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Statement of Need: Section 504 of the ADA requires the Access Board to issue supplemental minimum guidelines and requirements for accessible design of buildings and facilities subject to the ADA, including title III. Section 306(c) of the ADA requires the Attorney General to promulgate regulations implementing title III that are consistent with the Access Board's ADA guidelines. Because this rule will adopt standards that are consistent with the minimum guidelines issued by the Access Board, this rule is required by statute. Similarly, the Department's review of its title III regulation is being undertaken to comply with the requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, as amended by SBREFA.

Summary of the Legal Basis: The summary of the legal basis of authority for this regulation is set forth above under Legal Authority and Statement of Need.

Alternatives: The Department is required by the ADA to issue this regulation. Pursuant to SBREFA, the Department's title III regulation will consider whether alternatives to the currently published requirements are appropriate.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits: The Access Board has analyzed the effect of applying its proposed amendments to ADAAG to entities covered by titles II and III of the ADA and has determined that they constitute a significant regulatory action for purposes of Executive Order 12866. The Access Board's determination will apply as well to the revised ADA standards published by the Department. As part of its revised ADAAG, the Access Board made available in summary form an updated regulatory assessment to accompany the final revised ADAAG. The Department prepared an initial Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA), pursuant to E.O. 12866, of the combined economic impact of changes contained in this proposed rule and in the companion NPRM to amend the Department's title II regulation (RIN 1190-AA46). The RIA incorporates the elements required for the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act, as amended. A summary of this RIA was published in the Federal Register at 73 FR 37009, 37042 (June 30, 2008). The full analysis is available for public review on www.regulations.gov and on the Department's ADA Home Page, www.ada.gov. A revised RIA will be made available to the public when the final rules are published. The preliminary RIA indicates that the proposed rules will have a net positive public benefit, i.e., the benefits will exceed the costs over the life of the rule. This concept is expressed as the discounted net present value (NPV) The RIA projects that the NPV will be between $7.5 billion (at a 7% discount rate) and $ 31.1 billion (at a 3% discount rate). The RIA also concludes that the combined effect of the proposed rules would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Section 4(2) of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 1503(2), excludes from coverage under that Act any proposed or final Federal regulation that "establishes or enforces any statutory rights that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap, or disability." Accordingly, this rulemaking is not subject to the provisions of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

Risks: Without the proposed changes to the Department's title III regulation, the ADA Standards will fail to be consistent with the ADAAG.