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The Department of Justice is issuing this notice of proposed rulemaking torevise its regulation implementing section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as applicable to programs and activities receiving financial assistance from the Department, in order to: (1) incorporate amendments to the statute, including the changes in the meaning and interpretation of the applicable definition of disability required by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008; (2) incorporate requirements stemming from judicial decisions; (3) update accessibility standards applicable to new construction and alteration of buildings and facilities; (4) update certain provisions to promote consistency with comparable provisions implementing title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act; and (5) make other nonsubstantive clarifying edits, including updating outdated terminology and references that currently exist in 28 CFR part 42, such as changing the word handicapped and similar variations of that word to language referencing individuals with disabilities, modifying the order of the regulatory provisions to group like provisions together, and adding some headings to make the regulation more user-friendly.

Statement of Need:

This rule is necessary to bring the Department's prior section 504 regulations into compliance with the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, which became effective on January 1, 2009.

Summary of the Legal Basis:

The summary of the legal basis of authority for this regulation is set forth above in the abstract.

Alternatives:

Because this NPRM implements statutory changes to the section 504 definition of disability, there are no appropriate alternatives to issuing this NPRM.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

The Department's preliminary assessment in this early stage of the rulemaking process is that this rule will not be "economically significant," that is, that the rule will not have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million, or adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the economy, the environment, public health or safety or State, local or tribal Governments or communities. The Department's section 504 rule for federally assisted programs will incorporate the same changes made by the ADA Amendments Act to the definition of disability as are included in the proposed changes to the ADA title II and title III rules (1190-AA59), was published in the Federal Register on August 11, 2016. 81 FR 53203.

Because most public and private entities that receive federal financial assistance from the Department are also likely to be subject to titles II or III of the ADA we do not believe that the revisions to the Department's existing section 504 federally assisted regulations will have a significant economic impact.

Risks:

Failure to update the Department's section 504 regulations to conform to statutory changes will interfere with the Department's enforcement efforts and lead to confusion about the law's requirements among entities that receive Federal financial assistance from the Department.