Medical Diagnostic Equipment Accessibility Standards Advisory Committee

1. PURPOSE: This charter establishes the “Medical Diagnostic Equipment Accessibility Standards Advisory Committee” (Committee) for the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended, 5 U.S.C. App. 2.

2. AUTHORITY: The establishment of the Committee is in the public interest and supports the Access Board in performing its duties and responsibilities under Section 510 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 USC 794f), as amended by Section 4203 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Pub. L. 111-148, 124 Stat. 570).

3. SPONSOR AND OFFICE SUPPORT: The Committee shall report to the Access Board as its sponsor. Support services shall be provided or arranged by the Access Board.

4. SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES: The Committee shall advise the Access Board on matters addressed in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Medical Diagnostic Equipment Accessibility Standards published in the Federal Register on February 9, 2012, 77 FR 6916, and issues raised in public comments on the NPRM. The Committee shall act solely in an advisory capacity to the Access Board and shall neither exercise any program management responsibility nor make decisions directly affecting the matters on which it provides advice.

5. DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS: Consistent with the scope and objectives described in paragraph 4 of this charter, the Committee is authorized to make recommendations to the Access Board on the rulemaking for Medical Diagnostic Equipment Accessibility Standards for the technical criteria proposed in the NPRM and issues raised in the public comments on the NPRM, including the responses to the questions in the NPRM.

**6. MEMBERSHIP: **The membership will be balanced in terms of points of view represented, including medical device manufacturers, health care providers, standards setting organizations, organizations representing individuals with disabilities, and other interested parties. Representatives of each of these interests shall be selected by the Chairperson of the Access Board and appointed as Committee members for the duration of the Committee’s existence. Federal agencies may serve as ex-officio members on the committee.

**7. SUBCOMMITTEES: **The Committee, with the approval of the Designated Federal Officer, may form subcommittees for any purpose consistent with this charter. The subcommittees shall report to the Committee.

8. CHAIRPERSON: The Chairperson of the Committee shall be appointed by the Chairperson of the Access Board. The Chairperson of any subcommittees shall be appointed by the Chairperson of the Committee.

9. DESIGNATED FEDERAL OFFICER: A full time member of the Access Board staff will serve as the Designated Federal Officer (DFO). The DFO will approve all of the advisory committee’s and subcommittee’s meetings, prepare and approve all meeting agendas, attend all committee and subcommittee meetings, adjourn any meeting when the DFO determines adjournment to be in the public interest, and chair meetings when directed to do so by the Chairperson of the Access Board.

10. MEETINGS: Meetings shall be held as necessary at the call of the Chairperson of the Committee, with the approval of the DFO. Meetings shall be open to the public and timely notice of each meeting shall be published in the Federal Register. Meetings shall be conducted and records of the proceedings kept, as required by applicable laws and regulations.

11. RECORDKEEPING: The records of the committee, formally and informally established subcommittees, or other subgroups of the committee shall be handled in accordance with the General Records Schedule 26, Item 2 or other applicable Access Board records disposition schedule. These records shall be available for public inspection and copying, subject to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.

12. COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS: The Access Board will not compensate Committee members for their service. Committee members will be responsible for their own expenses for participation in the Committee, except that the Access Board may pay for a member’s reasonable travel expenses if the member certifies a lack of adequate financial resources to participate in the Committee and the Access Board determines that the member’s participation in the Committee is necessary to assure adequate representation of the various interests potentially affected by the accessibility standards.

13. ESTIMATED ANNUAL COSTS: The costs for the Committee, excluding the cost of Board staff, are estimated at $44,400. The estimated annual person years of staff support required is 0.08 at an estimated annual cost of $14,000.

14. DURATION: The Committee will terminate a maximum of two years from the date of filing this charter with the appropriate Committees of Congress, unless the Committee is renewed or terminated sooner.

January 11, 2012
Board Approval Date

April 30, 2012
Date Filed with Congress