Amended IN Senate August 15, 2023 Amended IN Senate July 13, 2023 Amended IN Senate July 03, 2023 Amended IN Senate June 12, 2023 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20232024 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 1757Introduced by Committee on Judiciary (Assembly Members Maienschein (Chair), Connolly, Dixon, Haney, Kalra, Pacheco, Papan, and Reyes)March 02, 2023An act to amend the heading of Part 2.53 (commencing with Section 55.55) of Division 1 of, and to add Sections 55.565 and 55.566 to, the Civil Code, relating to accessibility.LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTAB 1757, as amended, Committee on Judiciary. Accessibility: internet websites.Existing law imposes liability upon a person who denies, aids aids, or incites a denial, denial of, or makes any discrimination or distinction contrary to to, rights afforded by law, law for actual damages suffered, exemplary damages, a civil penalty, and attorneys fees, as specified, to any person who was denied the specified rights. Existing law also imposes liability upon a person, firm, or corporation that denies or interferes with admittance to to, or enjoyment of of, public facilities or otherwise interferes with the rights of an individual with a disability, as specified, for damages and attorneys fees to a person who was denied those rights.This bill would specify provide that statutory damages based upon the inaccessibility of an internet website under these provisions shall only be recovered against an entity, as defined, if the internet website fails to provide equally effective communication or facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public. The bill would require, in order for a plaintiff to be entitled to statutory damages for internet website inaccessibility, the plaintiff to prove either that they the plaintiff personally encountered a specific barrier that caused them the plaintiff to experience a difference in their the plaintiffs access to, or use of, the internet website as compared to other users, as specified, or that they were the plaintiff was deterred from accessing all or part of the internet website or the content of the internet website because of the internet websites failure to provide equally effective communication or to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services offered to the public. The bill would specify provide that an entitys internet website is presumed to provide equally effective communication and to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public for the purpose of determining whether an award of statutory damages is warranted, as specified, if the internet website, taking into account the variety of conforming implementations that may be used to meet the internet website-related accessibility standard, conforms to an internet website-related accessibility standard, as defined. the internet website has a certain certification by a professional reviewer, as defined, that, among other things, the internet website is designed and intended to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard, as defined.This bill would make it unlawful for any a resource service provider, as defined, in exchange for remuneration, to intentionally, negligently, recklessly, or knowingly construct, license, distribute, or maintain for online use, use an internet website that fails to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard or provide equally effective communication or fails to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability. The bill would also make it unlawful for a resource provider to intentionally, negligently, knowingly, or recklessly make a certain false representation that an internet website conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard. representations, including that the resource provider is a professional reviewer or otherwise qualified to assess the accessibility of an internet website. The bill would authorize a civil action by a person who is unable to obtain equally effective communication or full and equal enjoyment of an internet website, the content of an internet website, or goods and services offered to the public on an internet website, as a result of that violation, with remedies as prescribed. The bill would further authorize a civil action by a person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with a resource service provider to construct, license, distribute, or maintain an internet website for the purpose of providing equally effective communication or facilitating full and equal enjoyment of the person or entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability, with remedies as prescribed. The bill would also authorize the Attorney General General, the Civil Rights Department, or a district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney to bring an action to obtain injunctive or declaratory relief and attorneys fees and costs. The bill would provide that a provision within a contract between a person or entity and a resource service provider that seeks to waive liability under these provisions, or otherwise shift liability to a person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with the resource provider, as provided, is void as a matter of public policy and subject to specified provisions of the Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976 relating to waiver of rights.Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO Bill TextThe people of the State of California do enact as follows:SECTION 1. The heading of Part 2.53 (commencing with Section 55.55) of Division 1 of the Civil Code is amended to read:PART 2.53. ATTORNEY'S ATTORNEYS FEES AND STATUTORY DAMAGES IN ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS CLAIMSSEC. 2. Section 55.565 is added to the Civil Code, immediately following Section 55.56, to read:55.565. (a) Statutory damages under subdivision (a) of either Section 52 or Section 54.3 shall only be recovered against an entity based upon the inaccessibility of an internet website developed, procured, maintained, or used by that entity if the internet website fails to provide equally effective communication or facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(b) To be entitled to statutory damages for internet website inaccessibility, a plaintiff must shall prove one of the following:(1) That the plaintiff personally encountered a specific barrier that caused the plaintiff to experience a difference in their the plaintiffs ability to access or use the internet website as compared to other users such that the plaintiff was unable to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, or enjoy the same services with substantially equivalent ease of use, or to have the same level of privacy and independence as other users who are not persons with a disability.(2) That the plaintiff was deterred from accessing all or part of the internet website or the content of the internet website because of the internet websites failure to provide equally effective communication or to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services offered to the public.(c) (1) An entitys internet website is presumed to provide equally effective communication and to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public for the purpose of determining whether an award of statutory damages is warranted under subdivision (a) of Section 52 or 54.3, if the internet website, taking into account the variety of conforming implementations that may be used to meet the internet website-related accessibility standard, conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard. 54.3 if both of the following criteria are satisfied:(A) The internet website has a certification by a professional reviewer that all of the following are true:(i) The internet website is designed and intended to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(ii) The internet website has been tested, in both an automated manner and a manual manner by qualified users, and has been determined to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(iii) All third-party content that is available on the entitys internet website by means of a link from the internet website and that allows members of the public to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions with respect to, or in any other way interact with, the entity or the entitys goods, services, or presentations, has been tested, in both an automated and manual manner, and has been determined to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(B) The certification described in subparagraph (A) meets all of the following requirements:(i) The certification is made within the prior 12 months or after revisions to the internet website that impact accessibility, whichever is more recent, and is based on a review that includes testing by qualified users.(ii) The certification is posted, or available by means of a clearly marked link, on the home page of the entitys internet website.(iii) The certification includes a statement from the professional reviewer explaining how that person qualifies to be a professional reviewer. If the professional reviewer is not a Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA) with a certificate issued by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), the professional reviewer shall list the type of certification that person has obtained from another source of professional training for front-end internet website developers, as well as the criteria for issuance of that certificate, in order to demonstrate that the criteria are equivalent to, or higher than, the requirements for the issuance of a CPWA certificate.(2) The presumption set forth in paragraph (1) affects the plaintiffs burden of proof. Upon the defendant establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that the internet website conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard, criteria set forth in paragraph (1) are satisfied and that the entitys internet website is therefore presumed to provide equally effective communication and to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, the plaintiff may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence, showing that, notwithstanding the internet websites conformance to the standard, presumption set forth in paragraph (1), the elements of one of the violations set forth in subdivision (b) are established.(3) A defendant who qualifies for the presumption set forth in paragraph (1) is entitled to seek a court stay and early evaluation conference, as described in Section 55.54.(4) The Judicial Council may adopt a form, or modify its existing forms, to implement this section. Before the Judicial Council promulgates a modified form, an entity covered by this part and served with an action regarding an internet website may use or adapt the existing form implementing Section 55.54.(d) This section is not intended to does not do any of the following:(1) Limit the rights and remedies available to persons with a disability under federal law, or any other state law.(2) Affect whether an entity is responsible under either Section 51 or 51.5 for making its premises accessible to all members of the public, including persons with a disability and including by means of accessing and using the entitys internet website.(3) Resolve, or otherwise address, whether an internet website that is a standalone website-only business and not associated with a business that has a physical location in California is subject to liability under Sections 51, 54, and 54.1.(4) Establish a presumption of liability, affect the burden of proof, or otherwise impact a courts determination of liability when an internet website does not conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard and in which case if the presumption established in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) therefore would does not apply. apply or if a plaintiff does not seek statutory damages.(5) Require (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), require an entity to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard. standard or impose liability upon the entity for the inaccessibility of an internet website or resource that is accessed by any links that navigate the user from the entitys internet website to a third-party internet website.(B) An entity shall comply with both of the following:(i) An entity shall not unduly rely on links to third-party resources as a means of evading its responsibility to provide an internet website that provides equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(ii) If a user is required, in order to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions with respect to, or in any other way interact with the business of the entity or the entitys goods, services, or presentations via the internet, to utilize a link to third-party content, the entity shall ensure that the third-party content complies with the internet website-related accessibility standard.(6) Demonstrate an intent by the Legislature, in enacting this section, to deprive or limit the exercise of jurisdiction by federal courts over state law claims brought in conjunction with any federal claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.) or other federal law.(e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: section:(1) Conform means that the entitys internet website website, taking into account the variety of conforming implementations, meets the criteria specified by the applicable internet website-related accessibility standard, as defined in paragraph (4). standard. For purposes of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standard for the accessibility of internet websites established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Accessibility Guidelines Working Group on June 5, 2018, an entity conforms to that standard when if the entitys internet website meets all of the Success Criteria set forth in the standard. standard, except if conformance to the standard is either not necessary or not possible due to the nature of the data sought to be presented on the internet website, and any instance of nonconformance does not impact the ability of a person with a disability to acquire information, engage in interactions, and enjoy the services of the entitys internet website with an ease of use and level of privacy that is substantially equivalent to the experience of other users who are not persons with a disability.(2) Entity means a business establishment that is open to the public, a public place, or a place of public accommodation or any other business or place that is subject to the provisions of Sections 51, 54, or 54.1.(3) Internet website includes all internet web-based technology, including, but not limited to, a mobile site or application, or an app, that can be accessed by a mobile device or other electronic device.(4) Internet website-related accessibility standard means the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standard for the accessibility of internet websites established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Accessibility Guidelines Working Group on June 5, 2018, or the accessibility standards for Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794d) in Part 1194 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations. To the extent that there is a difference or conflict between the applicable standards for internet websites under WCAG 2.1 Level AA and standards for information or communication technology under Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the more recent WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard shall apply, unless a more stringent update, revision, or replacement to the accessibility standards for Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794d) in Part 1194 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations is adopted by any final rule of the federal Access Board United States Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board after the date of the enactment of this section, in which case case, that final rule shall apply to this section.(5) Professional reviewer means an expert in internet website design and accessibility who has a professional certificate in internet website accessibility issued by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), a certificate as a Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA) issued by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), or a certification issued by another source of professional training for front-end internet website developers with criteria for issuance that are equivalent to, or higher than, the requirements for the issuance of a CPWA certificate.(f) This section applies to any civil action filed on or after January 1, 2024.SEC. 3. Section 55.566 is added to the Civil Code, to read:55.566. (a) It is unlawful for any a resource service provider, in exchange for money or any other form of remuneration, to do either of the following:(1) Intentionally, negligently, recklessly, or knowingly construct, license, distribute, or maintain for online use, use an internet website that fails to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard. provide equally effective communication or fails to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(2) Intentionally, negligently, knowingly, or recklessly make a false representation that an internet website conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard. of any of the following:(A) An internet website provides equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(B) An internet website qualifies for the certification described in subdivision (c) of Section 55.565.(C) The resource provider is a professional reviewer or otherwise qualified to assess the accessibility of an internet website.(b) The following parties may bring a civil action pursuant to subdivision (a):(1)(A)A person who is unable to obtain equally effective communication or full and equal enjoyment of an internet website, the content of an internet website, or goods and services offered to the public on an internet website, as a result of the violation.(B)The remedies for a violation of this section pursuant to this paragraph are the remedies provided in subdivision (a) of Section 52.(2)(1) (A) A person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with, the resource service provider to construct, license, distribute, or maintain an internet website for the purpose of providing equally effective communication or facilitating full and equal enjoyment of the person or entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(B) A plaintiff who prevails under this paragraph shall be entitled to collect all damages, including, but not limited to, any statutory damages and attorneys fees paid by the person or entity as a result of a lawsuit against the person or entity pursuant to Sections 51, 54, and 54.1, based upon the inaccessibility of the person or entitys website, and all costs of bringing their internet website into conformance to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(c)Notwithstanding subdivision (b), the Attorney General(2) The Attorney General, the Civil Rights Department, or a district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney may bring an action under this section to obtain the following:(1)(A) Injunctive or declaratory relief.(2)(B) Attorneys fees and costs.(d)(c) A provision within a contract between a person or entity and a resource service provider that seeks to waive liability under this section, or otherwise shift the liability to a person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with the resource service provider, as described under paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), is void as a matter of public policy and subject to subdivision (c) of Section 51.7.(e)(d) This section does not limit or alter the application of other laws, including, but not limited to, Sections 51, 54, and 54.1, and 55, or the ability of a plaintiff to bring a civil action under any other theory of the law, including, but not limited to, breach of contract, implied warranty of merchantability, or false or deceptive advertising.(f)(e) (1) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the same meanings as provided in subdivision (e) of defined in Section 55.565:(A) Conform.(B) Entity.(C) Internet website.(D) Internet website-related accessibility standard.(E) Professional reviewer. (2) (A) For purposes of this section, resource service provider means a person or entity that, in exchange for money or any other form of remuneration, constructs, licenses, distributes, or maintains for online use any internet website or resource to be used within or in conjunction with an internet website.(B) Resource service provider does not mean either of the following:(i) A person or entity that provides hosting or hardware support to an internet website, but does not design, construct, or control the internet website, or resource to be used within or in conjunction with an internet website, in any manner that affects the ability of the website or resource to provide equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of an entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(ii) An individual who is hired by a resource service provider, but does not have a contract directly with the entity who owns the website, including a manual accessibility tester.(g)(f) This section is not intended to does not do any of the following:(1) Limit the rights and remedies available to a person with disabilities under the federal law or any other state law.(2) Affect whether an entity is responsible under either Section 51 or 51.5 for making its premises accessible to all members of the public, including persons with a disability and including by means of accessing and using the entitys internet website.(3) Resolve, or otherwise address, whether an internet website that is a standalone website-only business and not associated with a business that has a physical location in California is subject to liability under Sections 51, 54, and 54.1.(4) Establish a presumption of liability, affect the burden of proof, or otherwise impact a courts determination of liability when if an internet website does not conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(5) Require (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), require an entity to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard. standard or impose liability upon the entity for the inaccessibility of an internet website or resource that is accessed by any links that navigate the user from the entitys internet website to a third-party internet website.(B) An entity shall comply with both of the following:(i) An entity shall not unduly rely on links to third-party resources as a means of evading its responsibility to provide an internet website that provides equally effective communication or facilitates full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(ii) If a user is required, in order to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions with respect to, or in any other way interact with the business of the entity or the entitys goods, services, or presentations via the internet, to utilize a link to third-party content, the entity shall ensure that the third-party content complies with the internet website-related accessibility standard.(6) Demonstrate an intent by the Legislature, in enacting this section, to deprive or limit the exercise of jurisdiction by federal courts over state law claims brought in conjunction with any federal claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.) or other federal law.(7) Establish liability under subdivision (a) when if a resource service provider constructs, licenses, distributes, or maintains establishes that, after the date when the resource service provider constructed, licensed, distributed, or maintained for online use an internet website that fails to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard, but the internet website provides website or resource to be used within, or in conjunction with, an internet website, or issued the certification described in subdivision (c) of Section 55.565, an entity other than the resource service provider, without the knowledge or permission of the resource service provider, altered the internet website or resource in a manner that directly resulted in the internet website or resource no longer providing equally effective communication and facilitates facilitating full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.
Amended IN Senate August 15, 2023 Amended IN Senate July 13, 2023 Amended IN Senate July 03, 2023 Amended IN Senate June 12, 2023 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20232024 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 1757Introduced by Committee on Judiciary (Assembly Members Maienschein (Chair), Connolly, Dixon, Haney, Kalra, Pacheco, Papan, and Reyes)March 02, 2023An act to amend the heading of Part 2.53 (commencing with Section 55.55) of Division 1 of, and to add Sections 55.565 and 55.566 to, the Civil Code, relating to accessibility.LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTAB 1757, as amended, Committee on Judiciary. Accessibility: internet websites.Existing law imposes liability upon a person who denies, aids aids, or incites a denial, denial of, or makes any discrimination or distinction contrary to to, rights afforded by law, law for actual damages suffered, exemplary damages, a civil penalty, and attorneys fees, as specified, to any person who was denied the specified rights. Existing law also imposes liability upon a person, firm, or corporation that denies or interferes with admittance to to, or enjoyment of of, public facilities or otherwise interferes with the rights of an individual with a disability, as specified, for damages and attorneys fees to a person who was denied those rights.This bill would specify provide that statutory damages based upon the inaccessibility of an internet website under these provisions shall only be recovered against an entity, as defined, if the internet website fails to provide equally effective communication or facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public. The bill would require, in order for a plaintiff to be entitled to statutory damages for internet website inaccessibility, the plaintiff to prove either that they the plaintiff personally encountered a specific barrier that caused them the plaintiff to experience a difference in their the plaintiffs access to, or use of, the internet website as compared to other users, as specified, or that they were the plaintiff was deterred from accessing all or part of the internet website or the content of the internet website because of the internet websites failure to provide equally effective communication or to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services offered to the public. The bill would specify provide that an entitys internet website is presumed to provide equally effective communication and to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public for the purpose of determining whether an award of statutory damages is warranted, as specified, if the internet website, taking into account the variety of conforming implementations that may be used to meet the internet website-related accessibility standard, conforms to an internet website-related accessibility standard, as defined. the internet website has a certain certification by a professional reviewer, as defined, that, among other things, the internet website is designed and intended to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard, as defined.This bill would make it unlawful for any a resource service provider, as defined, in exchange for remuneration, to intentionally, negligently, recklessly, or knowingly construct, license, distribute, or maintain for online use, use an internet website that fails to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard or provide equally effective communication or fails to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability. The bill would also make it unlawful for a resource provider to intentionally, negligently, knowingly, or recklessly make a certain false representation that an internet website conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard. representations, including that the resource provider is a professional reviewer or otherwise qualified to assess the accessibility of an internet website. The bill would authorize a civil action by a person who is unable to obtain equally effective communication or full and equal enjoyment of an internet website, the content of an internet website, or goods and services offered to the public on an internet website, as a result of that violation, with remedies as prescribed. The bill would further authorize a civil action by a person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with a resource service provider to construct, license, distribute, or maintain an internet website for the purpose of providing equally effective communication or facilitating full and equal enjoyment of the person or entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability, with remedies as prescribed. The bill would also authorize the Attorney General General, the Civil Rights Department, or a district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney to bring an action to obtain injunctive or declaratory relief and attorneys fees and costs. The bill would provide that a provision within a contract between a person or entity and a resource service provider that seeks to waive liability under these provisions, or otherwise shift liability to a person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with the resource provider, as provided, is void as a matter of public policy and subject to specified provisions of the Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976 relating to waiver of rights.Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO
Amended IN Senate August 15, 2023 Amended IN Senate July 13, 2023 Amended IN Senate July 03, 2023 Amended IN Senate June 12, 2023
Amended IN Senate August 15, 2023
Amended IN Senate July 13, 2023
Amended IN Senate July 03, 2023
Amended IN Senate June 12, 2023
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20232024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1757
Introduced by Committee on Judiciary (Assembly Members Maienschein (Chair), Connolly, Dixon, Haney, Kalra, Pacheco, Papan, and Reyes)March 02, 2023
Introduced by Committee on Judiciary (Assembly Members Maienschein (Chair), Connolly, Dixon, Haney, Kalra, Pacheco, Papan, and Reyes)
March 02, 2023
An act to amend the heading of Part 2.53 (commencing with Section 55.55) of Division 1 of, and to add Sections 55.565 and 55.566 to, the Civil Code, relating to accessibility.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
## LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1757, as amended, Committee on Judiciary. Accessibility: internet websites.
Existing law imposes liability upon a person who denies, aids aids, or incites a denial, denial of, or makes any discrimination or distinction contrary to to, rights afforded by law, law for actual damages suffered, exemplary damages, a civil penalty, and attorneys fees, as specified, to any person who was denied the specified rights. Existing law also imposes liability upon a person, firm, or corporation that denies or interferes with admittance to to, or enjoyment of of, public facilities or otherwise interferes with the rights of an individual with a disability, as specified, for damages and attorneys fees to a person who was denied those rights.This bill would specify provide that statutory damages based upon the inaccessibility of an internet website under these provisions shall only be recovered against an entity, as defined, if the internet website fails to provide equally effective communication or facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public. The bill would require, in order for a plaintiff to be entitled to statutory damages for internet website inaccessibility, the plaintiff to prove either that they the plaintiff personally encountered a specific barrier that caused them the plaintiff to experience a difference in their the plaintiffs access to, or use of, the internet website as compared to other users, as specified, or that they were the plaintiff was deterred from accessing all or part of the internet website or the content of the internet website because of the internet websites failure to provide equally effective communication or to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services offered to the public. The bill would specify provide that an entitys internet website is presumed to provide equally effective communication and to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public for the purpose of determining whether an award of statutory damages is warranted, as specified, if the internet website, taking into account the variety of conforming implementations that may be used to meet the internet website-related accessibility standard, conforms to an internet website-related accessibility standard, as defined. the internet website has a certain certification by a professional reviewer, as defined, that, among other things, the internet website is designed and intended to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard, as defined.This bill would make it unlawful for any a resource service provider, as defined, in exchange for remuneration, to intentionally, negligently, recklessly, or knowingly construct, license, distribute, or maintain for online use, use an internet website that fails to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard or provide equally effective communication or fails to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability. The bill would also make it unlawful for a resource provider to intentionally, negligently, knowingly, or recklessly make a certain false representation that an internet website conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard. representations, including that the resource provider is a professional reviewer or otherwise qualified to assess the accessibility of an internet website. The bill would authorize a civil action by a person who is unable to obtain equally effective communication or full and equal enjoyment of an internet website, the content of an internet website, or goods and services offered to the public on an internet website, as a result of that violation, with remedies as prescribed. The bill would further authorize a civil action by a person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with a resource service provider to construct, license, distribute, or maintain an internet website for the purpose of providing equally effective communication or facilitating full and equal enjoyment of the person or entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability, with remedies as prescribed. The bill would also authorize the Attorney General General, the Civil Rights Department, or a district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney to bring an action to obtain injunctive or declaratory relief and attorneys fees and costs. The bill would provide that a provision within a contract between a person or entity and a resource service provider that seeks to waive liability under these provisions, or otherwise shift liability to a person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with the resource provider, as provided, is void as a matter of public policy and subject to specified provisions of the Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976 relating to waiver of rights.
Existing law imposes liability upon a person who denies, aids aids, or incites a denial, denial of, or makes any discrimination or distinction contrary to to, rights afforded by law, law for actual damages suffered, exemplary damages, a civil penalty, and attorneys fees, as specified, to any person who was denied the specified rights. Existing law also imposes liability upon a person, firm, or corporation that denies or interferes with admittance to to, or enjoyment of of, public facilities or otherwise interferes with the rights of an individual with a disability, as specified, for damages and attorneys fees to a person who was denied those rights.
This bill would specify provide that statutory damages based upon the inaccessibility of an internet website under these provisions shall only be recovered against an entity, as defined, if the internet website fails to provide equally effective communication or facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public. The bill would require, in order for a plaintiff to be entitled to statutory damages for internet website inaccessibility, the plaintiff to prove either that they the plaintiff personally encountered a specific barrier that caused them the plaintiff to experience a difference in their the plaintiffs access to, or use of, the internet website as compared to other users, as specified, or that they were the plaintiff was deterred from accessing all or part of the internet website or the content of the internet website because of the internet websites failure to provide equally effective communication or to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services offered to the public. The bill would specify provide that an entitys internet website is presumed to provide equally effective communication and to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public for the purpose of determining whether an award of statutory damages is warranted, as specified, if the internet website, taking into account the variety of conforming implementations that may be used to meet the internet website-related accessibility standard, conforms to an internet website-related accessibility standard, as defined. the internet website has a certain certification by a professional reviewer, as defined, that, among other things, the internet website is designed and intended to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard, as defined.
This bill would make it unlawful for any a resource service provider, as defined, in exchange for remuneration, to intentionally, negligently, recklessly, or knowingly construct, license, distribute, or maintain for online use, use an internet website that fails to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard or provide equally effective communication or fails to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability. The bill would also make it unlawful for a resource provider to intentionally, negligently, knowingly, or recklessly make a certain false representation that an internet website conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard. representations, including that the resource provider is a professional reviewer or otherwise qualified to assess the accessibility of an internet website. The bill would authorize a civil action by a person who is unable to obtain equally effective communication or full and equal enjoyment of an internet website, the content of an internet website, or goods and services offered to the public on an internet website, as a result of that violation, with remedies as prescribed. The bill would further authorize a civil action by a person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with a resource service provider to construct, license, distribute, or maintain an internet website for the purpose of providing equally effective communication or facilitating full and equal enjoyment of the person or entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability, with remedies as prescribed. The bill would also authorize the Attorney General General, the Civil Rights Department, or a district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney to bring an action to obtain injunctive or declaratory relief and attorneys fees and costs. The bill would provide that a provision within a contract between a person or entity and a resource service provider that seeks to waive liability under these provisions, or otherwise shift liability to a person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with the resource provider, as provided, is void as a matter of public policy and subject to specified provisions of the Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976 relating to waiver of rights.
## Digest Key
## Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:SECTION 1. The heading of Part 2.53 (commencing with Section 55.55) of Division 1 of the Civil Code is amended to read:PART 2.53. ATTORNEY'S ATTORNEYS FEES AND STATUTORY DAMAGES IN ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS CLAIMSSEC. 2. Section 55.565 is added to the Civil Code, immediately following Section 55.56, to read:55.565. (a) Statutory damages under subdivision (a) of either Section 52 or Section 54.3 shall only be recovered against an entity based upon the inaccessibility of an internet website developed, procured, maintained, or used by that entity if the internet website fails to provide equally effective communication or facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(b) To be entitled to statutory damages for internet website inaccessibility, a plaintiff must shall prove one of the following:(1) That the plaintiff personally encountered a specific barrier that caused the plaintiff to experience a difference in their the plaintiffs ability to access or use the internet website as compared to other users such that the plaintiff was unable to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, or enjoy the same services with substantially equivalent ease of use, or to have the same level of privacy and independence as other users who are not persons with a disability.(2) That the plaintiff was deterred from accessing all or part of the internet website or the content of the internet website because of the internet websites failure to provide equally effective communication or to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services offered to the public.(c) (1) An entitys internet website is presumed to provide equally effective communication and to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public for the purpose of determining whether an award of statutory damages is warranted under subdivision (a) of Section 52 or 54.3, if the internet website, taking into account the variety of conforming implementations that may be used to meet the internet website-related accessibility standard, conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard. 54.3 if both of the following criteria are satisfied:(A) The internet website has a certification by a professional reviewer that all of the following are true:(i) The internet website is designed and intended to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(ii) The internet website has been tested, in both an automated manner and a manual manner by qualified users, and has been determined to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(iii) All third-party content that is available on the entitys internet website by means of a link from the internet website and that allows members of the public to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions with respect to, or in any other way interact with, the entity or the entitys goods, services, or presentations, has been tested, in both an automated and manual manner, and has been determined to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(B) The certification described in subparagraph (A) meets all of the following requirements:(i) The certification is made within the prior 12 months or after revisions to the internet website that impact accessibility, whichever is more recent, and is based on a review that includes testing by qualified users.(ii) The certification is posted, or available by means of a clearly marked link, on the home page of the entitys internet website.(iii) The certification includes a statement from the professional reviewer explaining how that person qualifies to be a professional reviewer. If the professional reviewer is not a Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA) with a certificate issued by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), the professional reviewer shall list the type of certification that person has obtained from another source of professional training for front-end internet website developers, as well as the criteria for issuance of that certificate, in order to demonstrate that the criteria are equivalent to, or higher than, the requirements for the issuance of a CPWA certificate.(2) The presumption set forth in paragraph (1) affects the plaintiffs burden of proof. Upon the defendant establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that the internet website conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard, criteria set forth in paragraph (1) are satisfied and that the entitys internet website is therefore presumed to provide equally effective communication and to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, the plaintiff may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence, showing that, notwithstanding the internet websites conformance to the standard, presumption set forth in paragraph (1), the elements of one of the violations set forth in subdivision (b) are established.(3) A defendant who qualifies for the presumption set forth in paragraph (1) is entitled to seek a court stay and early evaluation conference, as described in Section 55.54.(4) The Judicial Council may adopt a form, or modify its existing forms, to implement this section. Before the Judicial Council promulgates a modified form, an entity covered by this part and served with an action regarding an internet website may use or adapt the existing form implementing Section 55.54.(d) This section is not intended to does not do any of the following:(1) Limit the rights and remedies available to persons with a disability under federal law, or any other state law.(2) Affect whether an entity is responsible under either Section 51 or 51.5 for making its premises accessible to all members of the public, including persons with a disability and including by means of accessing and using the entitys internet website.(3) Resolve, or otherwise address, whether an internet website that is a standalone website-only business and not associated with a business that has a physical location in California is subject to liability under Sections 51, 54, and 54.1.(4) Establish a presumption of liability, affect the burden of proof, or otherwise impact a courts determination of liability when an internet website does not conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard and in which case if the presumption established in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) therefore would does not apply. apply or if a plaintiff does not seek statutory damages.(5) Require (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), require an entity to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard. standard or impose liability upon the entity for the inaccessibility of an internet website or resource that is accessed by any links that navigate the user from the entitys internet website to a third-party internet website.(B) An entity shall comply with both of the following:(i) An entity shall not unduly rely on links to third-party resources as a means of evading its responsibility to provide an internet website that provides equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(ii) If a user is required, in order to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions with respect to, or in any other way interact with the business of the entity or the entitys goods, services, or presentations via the internet, to utilize a link to third-party content, the entity shall ensure that the third-party content complies with the internet website-related accessibility standard.(6) Demonstrate an intent by the Legislature, in enacting this section, to deprive or limit the exercise of jurisdiction by federal courts over state law claims brought in conjunction with any federal claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.) or other federal law.(e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: section:(1) Conform means that the entitys internet website website, taking into account the variety of conforming implementations, meets the criteria specified by the applicable internet website-related accessibility standard, as defined in paragraph (4). standard. For purposes of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standard for the accessibility of internet websites established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Accessibility Guidelines Working Group on June 5, 2018, an entity conforms to that standard when if the entitys internet website meets all of the Success Criteria set forth in the standard. standard, except if conformance to the standard is either not necessary or not possible due to the nature of the data sought to be presented on the internet website, and any instance of nonconformance does not impact the ability of a person with a disability to acquire information, engage in interactions, and enjoy the services of the entitys internet website with an ease of use and level of privacy that is substantially equivalent to the experience of other users who are not persons with a disability.(2) Entity means a business establishment that is open to the public, a public place, or a place of public accommodation or any other business or place that is subject to the provisions of Sections 51, 54, or 54.1.(3) Internet website includes all internet web-based technology, including, but not limited to, a mobile site or application, or an app, that can be accessed by a mobile device or other electronic device.(4) Internet website-related accessibility standard means the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standard for the accessibility of internet websites established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Accessibility Guidelines Working Group on June 5, 2018, or the accessibility standards for Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794d) in Part 1194 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations. To the extent that there is a difference or conflict between the applicable standards for internet websites under WCAG 2.1 Level AA and standards for information or communication technology under Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the more recent WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard shall apply, unless a more stringent update, revision, or replacement to the accessibility standards for Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794d) in Part 1194 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations is adopted by any final rule of the federal Access Board United States Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board after the date of the enactment of this section, in which case case, that final rule shall apply to this section.(5) Professional reviewer means an expert in internet website design and accessibility who has a professional certificate in internet website accessibility issued by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), a certificate as a Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA) issued by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), or a certification issued by another source of professional training for front-end internet website developers with criteria for issuance that are equivalent to, or higher than, the requirements for the issuance of a CPWA certificate.(f) This section applies to any civil action filed on or after January 1, 2024.SEC. 3. Section 55.566 is added to the Civil Code, to read:55.566. (a) It is unlawful for any a resource service provider, in exchange for money or any other form of remuneration, to do either of the following:(1) Intentionally, negligently, recklessly, or knowingly construct, license, distribute, or maintain for online use, use an internet website that fails to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard. provide equally effective communication or fails to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(2) Intentionally, negligently, knowingly, or recklessly make a false representation that an internet website conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard. of any of the following:(A) An internet website provides equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(B) An internet website qualifies for the certification described in subdivision (c) of Section 55.565.(C) The resource provider is a professional reviewer or otherwise qualified to assess the accessibility of an internet website.(b) The following parties may bring a civil action pursuant to subdivision (a):(1)(A)A person who is unable to obtain equally effective communication or full and equal enjoyment of an internet website, the content of an internet website, or goods and services offered to the public on an internet website, as a result of the violation.(B)The remedies for a violation of this section pursuant to this paragraph are the remedies provided in subdivision (a) of Section 52.(2)(1) (A) A person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with, the resource service provider to construct, license, distribute, or maintain an internet website for the purpose of providing equally effective communication or facilitating full and equal enjoyment of the person or entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(B) A plaintiff who prevails under this paragraph shall be entitled to collect all damages, including, but not limited to, any statutory damages and attorneys fees paid by the person or entity as a result of a lawsuit against the person or entity pursuant to Sections 51, 54, and 54.1, based upon the inaccessibility of the person or entitys website, and all costs of bringing their internet website into conformance to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(c)Notwithstanding subdivision (b), the Attorney General(2) The Attorney General, the Civil Rights Department, or a district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney may bring an action under this section to obtain the following:(1)(A) Injunctive or declaratory relief.(2)(B) Attorneys fees and costs.(d)(c) A provision within a contract between a person or entity and a resource service provider that seeks to waive liability under this section, or otherwise shift the liability to a person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with the resource service provider, as described under paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), is void as a matter of public policy and subject to subdivision (c) of Section 51.7.(e)(d) This section does not limit or alter the application of other laws, including, but not limited to, Sections 51, 54, and 54.1, and 55, or the ability of a plaintiff to bring a civil action under any other theory of the law, including, but not limited to, breach of contract, implied warranty of merchantability, or false or deceptive advertising.(f)(e) (1) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the same meanings as provided in subdivision (e) of defined in Section 55.565:(A) Conform.(B) Entity.(C) Internet website.(D) Internet website-related accessibility standard.(E) Professional reviewer. (2) (A) For purposes of this section, resource service provider means a person or entity that, in exchange for money or any other form of remuneration, constructs, licenses, distributes, or maintains for online use any internet website or resource to be used within or in conjunction with an internet website.(B) Resource service provider does not mean either of the following:(i) A person or entity that provides hosting or hardware support to an internet website, but does not design, construct, or control the internet website, or resource to be used within or in conjunction with an internet website, in any manner that affects the ability of the website or resource to provide equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of an entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(ii) An individual who is hired by a resource service provider, but does not have a contract directly with the entity who owns the website, including a manual accessibility tester.(g)(f) This section is not intended to does not do any of the following:(1) Limit the rights and remedies available to a person with disabilities under the federal law or any other state law.(2) Affect whether an entity is responsible under either Section 51 or 51.5 for making its premises accessible to all members of the public, including persons with a disability and including by means of accessing and using the entitys internet website.(3) Resolve, or otherwise address, whether an internet website that is a standalone website-only business and not associated with a business that has a physical location in California is subject to liability under Sections 51, 54, and 54.1.(4) Establish a presumption of liability, affect the burden of proof, or otherwise impact a courts determination of liability when if an internet website does not conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(5) Require (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), require an entity to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard. standard or impose liability upon the entity for the inaccessibility of an internet website or resource that is accessed by any links that navigate the user from the entitys internet website to a third-party internet website.(B) An entity shall comply with both of the following:(i) An entity shall not unduly rely on links to third-party resources as a means of evading its responsibility to provide an internet website that provides equally effective communication or facilitates full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(ii) If a user is required, in order to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions with respect to, or in any other way interact with the business of the entity or the entitys goods, services, or presentations via the internet, to utilize a link to third-party content, the entity shall ensure that the third-party content complies with the internet website-related accessibility standard.(6) Demonstrate an intent by the Legislature, in enacting this section, to deprive or limit the exercise of jurisdiction by federal courts over state law claims brought in conjunction with any federal claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.) or other federal law.(7) Establish liability under subdivision (a) when if a resource service provider constructs, licenses, distributes, or maintains establishes that, after the date when the resource service provider constructed, licensed, distributed, or maintained for online use an internet website that fails to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard, but the internet website provides website or resource to be used within, or in conjunction with, an internet website, or issued the certification described in subdivision (c) of Section 55.565, an entity other than the resource service provider, without the knowledge or permission of the resource service provider, altered the internet website or resource in a manner that directly resulted in the internet website or resource no longer providing equally effective communication and facilitates facilitating full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
## The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. The heading of Part 2.53 (commencing with Section 55.55) of Division 1 of the Civil Code is amended to read:PART 2.53. ATTORNEY'S ATTORNEYS FEES AND STATUTORY DAMAGES IN ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS CLAIMS
SECTION 1. The heading of Part 2.53 (commencing with Section 55.55) of Division 1 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
### SECTION 1.
PART 2.53. ATTORNEY'S ATTORNEYS FEES AND STATUTORY DAMAGES IN ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS CLAIMS
PART 2.53. ATTORNEY'S ATTORNEYS FEES AND STATUTORY DAMAGES IN ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS CLAIMS
PART 2.53. ATTORNEY'S ATTORNEYS FEES AND STATUTORY DAMAGES IN ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS CLAIMS
PART 2.53. ATTORNEY'S ATTORNEYS FEES AND STATUTORY DAMAGES IN ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS CLAIMS
SEC. 2. Section 55.565 is added to the Civil Code, immediately following Section 55.56, to read:55.565. (a) Statutory damages under subdivision (a) of either Section 52 or Section 54.3 shall only be recovered against an entity based upon the inaccessibility of an internet website developed, procured, maintained, or used by that entity if the internet website fails to provide equally effective communication or facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(b) To be entitled to statutory damages for internet website inaccessibility, a plaintiff must shall prove one of the following:(1) That the plaintiff personally encountered a specific barrier that caused the plaintiff to experience a difference in their the plaintiffs ability to access or use the internet website as compared to other users such that the plaintiff was unable to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, or enjoy the same services with substantially equivalent ease of use, or to have the same level of privacy and independence as other users who are not persons with a disability.(2) That the plaintiff was deterred from accessing all or part of the internet website or the content of the internet website because of the internet websites failure to provide equally effective communication or to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services offered to the public.(c) (1) An entitys internet website is presumed to provide equally effective communication and to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public for the purpose of determining whether an award of statutory damages is warranted under subdivision (a) of Section 52 or 54.3, if the internet website, taking into account the variety of conforming implementations that may be used to meet the internet website-related accessibility standard, conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard. 54.3 if both of the following criteria are satisfied:(A) The internet website has a certification by a professional reviewer that all of the following are true:(i) The internet website is designed and intended to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(ii) The internet website has been tested, in both an automated manner and a manual manner by qualified users, and has been determined to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(iii) All third-party content that is available on the entitys internet website by means of a link from the internet website and that allows members of the public to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions with respect to, or in any other way interact with, the entity or the entitys goods, services, or presentations, has been tested, in both an automated and manual manner, and has been determined to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(B) The certification described in subparagraph (A) meets all of the following requirements:(i) The certification is made within the prior 12 months or after revisions to the internet website that impact accessibility, whichever is more recent, and is based on a review that includes testing by qualified users.(ii) The certification is posted, or available by means of a clearly marked link, on the home page of the entitys internet website.(iii) The certification includes a statement from the professional reviewer explaining how that person qualifies to be a professional reviewer. If the professional reviewer is not a Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA) with a certificate issued by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), the professional reviewer shall list the type of certification that person has obtained from another source of professional training for front-end internet website developers, as well as the criteria for issuance of that certificate, in order to demonstrate that the criteria are equivalent to, or higher than, the requirements for the issuance of a CPWA certificate.(2) The presumption set forth in paragraph (1) affects the plaintiffs burden of proof. Upon the defendant establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that the internet website conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard, criteria set forth in paragraph (1) are satisfied and that the entitys internet website is therefore presumed to provide equally effective communication and to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, the plaintiff may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence, showing that, notwithstanding the internet websites conformance to the standard, presumption set forth in paragraph (1), the elements of one of the violations set forth in subdivision (b) are established.(3) A defendant who qualifies for the presumption set forth in paragraph (1) is entitled to seek a court stay and early evaluation conference, as described in Section 55.54.(4) The Judicial Council may adopt a form, or modify its existing forms, to implement this section. Before the Judicial Council promulgates a modified form, an entity covered by this part and served with an action regarding an internet website may use or adapt the existing form implementing Section 55.54.(d) This section is not intended to does not do any of the following:(1) Limit the rights and remedies available to persons with a disability under federal law, or any other state law.(2) Affect whether an entity is responsible under either Section 51 or 51.5 for making its premises accessible to all members of the public, including persons with a disability and including by means of accessing and using the entitys internet website.(3) Resolve, or otherwise address, whether an internet website that is a standalone website-only business and not associated with a business that has a physical location in California is subject to liability under Sections 51, 54, and 54.1.(4) Establish a presumption of liability, affect the burden of proof, or otherwise impact a courts determination of liability when an internet website does not conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard and in which case if the presumption established in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) therefore would does not apply. apply or if a plaintiff does not seek statutory damages.(5) Require (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), require an entity to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard. standard or impose liability upon the entity for the inaccessibility of an internet website or resource that is accessed by any links that navigate the user from the entitys internet website to a third-party internet website.(B) An entity shall comply with both of the following:(i) An entity shall not unduly rely on links to third-party resources as a means of evading its responsibility to provide an internet website that provides equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(ii) If a user is required, in order to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions with respect to, or in any other way interact with the business of the entity or the entitys goods, services, or presentations via the internet, to utilize a link to third-party content, the entity shall ensure that the third-party content complies with the internet website-related accessibility standard.(6) Demonstrate an intent by the Legislature, in enacting this section, to deprive or limit the exercise of jurisdiction by federal courts over state law claims brought in conjunction with any federal claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.) or other federal law.(e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: section:(1) Conform means that the entitys internet website website, taking into account the variety of conforming implementations, meets the criteria specified by the applicable internet website-related accessibility standard, as defined in paragraph (4). standard. For purposes of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standard for the accessibility of internet websites established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Accessibility Guidelines Working Group on June 5, 2018, an entity conforms to that standard when if the entitys internet website meets all of the Success Criteria set forth in the standard. standard, except if conformance to the standard is either not necessary or not possible due to the nature of the data sought to be presented on the internet website, and any instance of nonconformance does not impact the ability of a person with a disability to acquire information, engage in interactions, and enjoy the services of the entitys internet website with an ease of use and level of privacy that is substantially equivalent to the experience of other users who are not persons with a disability.(2) Entity means a business establishment that is open to the public, a public place, or a place of public accommodation or any other business or place that is subject to the provisions of Sections 51, 54, or 54.1.(3) Internet website includes all internet web-based technology, including, but not limited to, a mobile site or application, or an app, that can be accessed by a mobile device or other electronic device.(4) Internet website-related accessibility standard means the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standard for the accessibility of internet websites established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Accessibility Guidelines Working Group on June 5, 2018, or the accessibility standards for Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794d) in Part 1194 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations. To the extent that there is a difference or conflict between the applicable standards for internet websites under WCAG 2.1 Level AA and standards for information or communication technology under Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the more recent WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard shall apply, unless a more stringent update, revision, or replacement to the accessibility standards for Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794d) in Part 1194 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations is adopted by any final rule of the federal Access Board United States Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board after the date of the enactment of this section, in which case case, that final rule shall apply to this section.(5) Professional reviewer means an expert in internet website design and accessibility who has a professional certificate in internet website accessibility issued by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), a certificate as a Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA) issued by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), or a certification issued by another source of professional training for front-end internet website developers with criteria for issuance that are equivalent to, or higher than, the requirements for the issuance of a CPWA certificate.(f) This section applies to any civil action filed on or after January 1, 2024.
SEC. 2. Section 55.565 is added to the Civil Code, immediately following Section 55.56, to read:
### SEC. 2.
55.565. (a) Statutory damages under subdivision (a) of either Section 52 or Section 54.3 shall only be recovered against an entity based upon the inaccessibility of an internet website developed, procured, maintained, or used by that entity if the internet website fails to provide equally effective communication or facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(b) To be entitled to statutory damages for internet website inaccessibility, a plaintiff must shall prove one of the following:(1) That the plaintiff personally encountered a specific barrier that caused the plaintiff to experience a difference in their the plaintiffs ability to access or use the internet website as compared to other users such that the plaintiff was unable to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, or enjoy the same services with substantially equivalent ease of use, or to have the same level of privacy and independence as other users who are not persons with a disability.(2) That the plaintiff was deterred from accessing all or part of the internet website or the content of the internet website because of the internet websites failure to provide equally effective communication or to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services offered to the public.(c) (1) An entitys internet website is presumed to provide equally effective communication and to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public for the purpose of determining whether an award of statutory damages is warranted under subdivision (a) of Section 52 or 54.3, if the internet website, taking into account the variety of conforming implementations that may be used to meet the internet website-related accessibility standard, conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard. 54.3 if both of the following criteria are satisfied:(A) The internet website has a certification by a professional reviewer that all of the following are true:(i) The internet website is designed and intended to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(ii) The internet website has been tested, in both an automated manner and a manual manner by qualified users, and has been determined to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(iii) All third-party content that is available on the entitys internet website by means of a link from the internet website and that allows members of the public to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions with respect to, or in any other way interact with, the entity or the entitys goods, services, or presentations, has been tested, in both an automated and manual manner, and has been determined to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(B) The certification described in subparagraph (A) meets all of the following requirements:(i) The certification is made within the prior 12 months or after revisions to the internet website that impact accessibility, whichever is more recent, and is based on a review that includes testing by qualified users.(ii) The certification is posted, or available by means of a clearly marked link, on the home page of the entitys internet website.(iii) The certification includes a statement from the professional reviewer explaining how that person qualifies to be a professional reviewer. If the professional reviewer is not a Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA) with a certificate issued by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), the professional reviewer shall list the type of certification that person has obtained from another source of professional training for front-end internet website developers, as well as the criteria for issuance of that certificate, in order to demonstrate that the criteria are equivalent to, or higher than, the requirements for the issuance of a CPWA certificate.(2) The presumption set forth in paragraph (1) affects the plaintiffs burden of proof. Upon the defendant establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that the internet website conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard, criteria set forth in paragraph (1) are satisfied and that the entitys internet website is therefore presumed to provide equally effective communication and to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, the plaintiff may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence, showing that, notwithstanding the internet websites conformance to the standard, presumption set forth in paragraph (1), the elements of one of the violations set forth in subdivision (b) are established.(3) A defendant who qualifies for the presumption set forth in paragraph (1) is entitled to seek a court stay and early evaluation conference, as described in Section 55.54.(4) The Judicial Council may adopt a form, or modify its existing forms, to implement this section. Before the Judicial Council promulgates a modified form, an entity covered by this part and served with an action regarding an internet website may use or adapt the existing form implementing Section 55.54.(d) This section is not intended to does not do any of the following:(1) Limit the rights and remedies available to persons with a disability under federal law, or any other state law.(2) Affect whether an entity is responsible under either Section 51 or 51.5 for making its premises accessible to all members of the public, including persons with a disability and including by means of accessing and using the entitys internet website.(3) Resolve, or otherwise address, whether an internet website that is a standalone website-only business and not associated with a business that has a physical location in California is subject to liability under Sections 51, 54, and 54.1.(4) Establish a presumption of liability, affect the burden of proof, or otherwise impact a courts determination of liability when an internet website does not conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard and in which case if the presumption established in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) therefore would does not apply. apply or if a plaintiff does not seek statutory damages.(5) Require (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), require an entity to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard. standard or impose liability upon the entity for the inaccessibility of an internet website or resource that is accessed by any links that navigate the user from the entitys internet website to a third-party internet website.(B) An entity shall comply with both of the following:(i) An entity shall not unduly rely on links to third-party resources as a means of evading its responsibility to provide an internet website that provides equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(ii) If a user is required, in order to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions with respect to, or in any other way interact with the business of the entity or the entitys goods, services, or presentations via the internet, to utilize a link to third-party content, the entity shall ensure that the third-party content complies with the internet website-related accessibility standard.(6) Demonstrate an intent by the Legislature, in enacting this section, to deprive or limit the exercise of jurisdiction by federal courts over state law claims brought in conjunction with any federal claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.) or other federal law.(e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: section:(1) Conform means that the entitys internet website website, taking into account the variety of conforming implementations, meets the criteria specified by the applicable internet website-related accessibility standard, as defined in paragraph (4). standard. For purposes of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standard for the accessibility of internet websites established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Accessibility Guidelines Working Group on June 5, 2018, an entity conforms to that standard when if the entitys internet website meets all of the Success Criteria set forth in the standard. standard, except if conformance to the standard is either not necessary or not possible due to the nature of the data sought to be presented on the internet website, and any instance of nonconformance does not impact the ability of a person with a disability to acquire information, engage in interactions, and enjoy the services of the entitys internet website with an ease of use and level of privacy that is substantially equivalent to the experience of other users who are not persons with a disability.(2) Entity means a business establishment that is open to the public, a public place, or a place of public accommodation or any other business or place that is subject to the provisions of Sections 51, 54, or 54.1.(3) Internet website includes all internet web-based technology, including, but not limited to, a mobile site or application, or an app, that can be accessed by a mobile device or other electronic device.(4) Internet website-related accessibility standard means the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standard for the accessibility of internet websites established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Accessibility Guidelines Working Group on June 5, 2018, or the accessibility standards for Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794d) in Part 1194 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations. To the extent that there is a difference or conflict between the applicable standards for internet websites under WCAG 2.1 Level AA and standards for information or communication technology under Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the more recent WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard shall apply, unless a more stringent update, revision, or replacement to the accessibility standards for Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794d) in Part 1194 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations is adopted by any final rule of the federal Access Board United States Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board after the date of the enactment of this section, in which case case, that final rule shall apply to this section.(5) Professional reviewer means an expert in internet website design and accessibility who has a professional certificate in internet website accessibility issued by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), a certificate as a Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA) issued by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), or a certification issued by another source of professional training for front-end internet website developers with criteria for issuance that are equivalent to, or higher than, the requirements for the issuance of a CPWA certificate.(f) This section applies to any civil action filed on or after January 1, 2024.
55.565. (a) Statutory damages under subdivision (a) of either Section 52 or Section 54.3 shall only be recovered against an entity based upon the inaccessibility of an internet website developed, procured, maintained, or used by that entity if the internet website fails to provide equally effective communication or facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(b) To be entitled to statutory damages for internet website inaccessibility, a plaintiff must shall prove one of the following:(1) That the plaintiff personally encountered a specific barrier that caused the plaintiff to experience a difference in their the plaintiffs ability to access or use the internet website as compared to other users such that the plaintiff was unable to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, or enjoy the same services with substantially equivalent ease of use, or to have the same level of privacy and independence as other users who are not persons with a disability.(2) That the plaintiff was deterred from accessing all or part of the internet website or the content of the internet website because of the internet websites failure to provide equally effective communication or to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services offered to the public.(c) (1) An entitys internet website is presumed to provide equally effective communication and to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public for the purpose of determining whether an award of statutory damages is warranted under subdivision (a) of Section 52 or 54.3, if the internet website, taking into account the variety of conforming implementations that may be used to meet the internet website-related accessibility standard, conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard. 54.3 if both of the following criteria are satisfied:(A) The internet website has a certification by a professional reviewer that all of the following are true:(i) The internet website is designed and intended to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(ii) The internet website has been tested, in both an automated manner and a manual manner by qualified users, and has been determined to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(iii) All third-party content that is available on the entitys internet website by means of a link from the internet website and that allows members of the public to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions with respect to, or in any other way interact with, the entity or the entitys goods, services, or presentations, has been tested, in both an automated and manual manner, and has been determined to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(B) The certification described in subparagraph (A) meets all of the following requirements:(i) The certification is made within the prior 12 months or after revisions to the internet website that impact accessibility, whichever is more recent, and is based on a review that includes testing by qualified users.(ii) The certification is posted, or available by means of a clearly marked link, on the home page of the entitys internet website.(iii) The certification includes a statement from the professional reviewer explaining how that person qualifies to be a professional reviewer. If the professional reviewer is not a Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA) with a certificate issued by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), the professional reviewer shall list the type of certification that person has obtained from another source of professional training for front-end internet website developers, as well as the criteria for issuance of that certificate, in order to demonstrate that the criteria are equivalent to, or higher than, the requirements for the issuance of a CPWA certificate.(2) The presumption set forth in paragraph (1) affects the plaintiffs burden of proof. Upon the defendant establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that the internet website conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard, criteria set forth in paragraph (1) are satisfied and that the entitys internet website is therefore presumed to provide equally effective communication and to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, the plaintiff may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence, showing that, notwithstanding the internet websites conformance to the standard, presumption set forth in paragraph (1), the elements of one of the violations set forth in subdivision (b) are established.(3) A defendant who qualifies for the presumption set forth in paragraph (1) is entitled to seek a court stay and early evaluation conference, as described in Section 55.54.(4) The Judicial Council may adopt a form, or modify its existing forms, to implement this section. Before the Judicial Council promulgates a modified form, an entity covered by this part and served with an action regarding an internet website may use or adapt the existing form implementing Section 55.54.(d) This section is not intended to does not do any of the following:(1) Limit the rights and remedies available to persons with a disability under federal law, or any other state law.(2) Affect whether an entity is responsible under either Section 51 or 51.5 for making its premises accessible to all members of the public, including persons with a disability and including by means of accessing and using the entitys internet website.(3) Resolve, or otherwise address, whether an internet website that is a standalone website-only business and not associated with a business that has a physical location in California is subject to liability under Sections 51, 54, and 54.1.(4) Establish a presumption of liability, affect the burden of proof, or otherwise impact a courts determination of liability when an internet website does not conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard and in which case if the presumption established in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) therefore would does not apply. apply or if a plaintiff does not seek statutory damages.(5) Require (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), require an entity to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard. standard or impose liability upon the entity for the inaccessibility of an internet website or resource that is accessed by any links that navigate the user from the entitys internet website to a third-party internet website.(B) An entity shall comply with both of the following:(i) An entity shall not unduly rely on links to third-party resources as a means of evading its responsibility to provide an internet website that provides equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(ii) If a user is required, in order to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions with respect to, or in any other way interact with the business of the entity or the entitys goods, services, or presentations via the internet, to utilize a link to third-party content, the entity shall ensure that the third-party content complies with the internet website-related accessibility standard.(6) Demonstrate an intent by the Legislature, in enacting this section, to deprive or limit the exercise of jurisdiction by federal courts over state law claims brought in conjunction with any federal claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.) or other federal law.(e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: section:(1) Conform means that the entitys internet website website, taking into account the variety of conforming implementations, meets the criteria specified by the applicable internet website-related accessibility standard, as defined in paragraph (4). standard. For purposes of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standard for the accessibility of internet websites established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Accessibility Guidelines Working Group on June 5, 2018, an entity conforms to that standard when if the entitys internet website meets all of the Success Criteria set forth in the standard. standard, except if conformance to the standard is either not necessary or not possible due to the nature of the data sought to be presented on the internet website, and any instance of nonconformance does not impact the ability of a person with a disability to acquire information, engage in interactions, and enjoy the services of the entitys internet website with an ease of use and level of privacy that is substantially equivalent to the experience of other users who are not persons with a disability.(2) Entity means a business establishment that is open to the public, a public place, or a place of public accommodation or any other business or place that is subject to the provisions of Sections 51, 54, or 54.1.(3) Internet website includes all internet web-based technology, including, but not limited to, a mobile site or application, or an app, that can be accessed by a mobile device or other electronic device.(4) Internet website-related accessibility standard means the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standard for the accessibility of internet websites established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Accessibility Guidelines Working Group on June 5, 2018, or the accessibility standards for Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794d) in Part 1194 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations. To the extent that there is a difference or conflict between the applicable standards for internet websites under WCAG 2.1 Level AA and standards for information or communication technology under Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the more recent WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard shall apply, unless a more stringent update, revision, or replacement to the accessibility standards for Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794d) in Part 1194 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations is adopted by any final rule of the federal Access Board United States Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board after the date of the enactment of this section, in which case case, that final rule shall apply to this section.(5) Professional reviewer means an expert in internet website design and accessibility who has a professional certificate in internet website accessibility issued by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), a certificate as a Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA) issued by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), or a certification issued by another source of professional training for front-end internet website developers with criteria for issuance that are equivalent to, or higher than, the requirements for the issuance of a CPWA certificate.(f) This section applies to any civil action filed on or after January 1, 2024.
55.565. (a) Statutory damages under subdivision (a) of either Section 52 or Section 54.3 shall only be recovered against an entity based upon the inaccessibility of an internet website developed, procured, maintained, or used by that entity if the internet website fails to provide equally effective communication or facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(b) To be entitled to statutory damages for internet website inaccessibility, a plaintiff must shall prove one of the following:(1) That the plaintiff personally encountered a specific barrier that caused the plaintiff to experience a difference in their the plaintiffs ability to access or use the internet website as compared to other users such that the plaintiff was unable to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, or enjoy the same services with substantially equivalent ease of use, or to have the same level of privacy and independence as other users who are not persons with a disability.(2) That the plaintiff was deterred from accessing all or part of the internet website or the content of the internet website because of the internet websites failure to provide equally effective communication or to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services offered to the public.(c) (1) An entitys internet website is presumed to provide equally effective communication and to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public for the purpose of determining whether an award of statutory damages is warranted under subdivision (a) of Section 52 or 54.3, if the internet website, taking into account the variety of conforming implementations that may be used to meet the internet website-related accessibility standard, conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard. 54.3 if both of the following criteria are satisfied:(A) The internet website has a certification by a professional reviewer that all of the following are true:(i) The internet website is designed and intended to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(ii) The internet website has been tested, in both an automated manner and a manual manner by qualified users, and has been determined to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(iii) All third-party content that is available on the entitys internet website by means of a link from the internet website and that allows members of the public to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions with respect to, or in any other way interact with, the entity or the entitys goods, services, or presentations, has been tested, in both an automated and manual manner, and has been determined to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(B) The certification described in subparagraph (A) meets all of the following requirements:(i) The certification is made within the prior 12 months or after revisions to the internet website that impact accessibility, whichever is more recent, and is based on a review that includes testing by qualified users.(ii) The certification is posted, or available by means of a clearly marked link, on the home page of the entitys internet website.(iii) The certification includes a statement from the professional reviewer explaining how that person qualifies to be a professional reviewer. If the professional reviewer is not a Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA) with a certificate issued by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), the professional reviewer shall list the type of certification that person has obtained from another source of professional training for front-end internet website developers, as well as the criteria for issuance of that certificate, in order to demonstrate that the criteria are equivalent to, or higher than, the requirements for the issuance of a CPWA certificate.(2) The presumption set forth in paragraph (1) affects the plaintiffs burden of proof. Upon the defendant establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that the internet website conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard, criteria set forth in paragraph (1) are satisfied and that the entitys internet website is therefore presumed to provide equally effective communication and to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, the plaintiff may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence, showing that, notwithstanding the internet websites conformance to the standard, presumption set forth in paragraph (1), the elements of one of the violations set forth in subdivision (b) are established.(3) A defendant who qualifies for the presumption set forth in paragraph (1) is entitled to seek a court stay and early evaluation conference, as described in Section 55.54.(4) The Judicial Council may adopt a form, or modify its existing forms, to implement this section. Before the Judicial Council promulgates a modified form, an entity covered by this part and served with an action regarding an internet website may use or adapt the existing form implementing Section 55.54.(d) This section is not intended to does not do any of the following:(1) Limit the rights and remedies available to persons with a disability under federal law, or any other state law.(2) Affect whether an entity is responsible under either Section 51 or 51.5 for making its premises accessible to all members of the public, including persons with a disability and including by means of accessing and using the entitys internet website.(3) Resolve, or otherwise address, whether an internet website that is a standalone website-only business and not associated with a business that has a physical location in California is subject to liability under Sections 51, 54, and 54.1.(4) Establish a presumption of liability, affect the burden of proof, or otherwise impact a courts determination of liability when an internet website does not conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard and in which case if the presumption established in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) therefore would does not apply. apply or if a plaintiff does not seek statutory damages.(5) Require (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), require an entity to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard. standard or impose liability upon the entity for the inaccessibility of an internet website or resource that is accessed by any links that navigate the user from the entitys internet website to a third-party internet website.(B) An entity shall comply with both of the following:(i) An entity shall not unduly rely on links to third-party resources as a means of evading its responsibility to provide an internet website that provides equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(ii) If a user is required, in order to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions with respect to, or in any other way interact with the business of the entity or the entitys goods, services, or presentations via the internet, to utilize a link to third-party content, the entity shall ensure that the third-party content complies with the internet website-related accessibility standard.(6) Demonstrate an intent by the Legislature, in enacting this section, to deprive or limit the exercise of jurisdiction by federal courts over state law claims brought in conjunction with any federal claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.) or other federal law.(e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: section:(1) Conform means that the entitys internet website website, taking into account the variety of conforming implementations, meets the criteria specified by the applicable internet website-related accessibility standard, as defined in paragraph (4). standard. For purposes of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standard for the accessibility of internet websites established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Accessibility Guidelines Working Group on June 5, 2018, an entity conforms to that standard when if the entitys internet website meets all of the Success Criteria set forth in the standard. standard, except if conformance to the standard is either not necessary or not possible due to the nature of the data sought to be presented on the internet website, and any instance of nonconformance does not impact the ability of a person with a disability to acquire information, engage in interactions, and enjoy the services of the entitys internet website with an ease of use and level of privacy that is substantially equivalent to the experience of other users who are not persons with a disability.(2) Entity means a business establishment that is open to the public, a public place, or a place of public accommodation or any other business or place that is subject to the provisions of Sections 51, 54, or 54.1.(3) Internet website includes all internet web-based technology, including, but not limited to, a mobile site or application, or an app, that can be accessed by a mobile device or other electronic device.(4) Internet website-related accessibility standard means the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standard for the accessibility of internet websites established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Accessibility Guidelines Working Group on June 5, 2018, or the accessibility standards for Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794d) in Part 1194 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations. To the extent that there is a difference or conflict between the applicable standards for internet websites under WCAG 2.1 Level AA and standards for information or communication technology under Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the more recent WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard shall apply, unless a more stringent update, revision, or replacement to the accessibility standards for Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794d) in Part 1194 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations is adopted by any final rule of the federal Access Board United States Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board after the date of the enactment of this section, in which case case, that final rule shall apply to this section.(5) Professional reviewer means an expert in internet website design and accessibility who has a professional certificate in internet website accessibility issued by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), a certificate as a Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA) issued by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), or a certification issued by another source of professional training for front-end internet website developers with criteria for issuance that are equivalent to, or higher than, the requirements for the issuance of a CPWA certificate.(f) This section applies to any civil action filed on or after January 1, 2024.
55.565. (a) Statutory damages under subdivision (a) of either Section 52 or Section 54.3 shall only be recovered against an entity based upon the inaccessibility of an internet website developed, procured, maintained, or used by that entity if the internet website fails to provide equally effective communication or facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.
(b) To be entitled to statutory damages for internet website inaccessibility, a plaintiff must shall prove one of the following:
(1) That the plaintiff personally encountered a specific barrier that caused the plaintiff to experience a difference in their the plaintiffs ability to access or use the internet website as compared to other users such that the plaintiff was unable to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, or enjoy the same services with substantially equivalent ease of use, or to have the same level of privacy and independence as other users who are not persons with a disability.
(2) That the plaintiff was deterred from accessing all or part of the internet website or the content of the internet website because of the internet websites failure to provide equally effective communication or to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services offered to the public.
(c) (1) An entitys internet website is presumed to provide equally effective communication and to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public for the purpose of determining whether an award of statutory damages is warranted under subdivision (a) of Section 52 or 54.3, if the internet website, taking into account the variety of conforming implementations that may be used to meet the internet website-related accessibility standard, conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard. 54.3 if both of the following criteria are satisfied:
(A) The internet website has a certification by a professional reviewer that all of the following are true:
(i) The internet website is designed and intended to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.
(ii) The internet website has been tested, in both an automated manner and a manual manner by qualified users, and has been determined to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.
(iii) All third-party content that is available on the entitys internet website by means of a link from the internet website and that allows members of the public to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions with respect to, or in any other way interact with, the entity or the entitys goods, services, or presentations, has been tested, in both an automated and manual manner, and has been determined to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.
(B) The certification described in subparagraph (A) meets all of the following requirements:
(i) The certification is made within the prior 12 months or after revisions to the internet website that impact accessibility, whichever is more recent, and is based on a review that includes testing by qualified users.
(ii) The certification is posted, or available by means of a clearly marked link, on the home page of the entitys internet website.
(iii) The certification includes a statement from the professional reviewer explaining how that person qualifies to be a professional reviewer. If the professional reviewer is not a Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA) with a certificate issued by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), the professional reviewer shall list the type of certification that person has obtained from another source of professional training for front-end internet website developers, as well as the criteria for issuance of that certificate, in order to demonstrate that the criteria are equivalent to, or higher than, the requirements for the issuance of a CPWA certificate.
(2) The presumption set forth in paragraph (1) affects the plaintiffs burden of proof. Upon the defendant establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that the internet website conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard, criteria set forth in paragraph (1) are satisfied and that the entitys internet website is therefore presumed to provide equally effective communication and to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, the plaintiff may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence, showing that, notwithstanding the internet websites conformance to the standard, presumption set forth in paragraph (1), the elements of one of the violations set forth in subdivision (b) are established.
(3) A defendant who qualifies for the presumption set forth in paragraph (1) is entitled to seek a court stay and early evaluation conference, as described in Section 55.54.
(4) The Judicial Council may adopt a form, or modify its existing forms, to implement this section. Before the Judicial Council promulgates a modified form, an entity covered by this part and served with an action regarding an internet website may use or adapt the existing form implementing Section 55.54.
(d) This section is not intended to does not do any of the following:
(1) Limit the rights and remedies available to persons with a disability under federal law, or any other state law.
(2) Affect whether an entity is responsible under either Section 51 or 51.5 for making its premises accessible to all members of the public, including persons with a disability and including by means of accessing and using the entitys internet website.
(3) Resolve, or otherwise address, whether an internet website that is a standalone website-only business and not associated with a business that has a physical location in California is subject to liability under Sections 51, 54, and 54.1.
(4) Establish a presumption of liability, affect the burden of proof, or otherwise impact a courts determination of liability when an internet website does not conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard and in which case if the presumption established in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) therefore would does not apply. apply or if a plaintiff does not seek statutory damages.
(5) Require (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), require an entity to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard. standard or impose liability upon the entity for the inaccessibility of an internet website or resource that is accessed by any links that navigate the user from the entitys internet website to a third-party internet website.
(B) An entity shall comply with both of the following:
(i) An entity shall not unduly rely on links to third-party resources as a means of evading its responsibility to provide an internet website that provides equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.
(ii) If a user is required, in order to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions with respect to, or in any other way interact with the business of the entity or the entitys goods, services, or presentations via the internet, to utilize a link to third-party content, the entity shall ensure that the third-party content complies with the internet website-related accessibility standard.
(6) Demonstrate an intent by the Legislature, in enacting this section, to deprive or limit the exercise of jurisdiction by federal courts over state law claims brought in conjunction with any federal claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.) or other federal law.
(e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: section:
(1) Conform means that the entitys internet website website, taking into account the variety of conforming implementations, meets the criteria specified by the applicable internet website-related accessibility standard, as defined in paragraph (4). standard. For purposes of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standard for the accessibility of internet websites established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Accessibility Guidelines Working Group on June 5, 2018, an entity conforms to that standard when if the entitys internet website meets all of the Success Criteria set forth in the standard. standard, except if conformance to the standard is either not necessary or not possible due to the nature of the data sought to be presented on the internet website, and any instance of nonconformance does not impact the ability of a person with a disability to acquire information, engage in interactions, and enjoy the services of the entitys internet website with an ease of use and level of privacy that is substantially equivalent to the experience of other users who are not persons with a disability.
(2) Entity means a business establishment that is open to the public, a public place, or a place of public accommodation or any other business or place that is subject to the provisions of Sections 51, 54, or 54.1.
(3) Internet website includes all internet web-based technology, including, but not limited to, a mobile site or application, or an app, that can be accessed by a mobile device or other electronic device.
(4) Internet website-related accessibility standard means the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standard for the accessibility of internet websites established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Accessibility Guidelines Working Group on June 5, 2018, or the accessibility standards for Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794d) in Part 1194 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations. To the extent that there is a difference or conflict between the applicable standards for internet websites under WCAG 2.1 Level AA and standards for information or communication technology under Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the more recent WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard shall apply, unless a more stringent update, revision, or replacement to the accessibility standards for Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794d) in Part 1194 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations is adopted by any final rule of the federal Access Board United States Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board after the date of the enactment of this section, in which case case, that final rule shall apply to this section.
(5) Professional reviewer means an expert in internet website design and accessibility who has a professional certificate in internet website accessibility issued by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), a certificate as a Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA) issued by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), or a certification issued by another source of professional training for front-end internet website developers with criteria for issuance that are equivalent to, or higher than, the requirements for the issuance of a CPWA certificate.
(f) This section applies to any civil action filed on or after January 1, 2024.
SEC. 3. Section 55.566 is added to the Civil Code, to read:55.566. (a) It is unlawful for any a resource service provider, in exchange for money or any other form of remuneration, to do either of the following:(1) Intentionally, negligently, recklessly, or knowingly construct, license, distribute, or maintain for online use, use an internet website that fails to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard. provide equally effective communication or fails to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(2) Intentionally, negligently, knowingly, or recklessly make a false representation that an internet website conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard. of any of the following:(A) An internet website provides equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(B) An internet website qualifies for the certification described in subdivision (c) of Section 55.565.(C) The resource provider is a professional reviewer or otherwise qualified to assess the accessibility of an internet website.(b) The following parties may bring a civil action pursuant to subdivision (a):(1)(A)A person who is unable to obtain equally effective communication or full and equal enjoyment of an internet website, the content of an internet website, or goods and services offered to the public on an internet website, as a result of the violation.(B)The remedies for a violation of this section pursuant to this paragraph are the remedies provided in subdivision (a) of Section 52.(2)(1) (A) A person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with, the resource service provider to construct, license, distribute, or maintain an internet website for the purpose of providing equally effective communication or facilitating full and equal enjoyment of the person or entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(B) A plaintiff who prevails under this paragraph shall be entitled to collect all damages, including, but not limited to, any statutory damages and attorneys fees paid by the person or entity as a result of a lawsuit against the person or entity pursuant to Sections 51, 54, and 54.1, based upon the inaccessibility of the person or entitys website, and all costs of bringing their internet website into conformance to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(c)Notwithstanding subdivision (b), the Attorney General(2) The Attorney General, the Civil Rights Department, or a district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney may bring an action under this section to obtain the following:(1)(A) Injunctive or declaratory relief.(2)(B) Attorneys fees and costs.(d)(c) A provision within a contract between a person or entity and a resource service provider that seeks to waive liability under this section, or otherwise shift the liability to a person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with the resource service provider, as described under paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), is void as a matter of public policy and subject to subdivision (c) of Section 51.7.(e)(d) This section does not limit or alter the application of other laws, including, but not limited to, Sections 51, 54, and 54.1, and 55, or the ability of a plaintiff to bring a civil action under any other theory of the law, including, but not limited to, breach of contract, implied warranty of merchantability, or false or deceptive advertising.(f)(e) (1) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the same meanings as provided in subdivision (e) of defined in Section 55.565:(A) Conform.(B) Entity.(C) Internet website.(D) Internet website-related accessibility standard.(E) Professional reviewer. (2) (A) For purposes of this section, resource service provider means a person or entity that, in exchange for money or any other form of remuneration, constructs, licenses, distributes, or maintains for online use any internet website or resource to be used within or in conjunction with an internet website.(B) Resource service provider does not mean either of the following:(i) A person or entity that provides hosting or hardware support to an internet website, but does not design, construct, or control the internet website, or resource to be used within or in conjunction with an internet website, in any manner that affects the ability of the website or resource to provide equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of an entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(ii) An individual who is hired by a resource service provider, but does not have a contract directly with the entity who owns the website, including a manual accessibility tester.(g)(f) This section is not intended to does not do any of the following:(1) Limit the rights and remedies available to a person with disabilities under the federal law or any other state law.(2) Affect whether an entity is responsible under either Section 51 or 51.5 for making its premises accessible to all members of the public, including persons with a disability and including by means of accessing and using the entitys internet website.(3) Resolve, or otherwise address, whether an internet website that is a standalone website-only business and not associated with a business that has a physical location in California is subject to liability under Sections 51, 54, and 54.1.(4) Establish a presumption of liability, affect the burden of proof, or otherwise impact a courts determination of liability when if an internet website does not conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(5) Require (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), require an entity to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard. standard or impose liability upon the entity for the inaccessibility of an internet website or resource that is accessed by any links that navigate the user from the entitys internet website to a third-party internet website.(B) An entity shall comply with both of the following:(i) An entity shall not unduly rely on links to third-party resources as a means of evading its responsibility to provide an internet website that provides equally effective communication or facilitates full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(ii) If a user is required, in order to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions with respect to, or in any other way interact with the business of the entity or the entitys goods, services, or presentations via the internet, to utilize a link to third-party content, the entity shall ensure that the third-party content complies with the internet website-related accessibility standard.(6) Demonstrate an intent by the Legislature, in enacting this section, to deprive or limit the exercise of jurisdiction by federal courts over state law claims brought in conjunction with any federal claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.) or other federal law.(7) Establish liability under subdivision (a) when if a resource service provider constructs, licenses, distributes, or maintains establishes that, after the date when the resource service provider constructed, licensed, distributed, or maintained for online use an internet website that fails to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard, but the internet website provides website or resource to be used within, or in conjunction with, an internet website, or issued the certification described in subdivision (c) of Section 55.565, an entity other than the resource service provider, without the knowledge or permission of the resource service provider, altered the internet website or resource in a manner that directly resulted in the internet website or resource no longer providing equally effective communication and facilitates facilitating full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.
SEC. 3. Section 55.566 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
### SEC. 3.
55.566. (a) It is unlawful for any a resource service provider, in exchange for money or any other form of remuneration, to do either of the following:(1) Intentionally, negligently, recklessly, or knowingly construct, license, distribute, or maintain for online use, use an internet website that fails to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard. provide equally effective communication or fails to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(2) Intentionally, negligently, knowingly, or recklessly make a false representation that an internet website conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard. of any of the following:(A) An internet website provides equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(B) An internet website qualifies for the certification described in subdivision (c) of Section 55.565.(C) The resource provider is a professional reviewer or otherwise qualified to assess the accessibility of an internet website.(b) The following parties may bring a civil action pursuant to subdivision (a):(1)(A)A person who is unable to obtain equally effective communication or full and equal enjoyment of an internet website, the content of an internet website, or goods and services offered to the public on an internet website, as a result of the violation.(B)The remedies for a violation of this section pursuant to this paragraph are the remedies provided in subdivision (a) of Section 52.(2)(1) (A) A person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with, the resource service provider to construct, license, distribute, or maintain an internet website for the purpose of providing equally effective communication or facilitating full and equal enjoyment of the person or entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(B) A plaintiff who prevails under this paragraph shall be entitled to collect all damages, including, but not limited to, any statutory damages and attorneys fees paid by the person or entity as a result of a lawsuit against the person or entity pursuant to Sections 51, 54, and 54.1, based upon the inaccessibility of the person or entitys website, and all costs of bringing their internet website into conformance to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(c)Notwithstanding subdivision (b), the Attorney General(2) The Attorney General, the Civil Rights Department, or a district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney may bring an action under this section to obtain the following:(1)(A) Injunctive or declaratory relief.(2)(B) Attorneys fees and costs.(d)(c) A provision within a contract between a person or entity and a resource service provider that seeks to waive liability under this section, or otherwise shift the liability to a person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with the resource service provider, as described under paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), is void as a matter of public policy and subject to subdivision (c) of Section 51.7.(e)(d) This section does not limit or alter the application of other laws, including, but not limited to, Sections 51, 54, and 54.1, and 55, or the ability of a plaintiff to bring a civil action under any other theory of the law, including, but not limited to, breach of contract, implied warranty of merchantability, or false or deceptive advertising.(f)(e) (1) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the same meanings as provided in subdivision (e) of defined in Section 55.565:(A) Conform.(B) Entity.(C) Internet website.(D) Internet website-related accessibility standard.(E) Professional reviewer. (2) (A) For purposes of this section, resource service provider means a person or entity that, in exchange for money or any other form of remuneration, constructs, licenses, distributes, or maintains for online use any internet website or resource to be used within or in conjunction with an internet website.(B) Resource service provider does not mean either of the following:(i) A person or entity that provides hosting or hardware support to an internet website, but does not design, construct, or control the internet website, or resource to be used within or in conjunction with an internet website, in any manner that affects the ability of the website or resource to provide equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of an entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(ii) An individual who is hired by a resource service provider, but does not have a contract directly with the entity who owns the website, including a manual accessibility tester.(g)(f) This section is not intended to does not do any of the following:(1) Limit the rights and remedies available to a person with disabilities under the federal law or any other state law.(2) Affect whether an entity is responsible under either Section 51 or 51.5 for making its premises accessible to all members of the public, including persons with a disability and including by means of accessing and using the entitys internet website.(3) Resolve, or otherwise address, whether an internet website that is a standalone website-only business and not associated with a business that has a physical location in California is subject to liability under Sections 51, 54, and 54.1.(4) Establish a presumption of liability, affect the burden of proof, or otherwise impact a courts determination of liability when if an internet website does not conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(5) Require (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), require an entity to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard. standard or impose liability upon the entity for the inaccessibility of an internet website or resource that is accessed by any links that navigate the user from the entitys internet website to a third-party internet website.(B) An entity shall comply with both of the following:(i) An entity shall not unduly rely on links to third-party resources as a means of evading its responsibility to provide an internet website that provides equally effective communication or facilitates full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(ii) If a user is required, in order to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions with respect to, or in any other way interact with the business of the entity or the entitys goods, services, or presentations via the internet, to utilize a link to third-party content, the entity shall ensure that the third-party content complies with the internet website-related accessibility standard.(6) Demonstrate an intent by the Legislature, in enacting this section, to deprive or limit the exercise of jurisdiction by federal courts over state law claims brought in conjunction with any federal claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.) or other federal law.(7) Establish liability under subdivision (a) when if a resource service provider constructs, licenses, distributes, or maintains establishes that, after the date when the resource service provider constructed, licensed, distributed, or maintained for online use an internet website that fails to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard, but the internet website provides website or resource to be used within, or in conjunction with, an internet website, or issued the certification described in subdivision (c) of Section 55.565, an entity other than the resource service provider, without the knowledge or permission of the resource service provider, altered the internet website or resource in a manner that directly resulted in the internet website or resource no longer providing equally effective communication and facilitates facilitating full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.
55.566. (a) It is unlawful for any a resource service provider, in exchange for money or any other form of remuneration, to do either of the following:(1) Intentionally, negligently, recklessly, or knowingly construct, license, distribute, or maintain for online use, use an internet website that fails to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard. provide equally effective communication or fails to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(2) Intentionally, negligently, knowingly, or recklessly make a false representation that an internet website conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard. of any of the following:(A) An internet website provides equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(B) An internet website qualifies for the certification described in subdivision (c) of Section 55.565.(C) The resource provider is a professional reviewer or otherwise qualified to assess the accessibility of an internet website.(b) The following parties may bring a civil action pursuant to subdivision (a):(1)(A)A person who is unable to obtain equally effective communication or full and equal enjoyment of an internet website, the content of an internet website, or goods and services offered to the public on an internet website, as a result of the violation.(B)The remedies for a violation of this section pursuant to this paragraph are the remedies provided in subdivision (a) of Section 52.(2)(1) (A) A person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with, the resource service provider to construct, license, distribute, or maintain an internet website for the purpose of providing equally effective communication or facilitating full and equal enjoyment of the person or entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(B) A plaintiff who prevails under this paragraph shall be entitled to collect all damages, including, but not limited to, any statutory damages and attorneys fees paid by the person or entity as a result of a lawsuit against the person or entity pursuant to Sections 51, 54, and 54.1, based upon the inaccessibility of the person or entitys website, and all costs of bringing their internet website into conformance to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(c)Notwithstanding subdivision (b), the Attorney General(2) The Attorney General, the Civil Rights Department, or a district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney may bring an action under this section to obtain the following:(1)(A) Injunctive or declaratory relief.(2)(B) Attorneys fees and costs.(d)(c) A provision within a contract between a person or entity and a resource service provider that seeks to waive liability under this section, or otherwise shift the liability to a person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with the resource service provider, as described under paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), is void as a matter of public policy and subject to subdivision (c) of Section 51.7.(e)(d) This section does not limit or alter the application of other laws, including, but not limited to, Sections 51, 54, and 54.1, and 55, or the ability of a plaintiff to bring a civil action under any other theory of the law, including, but not limited to, breach of contract, implied warranty of merchantability, or false or deceptive advertising.(f)(e) (1) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the same meanings as provided in subdivision (e) of defined in Section 55.565:(A) Conform.(B) Entity.(C) Internet website.(D) Internet website-related accessibility standard.(E) Professional reviewer. (2) (A) For purposes of this section, resource service provider means a person or entity that, in exchange for money or any other form of remuneration, constructs, licenses, distributes, or maintains for online use any internet website or resource to be used within or in conjunction with an internet website.(B) Resource service provider does not mean either of the following:(i) A person or entity that provides hosting or hardware support to an internet website, but does not design, construct, or control the internet website, or resource to be used within or in conjunction with an internet website, in any manner that affects the ability of the website or resource to provide equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of an entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(ii) An individual who is hired by a resource service provider, but does not have a contract directly with the entity who owns the website, including a manual accessibility tester.(g)(f) This section is not intended to does not do any of the following:(1) Limit the rights and remedies available to a person with disabilities under the federal law or any other state law.(2) Affect whether an entity is responsible under either Section 51 or 51.5 for making its premises accessible to all members of the public, including persons with a disability and including by means of accessing and using the entitys internet website.(3) Resolve, or otherwise address, whether an internet website that is a standalone website-only business and not associated with a business that has a physical location in California is subject to liability under Sections 51, 54, and 54.1.(4) Establish a presumption of liability, affect the burden of proof, or otherwise impact a courts determination of liability when if an internet website does not conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(5) Require (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), require an entity to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard. standard or impose liability upon the entity for the inaccessibility of an internet website or resource that is accessed by any links that navigate the user from the entitys internet website to a third-party internet website.(B) An entity shall comply with both of the following:(i) An entity shall not unduly rely on links to third-party resources as a means of evading its responsibility to provide an internet website that provides equally effective communication or facilitates full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(ii) If a user is required, in order to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions with respect to, or in any other way interact with the business of the entity or the entitys goods, services, or presentations via the internet, to utilize a link to third-party content, the entity shall ensure that the third-party content complies with the internet website-related accessibility standard.(6) Demonstrate an intent by the Legislature, in enacting this section, to deprive or limit the exercise of jurisdiction by federal courts over state law claims brought in conjunction with any federal claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.) or other federal law.(7) Establish liability under subdivision (a) when if a resource service provider constructs, licenses, distributes, or maintains establishes that, after the date when the resource service provider constructed, licensed, distributed, or maintained for online use an internet website that fails to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard, but the internet website provides website or resource to be used within, or in conjunction with, an internet website, or issued the certification described in subdivision (c) of Section 55.565, an entity other than the resource service provider, without the knowledge or permission of the resource service provider, altered the internet website or resource in a manner that directly resulted in the internet website or resource no longer providing equally effective communication and facilitates facilitating full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.
55.566. (a) It is unlawful for any a resource service provider, in exchange for money or any other form of remuneration, to do either of the following:(1) Intentionally, negligently, recklessly, or knowingly construct, license, distribute, or maintain for online use, use an internet website that fails to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard. provide equally effective communication or fails to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(2) Intentionally, negligently, knowingly, or recklessly make a false representation that an internet website conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard. of any of the following:(A) An internet website provides equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(B) An internet website qualifies for the certification described in subdivision (c) of Section 55.565.(C) The resource provider is a professional reviewer or otherwise qualified to assess the accessibility of an internet website.(b) The following parties may bring a civil action pursuant to subdivision (a):(1)(A)A person who is unable to obtain equally effective communication or full and equal enjoyment of an internet website, the content of an internet website, or goods and services offered to the public on an internet website, as a result of the violation.(B)The remedies for a violation of this section pursuant to this paragraph are the remedies provided in subdivision (a) of Section 52.(2)(1) (A) A person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with, the resource service provider to construct, license, distribute, or maintain an internet website for the purpose of providing equally effective communication or facilitating full and equal enjoyment of the person or entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(B) A plaintiff who prevails under this paragraph shall be entitled to collect all damages, including, but not limited to, any statutory damages and attorneys fees paid by the person or entity as a result of a lawsuit against the person or entity pursuant to Sections 51, 54, and 54.1, based upon the inaccessibility of the person or entitys website, and all costs of bringing their internet website into conformance to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(c)Notwithstanding subdivision (b), the Attorney General(2) The Attorney General, the Civil Rights Department, or a district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney may bring an action under this section to obtain the following:(1)(A) Injunctive or declaratory relief.(2)(B) Attorneys fees and costs.(d)(c) A provision within a contract between a person or entity and a resource service provider that seeks to waive liability under this section, or otherwise shift the liability to a person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with the resource service provider, as described under paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), is void as a matter of public policy and subject to subdivision (c) of Section 51.7.(e)(d) This section does not limit or alter the application of other laws, including, but not limited to, Sections 51, 54, and 54.1, and 55, or the ability of a plaintiff to bring a civil action under any other theory of the law, including, but not limited to, breach of contract, implied warranty of merchantability, or false or deceptive advertising.(f)(e) (1) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the same meanings as provided in subdivision (e) of defined in Section 55.565:(A) Conform.(B) Entity.(C) Internet website.(D) Internet website-related accessibility standard.(E) Professional reviewer. (2) (A) For purposes of this section, resource service provider means a person or entity that, in exchange for money or any other form of remuneration, constructs, licenses, distributes, or maintains for online use any internet website or resource to be used within or in conjunction with an internet website.(B) Resource service provider does not mean either of the following:(i) A person or entity that provides hosting or hardware support to an internet website, but does not design, construct, or control the internet website, or resource to be used within or in conjunction with an internet website, in any manner that affects the ability of the website or resource to provide equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of an entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(ii) An individual who is hired by a resource service provider, but does not have a contract directly with the entity who owns the website, including a manual accessibility tester.(g)(f) This section is not intended to does not do any of the following:(1) Limit the rights and remedies available to a person with disabilities under the federal law or any other state law.(2) Affect whether an entity is responsible under either Section 51 or 51.5 for making its premises accessible to all members of the public, including persons with a disability and including by means of accessing and using the entitys internet website.(3) Resolve, or otherwise address, whether an internet website that is a standalone website-only business and not associated with a business that has a physical location in California is subject to liability under Sections 51, 54, and 54.1.(4) Establish a presumption of liability, affect the burden of proof, or otherwise impact a courts determination of liability when if an internet website does not conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.(5) Require (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), require an entity to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard. standard or impose liability upon the entity for the inaccessibility of an internet website or resource that is accessed by any links that navigate the user from the entitys internet website to a third-party internet website.(B) An entity shall comply with both of the following:(i) An entity shall not unduly rely on links to third-party resources as a means of evading its responsibility to provide an internet website that provides equally effective communication or facilitates full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.(ii) If a user is required, in order to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions with respect to, or in any other way interact with the business of the entity or the entitys goods, services, or presentations via the internet, to utilize a link to third-party content, the entity shall ensure that the third-party content complies with the internet website-related accessibility standard.(6) Demonstrate an intent by the Legislature, in enacting this section, to deprive or limit the exercise of jurisdiction by federal courts over state law claims brought in conjunction with any federal claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.) or other federal law.(7) Establish liability under subdivision (a) when if a resource service provider constructs, licenses, distributes, or maintains establishes that, after the date when the resource service provider constructed, licensed, distributed, or maintained for online use an internet website that fails to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard, but the internet website provides website or resource to be used within, or in conjunction with, an internet website, or issued the certification described in subdivision (c) of Section 55.565, an entity other than the resource service provider, without the knowledge or permission of the resource service provider, altered the internet website or resource in a manner that directly resulted in the internet website or resource no longer providing equally effective communication and facilitates facilitating full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.
55.566. (a) It is unlawful for any a resource service provider, in exchange for money or any other form of remuneration, to do either of the following:
(1) Intentionally, negligently, recklessly, or knowingly construct, license, distribute, or maintain for online use, use an internet website that fails to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard. provide equally effective communication or fails to facilitate full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.
(2) Intentionally, negligently, knowingly, or recklessly make a false representation that an internet website conforms to the internet website-related accessibility standard. of any of the following:
(A) An internet website provides equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.
(B) An internet website qualifies for the certification described in subdivision (c) of Section 55.565.
(C) The resource provider is a professional reviewer or otherwise qualified to assess the accessibility of an internet website.
(b) The following parties may bring a civil action pursuant to subdivision (a):
(1)(A)A person who is unable to obtain equally effective communication or full and equal enjoyment of an internet website, the content of an internet website, or goods and services offered to the public on an internet website, as a result of the violation.
(B)The remedies for a violation of this section pursuant to this paragraph are the remedies provided in subdivision (a) of Section 52.
(2)
(1) (A) A person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with, the resource service provider to construct, license, distribute, or maintain an internet website for the purpose of providing equally effective communication or facilitating full and equal enjoyment of the person or entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.
(B) A plaintiff who prevails under this paragraph shall be entitled to collect all damages, including, but not limited to, any statutory damages and attorneys fees paid by the person or entity as a result of a lawsuit against the person or entity pursuant to Sections 51, 54, and 54.1, based upon the inaccessibility of the person or entitys website, and all costs of bringing their internet website into conformance to the internet website-related accessibility standard.
(c)Notwithstanding subdivision (b), the Attorney General
(2) The Attorney General, the Civil Rights Department, or a district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney may bring an action under this section to obtain the following:
(1)
(A) Injunctive or declaratory relief.
(2)
(B) Attorneys fees and costs.
(d)
(c) A provision within a contract between a person or entity and a resource service provider that seeks to waive liability under this section, or otherwise shift the liability to a person or entity that pays, compensates, or contracts with the resource service provider, as described under paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), is void as a matter of public policy and subject to subdivision (c) of Section 51.7.
(e)
(d) This section does not limit or alter the application of other laws, including, but not limited to, Sections 51, 54, and 54.1, and 55, or the ability of a plaintiff to bring a civil action under any other theory of the law, including, but not limited to, breach of contract, implied warranty of merchantability, or false or deceptive advertising.
(f)
(e) (1) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the same meanings as provided in subdivision (e) of defined in Section 55.565:
(A) Conform.
(B) Entity.
(C) Internet website.
(D) Internet website-related accessibility standard.
(E) Professional reviewer.
(2) (A) For purposes of this section, resource service provider means a person or entity that, in exchange for money or any other form of remuneration, constructs, licenses, distributes, or maintains for online use any internet website or resource to be used within or in conjunction with an internet website.
(B) Resource service provider does not mean either of the following:
(i) A person or entity that provides hosting or hardware support to an internet website, but does not design, construct, or control the internet website, or resource to be used within or in conjunction with an internet website, in any manner that affects the ability of the website or resource to provide equally effective communication and facilitates full and equal enjoyment of an entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.
(ii) An individual who is hired by a resource service provider, but does not have a contract directly with the entity who owns the website, including a manual accessibility tester.
(g)
(f) This section is not intended to does not do any of the following:
(1) Limit the rights and remedies available to a person with disabilities under the federal law or any other state law.
(2) Affect whether an entity is responsible under either Section 51 or 51.5 for making its premises accessible to all members of the public, including persons with a disability and including by means of accessing and using the entitys internet website.
(3) Resolve, or otherwise address, whether an internet website that is a standalone website-only business and not associated with a business that has a physical location in California is subject to liability under Sections 51, 54, and 54.1.
(4) Establish a presumption of liability, affect the burden of proof, or otherwise impact a courts determination of liability when if an internet website does not conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard.
(5) Require (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), require an entity to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard. standard or impose liability upon the entity for the inaccessibility of an internet website or resource that is accessed by any links that navigate the user from the entitys internet website to a third-party internet website.
(B) An entity shall comply with both of the following:
(i) An entity shall not unduly rely on links to third-party resources as a means of evading its responsibility to provide an internet website that provides equally effective communication or facilitates full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.
(ii) If a user is required, in order to access, view, utilize, conduct transactions with respect to, or in any other way interact with the business of the entity or the entitys goods, services, or presentations via the internet, to utilize a link to third-party content, the entity shall ensure that the third-party content complies with the internet website-related accessibility standard.
(6) Demonstrate an intent by the Legislature, in enacting this section, to deprive or limit the exercise of jurisdiction by federal courts over state law claims brought in conjunction with any federal claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.) or other federal law.
(7) Establish liability under subdivision (a) when if a resource service provider constructs, licenses, distributes, or maintains establishes that, after the date when the resource service provider constructed, licensed, distributed, or maintained for online use an internet website that fails to conform to the internet website-related accessibility standard, but the internet website provides website or resource to be used within, or in conjunction with, an internet website, or issued the certification described in subdivision (c) of Section 55.565, an entity other than the resource service provider, without the knowledge or permission of the resource service provider, altered the internet website or resource in a manner that directly resulted in the internet website or resource no longer providing equally effective communication and facilitates facilitating full and equal enjoyment of the entitys goods and services to all members of the public, including any member of the public who is a person with a disability.