 

3 ‘‘(I) individuals with disabilities 

4 that use assistive technology, includ5 ing individuals over 50 years of age, 

6 or the family members or guardians of 

7 the individuals; 

8 ‘‘(II) a representative of the des9 ignated State agency, as defined in 

10 section 7 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

11 1973 (29 U.S.C. 705) and the State 

12 agency for individuals who are blind 

13 (within the meaning of section 101 of 

14 that Act (29 U.S.C. 721)), if such 

15 agency is separate; 

16 ‘‘(III) a representative of a State 

17 center for independent living described 

18 in part C of title VII of the Rehabili19 tation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796f et 

20 seq.) or the Statewide Independent 

21 Living Council established under sec22 tion 705 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 

23 796d); 

24 ‘‘(IV) a representative of the 

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•S 1835 IS

1 tablished under section 101 of the 

2 Workforce Innovation and Oppor3 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3111); 

4 ‘‘(V) a representative of 1 or 

5 more of the following: 

6 ‘‘(aa) the agency responsible 

7 for administering the State Med8 icaid program under title XIX of 

9 the Social Security Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.); 

11 ‘‘(bb) the designated State 

12 agency for purposes of section 

13 124 of the Developmental Dis14 abilities Assistance and Bill of 

15 Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 

16 15024); 

17 ‘‘(cc) the State agency des18 ignated under section 305(a)(1) 

19 of the Older Americans Act of 

20 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3025 et seq.) or 

21 an organization that receives as22 sistant under such Act (42 

23 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.); 

24 ‘‘(dd) an organization rep25 resenting injured veterans; 


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•S 1835 IS

1 ‘‘(ee) A University Center 

2 for Excellence in Developmental 

3 Disabilities Education, Research, 

4 and Service designated under 

5 section 151(a) of the Develop6 mental Disabilities Assistance 

7 and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 

8 (42 U.S.C. 15061(a)); 

9 ‘‘(ff) the State protection 

10 and advocacy system established 

11 in accordance with section 143 of 

12 the Developmental Disabilities 

13 Assistance and Bill of Rights Act 

14 of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15043 et 

15 seq.); or 

16 ‘‘(gg) the State Council on 

17 Developmental Disabilities estab18 lished under section 125 of the 

19 Developmental Disabilities As20 sistance and Bill of Rights Act of 

21 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15025); 

22 ‘‘(VI) a representative of the 

23 State educational agency, as defined 

24 in section 8101 of the Elementary and 


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•S 1835 IS

1 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

2 U.S.C. 7801); and 

3 ‘‘(VII) representatives of other 

4 State agencies, public agencies, or pri5 vate organizations, as determined by 

6 the State. 

7 ‘‘(ii) MAJORITY.— 

8 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Not less than 

9 51 percent of the members of the ad10 visory council shall be members ap11 pointed under clause (i)(I), in a man12 ner that ensures— 

13 ‘‘(aa) not less than 26 per14 cent of the members of the advi15 sory council are individuals with 

16 disabilities described in such 

17 clause; and 

18 ‘‘(bb) not more than 20 per19 cent of the members of the advi20 sory council are family members 

21 or guardians of individuals with 

22 disabilities described in such 

23 clause. 

24 ‘‘(II) REPRESENTATIVES OF

25 AGENCIES.—Members appointed 


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•S 1835 IS

1 under subclauses (II) through (VII) of 

2 clause (i) shall not count toward the 

3 majority membership requirement es4 tablished in subclause (I). 

5 ‘‘(iii) REPRESENTATION.—The advi6 sory council shall be geographically rep7 resentative of the State and reflect the di8 versity of the State with respect to race, 

9 ethnicity, types of disabilities across the 

10 age span, and users of types of services 

11 that an individual with a disability may re12 ceive. 

13 ‘‘(C) EXPENSES.—The members of the ad14 visory council shall receive no compensation for 

15 their service on the advisory council, but shall 

16 be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary ex17 penses actually incurred in the performance of 

18 official duties for the advisory council. 

19 ‘‘(D) IMPACT ON EXISTING STATUTES, 

20 RULES, OR POLICIES.—Nothing in this para21 graph shall be construed to affect State stat22 utes, rules, or official policies relating to advi23 sory bodies for State assistive technology pro24 grams or require changes to governing bodies of 


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•S 1835 IS

1 incorporated agencies who carry out State as2 sistive technology programs. 

3 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any State that desires to 

5 receive a grant under this section shall submit an 

6 application to the Secretary, at such time, in such 

7 manner, and containing such information as the Sec8 retary may require. 

9 ‘‘(2) LEAD AGENCY AND IMPLEMENTING ENTI10 TY.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The application shall 

12 contain— 

13 ‘‘(i) information identifying and de14 scribing the lead agency referred to in sub15 section (c)(1)(A); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) information identifying and de17 scribing the implementing entity referred 

18 to in subsection (c)(1)(B), if the Governor 

19 or lead agency of the State designates such 

20 an entity. 

21 ‘‘(B) CHANGE IN LEAD AGENCY OR IMPLE22 MENTING AGENCY.—In any case where the Gov23 ernor or lead agency requests to redesignate a 

24 lead agency or implementing entity, as the case 

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•S 1835 IS

1 clude in or amend the application to request the 

2 redesignation and provide a written description 

3 of the rationale for why the entity designated as 

4 the case may be, should not serve as that agen5 cy or entity. 

6 ‘‘(3) STATE PLAN.—The application under this 

7 subsection shall include a State plan for assistive 

8 technology, consisting of— 

9 ‘‘(A) a description of how the State will 

10 carry out a statewide continuum of integrated 

11 assistive technology activities and implement all 

12 activities described in subsection (e) (unless ex13 cluded by the State pursuant to subsection 

14 (e)(6)); 

15 ‘‘(B) a description of how the State will al16 locate and utilize grant funds to implement the 

17 activities, including describing proposed budget 

18 allocations and planned procedures for tracking 

19 expenditures for the activities; 

20 ‘‘(C) measurable goals, and a timeline for 

21 meeting the goals, that the State has set for ad22 dressing the assistive technology needs of indi23 viduals with disabilities in the State related 

24 to— 


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•S 1835 IS

1 ‘‘(i) education, including goals involv2 ing the provision of assistive technology to 

3 individuals with disabilities who receive 

4 services under the Individuals with Disabil5 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et 

6 seq.); 

7 ‘‘(ii) employment, including goals in8 volving the State vocational rehabilitation 

9 program carried out under title I of the 

10 Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 720 

11 et seq.); 

12 ‘‘(iii) accessible information and com13 munication technology training; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) community living; 

15 ‘‘(D) information describing how the State 

16 will quantifiably measure the goals to determine 

17 whether the goals have been achieved, in a 

18 manner consistent with the data submitted 

19 through the progress reports under subsection 

20 (f); and 

21 ‘‘(E) a description of any activities de22 scribed in subsection (e) that the State will sup23 port with State or non-Federal funds. 

24 ‘‘(4) INVOLVEMENT OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE

25 ENTITIES.—The application shall describe how varVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:29 Jun 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1835.IS S1835

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1 ious public and private entities were involved in the 

2 development of the application and will be involved 

3 in the implementation of the activities to be carried 

4 out through the grant, including— 

5 ‘‘(A) in cases determined to be appropriate 

6 by the State, a description of the nature and 

7 extent of resources that will be committed by 

8 public and private collaborators to assist in ac9 complishing identified goals; and 

10 ‘‘(B) a description of the mechanisms es11 tablished to ensure coordination of activities 

12 and collaboration between the implementing en13 tity, if any, and the State. 

14 ‘‘(5) ASSURANCES.—The application shall in15 clude assurances that— 

16 ‘‘(A) the State will annually collect data 

17 related to all activities described in paragraph 

18 (3)(A), including activities funded by State or 

19 non-Federal sources under subsection (e)(1)(B), 

20 in order to prepare the progress reports re21 quired under subsection (f); 

22 ‘‘(B) funds received through the grant— 

23 ‘‘(i) will be expended in accordance 

24 with this section; and 


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•S 1835 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) will be used to supplement, and 

2 not supplant, funds available from other 

3 sources for technology-related assistance, 

4 including the provision of assistive tech5 nology devices and assistive technology 

6 services; 

7 ‘‘(C) the lead agency will control and ad8 minister the funds received through the grant; 

9 ‘‘(D) the State will adopt such fiscal con10 trol and accounting procedures as may be nec11 essary to ensure proper disbursement of and ac12 counting for the funds received through the 

13 grant; 

14 ‘‘(E) the physical facility of the lead agen15 cy and implementing entity, if any, meets the 

16 requirements of the Americans with Disabilities 

17 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) regard18 ing accessibility for individuals with disabilities; 

19 ‘‘(F) a public agency or an individual with 

20 a disability holds title to any property pur21 chased with funds received under the grant and 

22 administers that property; 

23 ‘‘(G) activities carried out in the State that 

24 are authorized under this Act, and supported by 

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•S 1835 IS

1 ply with the standards established by the Archi2 tectural and Transportation Barriers Compli3 ance Board under section 508 of the Rehabilita4 tion Act of 1973 (20 U.S.C. 794d); and 

5 ‘‘(H) the State will— 

6 ‘‘(i) prepare reports to the Secretary 

7 in such form and containing such informa8 tion as the Secretary may require to carry 

9 out the Secretary’s functions under this 

10 Act; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) keep such records and allow ac12 cess to such records as the Secretary may 

13 require to ensure the correctness and 

14 verification of information provided to the 

15 Secretary under this subparagraph. 

16 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

19 subparagraph (B) and paragraph (6), any State 

20 that receives a grant under this section shall— 

21 ‘‘(i) use a portion of not more than 40 

22 percent of the funds made available 

23 through the grant to carry out all of the 

24 activities described in paragraph (3), of 

25 which not less than 5 percent of such porVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:29 Jun 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1835.IS S1835

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•S 1835 IS

1 tion shall be available for activities de2 scribed in paragraph (3)(A)(iii); and 

3 ‘‘(ii) use a portion of the funds made 

4 available through the grant to carry out all 

5 of the activities described in paragraph (2). 

6 ‘‘(B) STATE OR NON-FEDERAL FINANCIAL

7 SUPPORT.—A State receiving a grant under this 

8 section shall not be required to use grant funds 

9 to carry out the category of activities described 

10 in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) of para11 graph (2) if, in that State— 

12 ‘‘(i) financial support is provided from 

13 State or other non-Federal resources or en14 tities for that category of activities; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the amount of the financial sup16 port is comparable to, or greater than, the 

17 amount of the portion of the funds made 

18 available through the grant that the State 

19 would have expended for that category of 

20 activities, in the absence of this subpara21 graph. 

22 ‘‘(2) STATE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES.— 

23 ‘‘(A) STATE FINANCING ACTIVITIES.—The 

24 State shall support State financing activities to 

25 increase access to, and funding for, assistive 


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•S 1835 IS

1 technology devices and assistive technology 

2 services (which shall not include direct payment 

3 for such a device or service for an individual 

4 with a disability but may include support and 

5 administration of a program to provide such 

6 payment), including development of systems to 

7 provide and pay for such devices and services, 

8 for targeted individuals and entities described 

9 in section 3(16)(A), including— 

10 ‘‘(i) support for the development of 

11 systems for the purchase, lease, or other 

12 acquisition of, or payment for, assistive 

13 technology devices and assistive technology 

14 services; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) support for the development of 

16 State-financed or privately financed alter17 native financing systems of subsidies for 

18 the provision of assistive technology de19 vices, such as— 

20 ‘‘(I) a low-interest loan fund; 

21 ‘‘(II) an interest buy-down pro22 gram; 

23 ‘‘(III) a revolving loan fund; 

24 ‘‘(IV) a loan guarantee or insur25 ance program; 


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•S 1835 IS

1 ‘‘(V) support for a program pro2 viding for the purchase, lease, or 

3 other acquisition of assistive tech4 nology devices or assistive technology 

5 services; or 

6 ‘‘(VI) another mechanism that is 

7 approved by the Secretary. 

8 ‘‘(B) DEVICE REUTILIZATION PRO9 GRAMS.—The State shall directly, or in collabo10 ration with public or private entities, carry out 

11 assistive technology device reutilization pro12 grams that provide for the exchange, repair, re13 cycling, or other reutilization of assistive tech14 nology devices, which may include redistribution 

15 through device sales, loans, rentals, or dona16 tions. 

17 ‘‘(C) DEVICE LOAN PROGRAMS.—The 

18 State shall directly, or in collaboration with 

19 public or private entities, carry out device loan 

20 programs that provide short-term loans of as21 sistive technology devices to individuals, employ22 ers, public agencies, or others seeking to meet 

23 the needs of targeted individuals and entities, 

24 including others seeking to comply with the In25 dividuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 


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•S 1835 IS

1 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), the Americans with Dis2 abilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), 

3 and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

4 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794). 

5 ‘‘(D) DEVICE DEMONSTRATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The State shall 

7 directly, or in collaboration with public and 

8 private entities, such as one-stop partners, 

9 as defined in section 3 of the Workforce 

10 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

11 U.S.C. 3102), demonstrate a variety of as12 sistive technology devices and assistive 

13 technology services (including assisting in14 dividuals in making informed choices re15 garding, and providing experiences with, 

16 the devices and services), using personnel 

17 who are familiar with such devices and 

18 services and their applications. 

19 ‘‘(ii) COMPREHENSIVE INFORMA20 TION.—The State shall directly, or through 

21 referrals, provide to individuals, to the ex22 tent practicable, comprehensive informa23 tion about State and local assistive tech24 nology venders, providers, and repair serv25 ices. 


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1 ‘‘(3) STATE LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES.— 

2 ‘‘(A) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSIST3 ANCE.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The State shall 

5 directly, or provide support to public or 

6 private entities with demonstrated exper7 tise in collaborating with public or private 

8 agencies that serve individuals with disabil9 ities, to develop and disseminate training 

10 materials, conduct training, and provide 

11 technical assistance, for individuals from 

12 local settings statewide, including rep13 resentatives of State and local educational 

14 agencies, other State and local agencies, 

15 early intervention programs, adult service 

16 programs, hospitals and other health care 

17 facilities, institutions of higher education, 

18 and businesses. 

19 ‘‘(ii) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In 

20 carrying out activities under clause (i), the 

21 State shall carry out activities that en22 hance the knowledge, skills, and com23 petencies of individuals from local settings 

24 described in such clause, which may in25 clude— 


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•S 1835 IS

1 ‘‘(I) general awareness training 

2 on the benefits of assistive technology 

3 and the Federal, State, and private 

4 funding sources available to assist tar5 geted individuals, especially older indi6 viduals, and entities in acquiring as7 sistive technology; 

8 ‘‘(II) skills-development training 

9 in assessing the need for assistive 

10 technology devices and assistive tech11 nology services; 

12 ‘‘(III) training to ensure the ap13 propriate application and use of as14 sistive technology devices, assistive 

15 technology services, and accessible in16 formation and communication tech17 nology for e-government functions; 

18 ‘‘(IV) training in the importance 

19 of multiple approaches to assessment 

20 and implementation necessary to meet 

21 the individualized needs of individuals 

22 with disabilities and older individuals; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(V) technical training on inte25 grating assistive technology into the 


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•S 1835 IS

1 development and implementation of 

2 service plans, including any education, 

3 health, discharge, Olmstead, employ4 ment, or other plan required under 

5 Federal or State law. 

6 ‘‘(iii) TRANSITION ASSISTANCE TO IN7 DIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.—The 

8 State shall directly, or provide support to 

9 public or private entities to, develop and 

10 disseminate training materials, conduct 

11 training, facilitate access to assistive tech12 nology, and provide technical assistance, to 

13 assist— 

14 ‘‘(I) students with disabilities, 

15 within the meaning of the Individuals 

16 with Disabilities Education Act (20 

17 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), that receive 

18 transition services; or 

19 ‘‘(II) adults who are individuals 

20 with disabilities maintaining or 

21 transitioning to community living. 

22 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC-AWARENESS ACTIVITIES.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The State shall 

24 conduct public-awareness activities de25 signed to provide information to targeted 


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•S 1835 IS

1 individuals, including older individuals, and 

2 entities relating to the availability, bene3 fits, appropriateness, and costs of assistive 

4 technology devices and assistive technology 

5 services, including— 

6 ‘‘(I) the development of proce7 dures for providing direct communica8 tion between providers of assistive 

9 technology and targeted individuals 

10 and entities, which may include part11 nerships with entities in the statewide 

12 and local workforce development sys13 tems established under the Workforce 

14 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

15 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.), State vocational 

16 rehabilitation centers, public and pri17 vate employers, or elementary and 

18 secondary public schools; 

19 ‘‘(II) the development and dis20 semination, to targeted individuals 

21 and entities, of information about 

22 State efforts related to assistive tech23 nology; and 

24 ‘‘(III) the distribution of mate25 rials to appropriate public and private 


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•S 1835 IS

1 agencies that provide social, medical, 

2 educational, employment, and trans3 portation services to individuals with 

4 disabilities. 

5 ‘‘(ii) STATEWIDE INFORMATION AND

6 REFERRAL SYSTEM.— 

7 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The State 

8 shall directly, or in collaboration with 

9 public or private (such as nonprofit) 

10 entities, provide for the continuation 

11 and enhancement of a statewide infor12 mation and referral system designed 

13 to meet the needs of targeted individ14 uals and entities. 

15 ‘‘(II) CONTENT.—The system 

16 shall deliver information on assistive 

17 technology devices, assistive tech18 nology services (with specific data re19 garding provider availability within 

20 the State), and the availability of re21 sources, including funding through 

22 public and private sources, to obtain 

23 assistive technology devices and assist24 ive technology services. The system 

25 shall also deliver information on the 


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•S 1835 IS

1 benefits of assistive technology devices 

2 and assistive technology services with 

3 respect to enhancing the capacity of 

4 individuals with disabilities of all ages 

5 to perform activities of daily living. 

6 ‘‘(C) COORDINATION AND COLLABORA7 TION.—The State shall coordinate activities de8 scribed in paragraph (2) and this paragraph, 

9 among public and private entities that are re10 sponsible for policies, procedures, or funding for 

11 the provision of assistive technology devices and 

12 assistive technology services to individuals with 

13 disabilities, service providers, and others to im14 prove access to assistive technology devices and 

15 assistive technology services for individuals with 

16 disabilities of all ages in the State. 

17 ‘‘(4) INDIRECT COSTS.—Not more than 10 per18 cent of the funds made available through a grant to 

19 a State under this section may be used for indirect 

20 costs. 

21 ‘‘(5) FUNDING RULES.— 

22 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—Funds made avail23 able through a grant to a State under this sec24 tion shall not be used for direct payment for an 


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•S 1835 IS

1 assistive technology device for an individual 

2 with a disability. 

3 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL PARTNER COLLABORA4 TION.—In order to provide the maximum avail5 ability of funding to access and acquire assistive 

6 technology through device demonstration, loan, 

7 reuse, and State financing activities, a State re8 ceiving a grant under this section shall ensure 

9 that the lead agency or implementing entity is 

10 conducting outreach to and, as appropriate, col11 laborating with, other State agencies that re12 ceive Federal funding for assistive technology, 

13 including— 

14 ‘‘(i) the State educational agency re15 ceiving assistance under the Individuals 

16 with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

17 1400 et seq.); 

18 ‘‘(ii) the State vocational rehabilita19 tion agency receiving assistance under title 

20 I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 

21 U.S.C. 720 et seq.); 

22 ‘‘(iii) the agency responsible for ad23 ministering the State Medicaid program 

24 under title XIX of the Social Security Act 

25 (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.); 


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•S 1835 IS

1 ‘‘(iv) the State agency receiving as2 sistance under the Older Americans Act of 

3 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.); and 

4 ‘‘(v) any other agency in a State that 

5 funds assistive technology. 

6 ‘‘(6) STATE FLEXIBILITY.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para8 graph (1)(A) and subject to subparagraph (B), 

9 a State may use funds that the State receives 

10 under a grant awarded under this section to 

11 carry out any 2 or more of the activities de12 scribed in paragraph (2). 

13 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE.—Notwithstanding 

14 paragraph (1)(A), any State that exercises its 

15 authority under subparagraph (A)— 

16 ‘‘(i) shall carry out each of the re17 quired activities described in paragraph 

18 (3); and 

19 ‘‘(ii) shall use not more than 30 per20 cent of the funds made available through 

21 the grant to carry out such activities. 

22 ‘‘(7) ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY DEVICE DISPOSI23 TION.—Notwithstanding other equipment disposition 

24 policies under Federal law, an assistive technology 

25 device purchased to be used in activities authorized 


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•S 1835 IS

1 under this section may be reutilized to the maximum 

2 extent possible and then donated to a public agency, 

3 private non-profit agency, or individual with a dis4 ability in need of such device. 

5 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) DATA COLLECTION.—Each State receiving 

7 a grant under this section shall participate in data 

8 collection as required by law, including data collec9 tion required for preparation of the reports de10 scribed in paragraph (2). 

11 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall pre13 pare and submit to the Secretary an annual 

14 progress report on the activities carried out by 

15 the State in accordance with subsection (e), in16 cluding activities funded by State or non-Fed17 eral sources under subsection (e)(1)(B), at such 

18 time, and in such manner, as the Secretary may 

19 require. 

20 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The report shall include 

21 data collected pursuant to this section. The re22 port shall document, with respect to activities 

23 carried out under this section in the State— 


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•S 1835 IS

1 ‘‘(i) the type of State financing activi2 ties described in subsection (e)(2)(A) used 

3 by the State; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the amount and type of assist5 ance given to consumers of the State fi6 nancing activities described in subsection 

7 (e)(2)(A) (who shall be classified by type 

8 of assistive technology device or assistive 

9 technology service financed through the 

10 State financing activities, and geographic 

11 distribution within the State), including— 

12 ‘‘(I) the number of applications 

13 for assistance received; 

14 ‘‘(II) the number of applications 

15 approved and rejected; 

16 ‘‘(III) the number, and dollar 

17 amount, of defaults for the financing 

18 activities; 

19 ‘‘(IV) the range and average in20 terest rate for the financing activities; 

21 ‘‘(V) the range and average in22 come of approved applicants for the 

23 financing activities; and 


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1 ‘‘(VI) the types and dollar 

2 amounts of assistive technology fi3 nanced; 

4 ‘‘(iii) the number, type, and length of 

5 time of loans of assistive technology de6 vices provided to individuals with disabil7 ities, employers, public agencies, or public 

8 accommodations through the device loan 

9 program described in subsection (e)(2)(C), 

10 and an analysis of the individuals with dis11 abilities who have benefited from the de12 vice loan program; 

13 ‘‘(iv) the number, type, estimated 

14 value, and scope of assistive technology de15 vices exchanged, repaired, recycled, or re16 utilized (including redistributed through 

17 device sales, loans, rentals, or donations) 

18 through the device reutilization program 

19 described in subsection (e)(2)(B), and an 

20 analysis of the individuals with disabilities 

21 that have benefited from the device reutili22 zation program; 

23 ‘‘(v) the number and type of device 

24 demonstrations and referrals provided 

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1 ysis of individuals with disabilities who 

2 have benefited from the demonstrations 

3 and referrals; 

4 ‘‘(vi)(I) the number and general char5 acteristics of individuals who participated 

6 in training under subsection (e)(3)(A) 

7 (such as individuals with disabilities, par8 ents, educators, employers, providers of 

9 employment services, health care workers, 

10 counselors, other service providers, or ven11 dors) and the topics of such training; and 

12 ‘‘(II) to the extent practicable, the ge13 ographic distribution of individuals who 

14 participated in the training; 

15 ‘‘(vii) the frequency of provision and 

16 nature of technical assistance provided to 

17 State and local agencies and other entities; 

18 ‘‘(viii) the number of individuals as19 sisted through the statewide information 

20 and referral system described in subsection 

21 (e)(3)(B)(ii) and descriptions of the public22 awareness activities under subsection 

23 (e)(3)(B) with a high impact; 

24 ‘‘(ix) the outcomes of any improve25 ment initiatives carried out by the State as 


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1 a result of activities funded under this sec2 tion, including a description of any written 

3 policies, practices, and procedures that the 

4 State has developed and implemented re5 garding access to, provision of, and fund6 ing for, assistive technology devices, and 

7 assistive technology services, in the con8 texts of education, health care, employ9 ment, community living, and accessible in10 formation and communication technology, 

11 including e-government; 

12 ‘‘(x) the source of leveraged funding 

13 or other contributed resources, including 

14 resources provided through subcontracts or 

15 other collaborative resource-sharing agree16 ments, from and with public and private 

17 entities to carry out State activities de18 scribed in subsection (e)(3)(C), the number 

19 of individuals served with the contributed 

20 resources for which information is not re21 ported under clauses (i) through (ix) or 

22 clause (xi), and other outcomes accom23 plished as a result of such activities carried 

24 out with the contributed resources; and 


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1 ‘‘(xi) the level of customer satisfaction 

2 with the services provided. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 5. STATE GRANTS FOR PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY 

4 SERVICES RELATED TO ASSISTIVE TECH5 NOLOGY. 

6 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail8 able to carry out this section, the Secretary shall 

9 make grants, through allotments under subsection 

10 (b), to protection and advocacy systems in each 

11 State for the purpose of enabling such systems to 

12 assist in the acquisition, utilization, or maintenance 

13 of assistive technology devices or assistive technology 

14 services for individuals with disabilities. 

15 ‘‘(2) GENERAL AUTHORITIES.—In providing 

16 such assistance, protection and advocacy systems 

17 shall have the same general authorities as the sys18 tems are afforded under subtitle C of title I of the 

19 Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of 

20 Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15041 et seq.), as 

21 determined by the Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(b) RESERVATION; DISTRIBUTION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) RESERVATION.—For each fiscal year, the 

24 Secretary shall reserve, from amounts made avail25 able to carry out this section under section 


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1 9(b)(3)(B), such sums as may be necessary to carry 

2 out paragraph (4). 

3 ‘‘(2) POPULATION BASIS.—From the funds ap4 propriated for this section for a fiscal year and re5 maining after the reservation required by paragraph 

6 (1) has been made, the Secretary shall make a grant 

7 to a protection and advocacy system within each 

8 State in an amount bearing the same ratio to the re9 maining funds as the population of the State bears 

10 to the population of all States. 

11 ‘‘(3) MINIMUMS.—Subject to the availability of 

12 appropriations and paragraph (5), the amount of a 

13 grant to a protection and advocacy system under 

14 paragraph (2) for a fiscal year shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) in the case of a protection and advo16 cacy system located in American Samoa, Guam, 

17 the United States Virgin Islands, or the Com18 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 

19 not be less than $30,000; and 

20 ‘‘(B) in the case of a protection and advo21 cacy system located in a State not described in 

22 subparagraph (A), not be less than $50,000. 

23 ‘‘(4) PAYMENT TO THE SYSTEM SERVING THE

24 AMERICAN INDIAN CONSORTIUM.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

2 make grants to the protection and advocacy 

3 system serving the American Indian Consortium 

4 to provide services in accordance with this sec5 tion. 

6 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—The amount 

7 of such grants shall be the same as the amount 

8 provided under paragraph (3)(A). 

9 ‘‘(5) ADJUSTMENT.—For each fiscal year in 

10 which the total amount appropriated under section 

11 9(b)(3)(B) to carry out this section is $8,000,000 or 

12 more and such appropriated amount exceeds the 

13 total amount appropriated to carry out this section 

14 in the preceding fiscal year, the Secretary shall in15 crease each of the minimum grant amounts de16 scribed in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph 

17 (3) by a percentage equal to the percentage increase 

18 in the total amount appropriated under section 9 to 

19 carry out this section for the preceding fiscal year 

20 and such total amount for the fiscal year for which 

21 the determination is being made. 

22 ‘‘(c) DIRECT PAYMENT.—Notwithstanding any other 

23 provision of law, the Secretary shall pay directly to any 

24 protection and advocacy system that complies with this 

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1 tem under this section, unless the system provides other2 wise for payment of the grant amount. 

3 ‘‘(d) CARRYOVER; PROGRAM INCOME.— 

4 ‘‘(1) CARRYOVER.—Any amount paid to an eli5 gible system for a fiscal year under this section that 

6 remains unobligated at the end of such fiscal year 

7 shall remain available to such system for obligation 

8 during the subsequent fiscal year. 

9 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM INCOME.—Program income gen10 erated from any amount paid to an eligible system 

11 for a fiscal year shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) remain available to the eligible system 

13 until expended and be considered an addition to 

14 the grant; and 

15 ‘‘(B) only be used to improve the aware16 ness of individuals with disabilities about the 

17 accessibility of assistive technology and assist 

18 such individuals in the acquisition, utilization, 

19 or maintenance of assistive technology devices 

20 or assistive technology services. 

21 ‘‘(e) REPORT TO SECRETARY.—An entity that re22 ceives a grant under this section shall annually prepare 

23 and submit to the Secretary a report that contains such 

24 information as the Secretary may require, including docu25 mentation of the progress of the entity in— 


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1 ‘‘(1) conducting consumer-responsive activities, 

2 including activities that will lead to increased access, 

3 for individuals with disabilities, to funding for assist4 ive technology devices and assistive technology serv5 ices; 

6 ‘‘(2) engaging in informal advocacy to assist in 

7 securing assistive technology devices and assistive 

8 technology services for individuals with disabilities; 

9 ‘‘(3) engaging in formal representation for indi10 viduals with disabilities to secure systems change, 

11 and in advocacy activities to secure assistive tech12 nology devices and assistive technology services for 

13 individuals with disabilities; 

14 ‘‘(4) developing and implementing strategies to 

15 enhance the long-term abilities of individuals with 

16 disabilities and their family members, guardians, ad17 vocates, and authorized representatives to advocate 

18 the provision of assistive technology devices and as19 sistive technology services to which the individuals 

20 with disabilities are entitled under law other than 

21 this Act; 

22 ‘‘(5) coordinating activities with protection and 

23 advocacy services funded through sources other than 

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1 ity building and advocacy activities carried out by 

2 the lead agency; and 

3 ‘‘(6) effectively allocating funds made available 

4 under this section to improve the awareness of indi5 viduals with disabilities about the accessibility of as6 sistive technology and assist such individuals in the 

7 acquisition, utilization, or maintenance of assistive 

8 technology devices or assistive technology services. 

9 ‘‘(f) REPORTS AND UPDATES TO STATE AGENCIES.— 

10 An entity that receives a grant under this section shall 

11 prepare and submit to the lead agency of the State des12 ignated under section 4(c)(1) the report described in sub13 section (e) and quarterly updates concerning the activities 

14 described in such subsection. 

15 ‘‘(g) COORDINATION.—On making a grant under this 

16 section to an entity in a State, the Secretary shall solicit 

17 and consider the opinions of the lead agency of the State 

18 with respect to efforts at coordination of activities, collabo19 ration, and promoting outcomes between the lead agency 

20 and the entity that receives the grant under this section. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 6. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND DATA COLLECTION 

22 SUPPORT. 

23 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED DATA COLLECTION AND RE2 PORTING ENTITY.—The term ‘qualified data collec3 tion and reporting entity’ means an entity that— 

4 ‘‘(A) has received a grant under section 4 

5 for the fiscal year for which the entity is apply6 ing for support under this section; and 

7 ‘‘(B) has (directly or through grant or con8 tract) personnel with— 

9 ‘‘(i) documented experience and exper10 tise in administering State assistive tech11 nology programs; 

12 ‘‘(ii) experience in collecting and ana13 lyzing data associated with implementing 

14 activities described in section 4(e); 

15 ‘‘(iii) expertise necessary to identify 

16 additional data elements needed to provide 

17 comprehensive reporting of State activities 

18 and outcomes; 

19 ‘‘(iv) expertise necessary to develop 

20 and implement accessible data collection 

21 and reporting systems, tools, and informa22 tion content that comply with the stand23 ards required under section 508 of the Re24 habilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d) 

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1 lines 2.0 (commonly referred to as ‘WCAG 

2 2.0’) for level AA developed by the Web 

3 Accessibility Initiative (or other successor 

4 standard as determined appropriate by the 

5 Secretary); and 

6 ‘‘(v) experience in utilizing data to 

7 provide annual reports to State policy8 makers. 

9 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY

10 SYSTEM TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDER.—The 

11 term ‘qualified protection and advocacy system tech12 nical assistance provider’ means an entity that has 

13 experience in— 

14 ‘‘(A) working with State protection and ad15 vocacy systems established in accordance with 

16 section 143 of the Developmental Disabilities 

17 Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 

18 U.S.C. 15043); and 

19 ‘‘(B) providing technical assistance. 

20 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED TRAINING AND TECHNICAL AS21 SISTANCE PROVIDER.—The term ‘qualified training 

22 and technical assistance provider’ means an entity 

23 that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) has received a grant under section 4 

2 for the fiscal year for which the entity is apply3 ing for support under this section; and 

4 ‘‘(B) has (directly or through grant or con5 tract)— 

6 ‘‘(i) experience and expertise in ad7 ministering programs, including devel8 oping, implementing, and administering all 

9 of the activities described in section 4(e); 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(ii) documented experience in and 

12 knowledge about— 

13 ‘‘(I) assistive technology device 

14 loan and demonstration; 

15 ‘‘(II) assistive technology device 

16 reuse; 

17 ‘‘(III) State financing, including 

18 financial loans and microlending; and 

19 ‘‘(IV) State leadership activities. 

20 ‘‘(b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND DATA COLLEC21 TION SUPPORT AUTHORIZED.— 

22 ‘‘(1) SUPPORT FOR ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

23 TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—From 

24 amounts made available under section 9(b)(1), the 

25 Secretary shall award, on a competitive basis— 


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1 ‘‘(A) 1 grant, contract, or cooperative 

2 agreement to a qualified training and technical 

3 assistance provider to support activities de4 scribed in subsection (d)(1) for States receiving 

5 grants under section 4; and 

6 ‘‘(B) 1 grant, contract, or cooperative 

7 agreement to a qualified protection and advo8 cacy system technical assistance provider to 

9 support activities described in subsection (d)(1) 

10 for protection and advocacy systems receiving 

11 grants under section 5. 

12 ‘‘(2) SUPPORT FOR DATA COLLECTION AND RE13 PORTING ASSISTANCE.—From amounts made avail14 able under section 9(b)(2), the Secretary shall 

15 award, on a competitive basis— 

16 ‘‘(A) 1 grant, contract, or cooperative 

17 agreement to a qualified data collection and re18 porting entity, to enable the qualified data col19 lection and reporting entity to carry out the ac20 tivities described in subsection (d)(2) for States 

21 receiving grants under section 4; and 

22 ‘‘(B) 1 grant, contract, or cooperative 

23 agreement to a qualified protection and advo24 cacy system technical assistance provider, to en25 able the eligible protection and advocacy system 


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1 to carry out the activities described in sub2 section (d)(2) for protection and advocacy sys3 tems receiving grants under section 5. 

4 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

6 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this 

7 section, an entity shall submit an application to the 

8 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con9 taining such information as the Secretary may re10 quire. 

11 ‘‘(2) INPUT.—In awarding grants, contracts, or 

12 cooperative agreements under this section and in re13 viewing the activities proposed under the applica14 tions described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

15 consider the input of the recipients of grants under 

16 sections 4 and 5 and other individuals the Secretary 

17 determines to be appropriate, especially— 

18 ‘‘(A) individuals with disabilities who use 

19 assistive technology and understand the bar20 riers to the acquisition of such technology and 

21 assistive technology services; 

22 ‘‘(B) family members, guardians, advo23 cates, and authorized representatives of such 

24 individuals; 


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1 ‘‘(C) relevant employees from Federal de2 partments and agencies, other than the Depart3 ment of Health and Human Services; 

4 ‘‘(D) representatives of businesses; and 

5 ‘‘(E) venders and public and private re6 searchers and developers. 

7 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) USE OF FUNDS FOR ASSISTIVE TECH9 NOLOGY TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

10 ‘‘(A) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSIST11 ANCE EFFORTS.—A qualified training and tech12 nical assistance provider or qualified protection 

13 and advocacy system technical assistance pro14 vider receiving a grant, contract, or cooperative 

15 agreement under subsection (b)(1) shall support 

16 a training and technical assistance program for 

17 States or protection and advocacy systems re18 ceiving a grant under section 4 or 5, respec19 tively, that— 

20 ‘‘(i) addresses State-specific informa21 tion requests concerning assistive tech22 nology from entities funded under this Act 

23 and public entities not funded under this 

24 Act, including— 


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1 ‘‘(I) requests for information on 

2 effective approaches to Federal-State 

3 coordination of programs for individ4 uals with disabilities, related to im5 proving funding for or access to as6 sistive technology devices and assistive 

7 technology services for individuals 

8 with disabilities of all ages; 

9 ‘‘(II) requests for state-of-the10 art, or model, Federal, State, and 

11 local laws, regulations, policies, prac12 tices, procedures, and organizational 

13 structures, that facilitate, and over14 come barriers to, funding for, and ac15 cess to, assistive technology devices 

16 and assistive technology services; 

17 ‘‘(III) requests for information 

18 on effective approaches to developing, 

19 implementing, evaluating, and sus20 taining activities described in section 

21 4 or 5, as the case may be, and re22 lated to improving acquisition and ac23 cess to assistive technology devices 

24 and assistive technology services for 

25 individuals with disabilities of all ages, 


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1 and requests for assistance in devel2 oping corrective action plans; 

3 ‘‘(IV) requests for examples of 

4 policies, practices, procedures, regula5 tions, or judicial decisions that have 

6 enhanced or may enhance access to 

7 and acquisition of assistive technology 

8 devices and assistive technology serv9 ices for individuals with disabilities; 

10 ‘‘(V) requests for information on 

11 effective approaches to the develop12 ment of consumer-controlled systems 

13 that increase access to, funding for, 

14 and awareness of, assistive technology 

15 devices and assistive technology serv16 ices; and 

17 ‘‘(VI) other requests for training 

18 and technical assistance from entities 

19 funded under this Act; 

20 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a program that 

21 will serve States receiving grants under 

22 section 4— 

23 ‘‘(I) assists targeted individuals 

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1 ing to assistive technology by pro2 viding referrals to recipients of grants 

3 under section 4 or other public or pri4 vate resources; and 

5 ‘‘(II) provides State-specific, re6 gional, and national training and tech7 nical assistance concerning assistive 

8 technology to entities funded under 

9 this Act, other entities funded under 

10 this Act, and public and private enti11 ties not funded under this Act, includ12 ing— 

13 ‘‘(aa) annually providing a 

14 forum for exchanging information 

15 concerning, and promoting pro16 gram and policy improvements 

17 in, required activities of the State 

18 assistive technology programs; 

19 ‘‘(bb) facilitating onsite and 

20 electronic information sharing 

21 using state-of-the-art Internet 

22 technologies such as real-time on23 line discussions, multipoint video 

24 conferencing, and web-based 

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1 ing topics that affect State as2 sistive technology programs; 

3 ‘‘(cc) convening experts from 

4 State assistive technology pro5 grams to discuss and make rec6 ommendations with regard to na7 tional emerging issues of impor8 tance to individuals with assistive 

9 technology needs; 

10 ‘‘(dd) sharing best practice 

11 and evidence-based practices 

12 among State assistive technology 

13 programs; 

14 ‘‘(ee) maintaining an acces15 sible website that includes links 

16 to State assistive technology pro17 grams, appropriate Federal de18 partments and agencies, and pri19 vate associations; 

20 ‘‘(ff) developing a resource 

21 that connects individuals from a 

22 State with the State assistive 

23 technology program in their 

24 State; 


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1 ‘‘(gg) providing access to ex2 perts in the areas of assistive 

3 technology device loan and dem4 onstration, assistive technology 

5 device reuse, State financing, 

6 banking, microlending, and fi7 nance, for entities funded under 

8 this Act, through site visits, tele9 conferences, and other means, to 

10 ensure access to information for 

11 entities that are carrying out new 

12 programs or programs that are 

13 not making progress in achieving 

14 the objectives of the programs; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(hh) supporting and coordi17 nating activities designed to re18 duce the financial costs of pur19 chasing assistive technology for 

20 the activities described in section 

21 4(e), and reducing duplication of 

22 activities among State assistive 

23 technology programs; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) includes such other activities as 

25 the Secretary may require. 


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1 ‘‘(B) COLLABORATION.—In developing and 

2 providing training and technical assistance 

3 under this paragraph, a qualified training and 

4 technical assistance provider or qualified protec5 tion and advocacy system technical assistance 

6 provider shall— 

7 ‘‘(i) collaborate with— 

8 ‘‘(I) organizations representing 

9 individuals with disabilities; 

10 ‘‘(II) national organizations rep11 resenting State assistive technology 

12 programs; 

13 ‘‘(III) organizations representing 

14 State officials and agencies engaged 

15 in the delivery of assistive technology; 

16 ‘‘(IV) other qualified data collec17 tion and reporting entities and tech18 nical assistance providers; 

19 ‘‘(V) providers of State financing 

20 activities, including alternative financ21 ing programs, and providers of device 

22 loans, device demonstrations, and de23 vice reutilization; and 


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1 ‘‘(VI) any other organizations de2 termined appropriate by the provider 

3 or the Secretary; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a qualified training 

5 and technical assistance provider, include 

6 activities identified as priorities by State 

7 advisory councils and lead agencies and 

8 implementing entities for grants under sec9 tion 4. 

10 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS FOR ASSISTIVE TECH11 NOLOGY DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING ASSIST12 ANCE.—A qualified data collection and reporting en13 tity or a qualified protection and advocacy system 

14 technical assistance provider receiving a grant, con15 tract, or cooperative agreement under subsection 

16 (b)(2) shall assist States or protection and advocacy 

17 systems receiving a grant under section 4 or 5, re18 spectively, to develop and implement effective and 

19 accessible data collection and reporting systems 

20 that— 

21 ‘‘(A) focus on quantitative and qualitative 

22 data elements; 

23 ‘‘(B) help measure the accrued benefits of 

24 the activities to individuals who need assistive 

25 technology; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) in the case of systems that will serve 

2 States receiving grants under section 4— 

3 ‘‘(i) measure the outcomes of all ac4 tivities described in section 4(e) and the 

5 progress of the States toward achieving the 

6 measurable goals described in section 

7 4(d)(3)(C); and 

8 ‘‘(ii) provide States with the necessary 

9 information required under this Act or by 

10 the Secretary for reports described in sec11 tion 4(f)(2). 

12 ‘‘SEC. 7. PROJECTS OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE. 

13 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF PROJECT OF NATIONAL SIG14 NIFICANCE.—In this section, the term ‘project of national 

15 significance’ — 

16 ‘‘(1) means a project that— 

17 ‘‘(A) increases access to, and acquisition of 

18 assistive technology; and 

19 ‘‘(B) creates opportunities for individuals 

20 with a spectrum of ability to directly and fully 

21 contribute to, and participate in, all facets of 

22 education, employment, community living, and 

23 recreational activities; and 

24 ‘‘(2) may— 


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1 ‘‘(A) build partnerships between State 

2 Medicaid agencies and recipients of grants 

3 under section 4 to reutilize durable medical 

4 equipment; 

5 ‘‘(B) increase collaboration between the re6 cipients of grants under section 4 and States 

7 receiving grants under the Money Follows the 

8 Person Rebalancing Demonstration under sec9 tion 6071 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 

10 (42 U.S.C. 1396a note); 

11 ‘‘(C) increase collaboration between recipi12 ents of grants under section 4 and area agen13 cies on aging, as such term is defined in section 

14 102 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 

15 U.S.C. 3002), which may include collaboration 

16 on emergency preparedness, safety equipment, 

17 or assistive technology toolkits; 

18 ‘‘(D) provide aid to transition youth who 

19 are individuals with disabilities from school to 

20 adult life, including youth with intellectual and 

21 developmental disabilities, especially in— 

22 ‘‘(i) finding employment and postsec23 ondary education opportunities; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) upgrading and changing any as2 sistive technology devices that may be 

3 needed as a youth matures; 

4 ‘‘(E) increase access to and acquisition of 

5 assistive technology addressing the needs of 

6 aging individuals and aging caregivers in the 

7 community; 

8 ‘‘(F) increase effective and efficient use of 

9 assistive technology as part of early intervention 

10 for infants and toddlers with disabilities from 

11 birth to age 3; 

12 ‘‘(G) increase awareness of and access to 

13 the Disability Funds-Financial Assistance fund14 ing provided by the Community Development 

15 Financial Institutions Fund that supports ac16 quisition of assistive technology; and 

17 ‘‘(H) increase awareness of and access to 

18 other federally funded disability programs, as 

19 determined appropriate by the Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(b) PROJECTS AUTHORIZED.—If funds are available 

21 pursuant to section 9(c) to carry out this section for a 

22 fiscal year, the Secretary may award, on a competitive 

23 basis, grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to 

24 public or private nonprofit entities to enable the entities 

25 to carry out projects of national significance. 


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1 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—A public or private nonprofit en2 tity desiring a grant under this section shall submit an 

3 application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 

4 and containing such information as the Secretary may re5 quire. 

6 ‘‘(d) AWARD BASIS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

8 section, the Secretary shall give priority to a public 

9 or private nonprofit entity funded under section 4 or 

10 5 for the most recent award period. 

11 ‘‘(2) PREFERENCE.—For each grant award pe12 riod, the Secretary may give preference for 1 or 

13 more categories of projects of national significance 

14 described in subparagraphs (A) through (H) of sub15 section (a)(2) or another category identified by the 

16 Secretary, if the Secretary determines that there is 

17 reason to prioritize that category of project. 

18 ‘‘(e) MINIMUM FUNDING LEVEL REQUIRED.—The 

19 Secretary may only award grants, contracts, or coopera20 tive agreements under this section if the amount made 

21 available under section 9 to carry out sections 4, 5, and 

22 6 is equal to or greater than $49,000,000. 

23 ‘‘SEC. 8. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 

24 ‘‘(a) GENERAL ADMINISTRATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

2 provision of law, the Administrator of the Adminis3 tration for Community Living shall be responsible 

4 for the administration of this Act. 

5 ‘‘(2) COLLABORATION.—The Administrator of 

6 the Administration for Community Living shall con7 sult with the Office of Special Education Programs 

8 of the Department of Education, the Rehabilitation 

9 Services Administration of the Department of Edu10 cation, the Office of Disability Employment Policy of 

11 the Department of Labor, the National Institute on 

12 Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation 

13 Research, and other appropriate Federal entities in 

14 the administration of this Act. 

15 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In administering this 

17 Act, the Administrator of the Administration 

18 for Community Living shall ensure that pro19 grams funded under this Act will equitably ad20 dress— 

21 ‘‘(i) the needs of individuals with all 

22 types of disabilities and across the age 

23 span; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) the use of assistive technology in 

25 all potential environments, including emVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:29 Jun 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00078 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1835.IS S1835

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1 ployment, education, and community liv2 ing, or for other reasons. 

3 ‘‘(B) FUNDING LIMITATION.—For each fis4 cal year, not more than one-half of one percent 

5 of the total funding appropriated for this Act 

6 shall be used by the Administrator of the Ad7 ministration for Community Living to support 

8 the administration of this Act. 

9 ‘‘(b) REVIEW OF PARTICIPATING ENTITIES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall assess 

11 the extent to which entities that receive grants under 

12 this Act are complying with the applicable require13 ments of this Act and achieving measurable goals 

14 that are consistent with the requirements of the 

15 grant programs under which the entities received the 

16 grants. 

17 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—To assist 

18 the Secretary in carrying out the responsibilities of 

19 the Secretary under this section, the Secretary may 

20 require States to provide relevant information, in21 cluding the information required under subsection 

22 (d). 

23 ‘‘(c) CORRECTIVE ACTION AND SANCTIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) CORRECTIVE ACTION.—If the Secretary 

25 determines that an entity that receives a grant 


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1 under this Act fails to substantially comply with the 

2 applicable requirements of this Act, or to make sub3 stantial progress toward achieving the measurable 

4 goals described in subsection (b)(1) with respect to 

5 the grant program, the Secretary shall assist the en6 tity, through technical assistance funded under sec7 tion 6 or other means, within 90 days after such de8 termination, to develop a corrective action plan. 

9 ‘‘(2) SANCTIONS.—If the entity fails to develop 

10 and comply with a corrective action plan described 

11 in paragraph (1) during a fiscal year, the entity 

12 shall be subject to 1 of the following corrective ac13 tions selected by the Secretary: 

14 ‘‘(A) Partial or complete termination of 

15 funding under the grant program, until the en16 tity develops and complies with such a plan. 

17 ‘‘(B) Ineligibility to participate in the 

18 grant program in the following year. 

19 ‘‘(C) Reduction in the amount of funding 

20 that may be used for indirect costs under sec21 tion 4 for the following year. 

22 ‘‘(D) Required redesignation of the lead 

23 agency designated under section 4(c)(1) or an 

24 entity responsible for administering the grant 

25 program. 


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1 ‘‘(3) APPEALS PROCEDURES.—The Secretary 

2 shall establish appeals procedures for entities that 

3 are determined to be in noncompliance with the ap4 plicable requirements of this Act, or have not made 

5 substantial progress toward achieving the measur6 able goals described in subsection (b)(1). 

7 ‘‘(4) SECRETARIAL ACTION.—As part of the an8 nual report required under subsection (d), the Sec9 retary shall describe each such action taken under 

10 paragraph (1) or (2) and the outcomes of each such 

11 action. 

12 ‘‘(5) PUBLIC NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary 

13 shall notify the public, by posting on the Internet 

14 website of the Department of Health and Human 

15 Services, of each action taken by the Secretary 

16 under paragraph (1) or (2). As a part of such notifi17 cation, the Secretary shall describe each such action 

18 taken under paragraph (1) or (2) and the outcomes 

19 of each such action. 

20 ‘‘(d) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 

22 31 of each year, the Secretary shall prepare, and 

23 submit to the President and to the Committee on 

24 Education and Labor of the House of Representa25 tives and the Committee on Health, Education, 


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1 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, a report on the 

2 activities funded under this Act to improve the ac3 cess of individuals with disabilities to assistive tech4 nology devices and assistive technology services. 

5 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Such report shall include— 

6 ‘‘(A) a compilation and summary of the in7 formation provided by the States in annual 

8 progress reports submitted under section 4(f); 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(B) a summary of the State applications 

11 described in section 4(d) and an analysis of the 

12 progress of the States in meeting the measur13 able goals established in State applications 

14 under section 4(d)(3)(C). 

15 ‘‘(e) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall 

16 be construed to affect the enforcement authority of the 

17 Secretary, another Federal officer, or a court under part 

18 D of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 

19 1234 et seq.) or other applicable law. 

20 ‘‘(f) EFFECT ON OTHER ASSISTANCE.—This Act may 

21 not be construed as authorizing a Federal or State agency 

22 to reduce medical or other assistance available, or to alter 

23 eligibility for a benefit or service, under any other Federal 

24 law. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; RESERVA2 TIONS AND DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap4 propriated to carry out this Act— 

5 ‘‘(1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; and 

6 ‘‘(2) such sums as may be necessary for each 

7 of fiscal years 2021 through 2024. 

8 ‘‘(b) RESERVATIONS AND DISTRIBUTION OF

9 FUNDS.—Of the funds made available under subsection 

10 (a) to carry out this Act and subject to subsection (c), 

11 the Secretary shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) reserve an amount equal to 2 percent of 

13 such available funds to carry out section 6(b)(1), of 

14 which— 

15 ‘‘(A) an amount equal to 88.5 percent of 

16 the reservation shall be used for a grant, con17 tract, or cooperative agreement described in 

18 section 6(b)(1)(A); and 

19 ‘‘(B) an amount equal to 14.5 percent of 

20 the reservation shall be used for a grant, con21 tract, or cooperative agreement described in 

22 section 6(b)(1)(B); 

23 ‘‘(2) reserve an amount equal to 1 percent of 

24 such available funds appropriated to carry out sec25 tion 6(b)(2); and 


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1 ‘‘(3) of the amounts remaining after the res2 ervations under paragraphs (1) and (2)— 

3 ‘‘(A) use 85.5 percent of such amounts to 

4 carry out section 4; and 

5 ‘‘(B) use 14.5 percent of such amounts to 

6 carry out section 5. 

7 ‘‘(c) LIMIT FOR PROJECTS OF NATIONAL SIGNIFI8 CANCE.—In any fiscal year for which the amount made 

9 available under subsection (a) exceeds $49,000,000, the 

10 Secretary may reserve an amount, which shall not exceed 

11 the lesser of the excess amount made available or 

12 $2,000,000, for section 7 before carrying out subsection 

13 (b).’’. 

14 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

15 This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, 

16 shall take effect on the day that is six months after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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