CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
title
AN ORDINANCE relating to public accommodations; requiring persons owning or managing a place of public accommodations to activate closed
captioning on television receivers; and adding a new Chapter 14.05 to the Seattle Municipal Code.
body
WHEREAS, the purpose of the Commission for People with disAbilities is to: (1) Promote equal opportunities for individuals with disabilities; (2) Strive to enable full participation in all aspects of community life for persons with disabilities; and (3) Provide disability-related technical assistance, information, referral and advocacy to City Council personnel, the community, individuals and groups; and
WHEREAS, The Commission for People with disAbilities is authorized to coordinate and
provide recommendations to City personnel, citizens commissions, authorities, and
committees; and community individuals and groups serving on annually designated
programs to respond to identified service needs; and
WHEREAS, The Commission for People with disAbilities agrees with the findings of the
City Council of Portland, Oregon in adopting Ordinance 187454 (which added Portland City Code Section 23.01.075), which requires activating closed
captioning, where available, on televisions used in places of public accommodation, namely that:
"1. Hearing loss is a significant problem in the United States. A study released in 2011 by researchers at Johns Hopkins estimated that approximately one in five Americans have some type of hearing loss in one or both ears that affect their ability to communicate and receive information.1
2. In 1993, the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") adopted regulations requiring all analog television receivers manufactured and sold in the United States with screens larger than 13 inches contain built-in decoder circuitry to display closed
captioning.
3. Closed
captioning consists of a transcript of the audio porti...
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