Council Statute (RSMo 191.850 – 191.863)

1. “Accessibility”, compliance with nationally accepted accessibility and usability standards such as those established by Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and Section 508 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998;
2. “Assistive technology device”, any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities;
3. “Assistive technology service”, any service that directly assists an individual with a disability in the selection, acquisition or use of an assistive technology device. Such term includes:
4. The evaluation of the needs of an individual with a disability, including a functional evaluation of the individual in the individual’s customary environment;
5. Purchasing, leasing or otherwise providing for the acquisition of assistive technology devices by individuals with disabilities;
6. Selecting, designing, fitting, customizing, adapting, applying, maintaining, repairing or replacing assistive technology devices;
7. Coordinating and using other therapies, interventions or services with assistive technology devices, such as those associated with existing education and rehabilitation plans and programs;
8. Training or technical assistance for an individual with disabilities, or, where appropriate, the family of an individual with disabilities; and
9. Training or technical assistance for professionals, including individuals providing education and rehabilitation services, employers, or other individuals who provide services to, who employ, or who are otherwise substantially involved in the major life functions of individuals with disabilities;
10. “Individual with disabilities”, any individual who is considered to have a disability or handicap for the purpose of any federal or Missouri law;
11. “Information technology”, any electronic information equipment or interconnected system that is used in the acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission or reception of data or information, including audio, graphic and text;
12. “State department or agency”, each department, office, board, bureau, commission, and other unit of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of state government including public four-year and two-year colleges and universities;
13. “Undue burden”, significant difficulty or expense, including, but not limited to, difficulty or expense associated with technical feasibility.

191.853.

1. The “Missouri Assistive Technology Advisory Council” is hereby established, as created pursuant to the Missouri state grant under Title I of the Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988, P.L. 100-407.
2. The voting membership of the advisory council shall be composed of twenty-three members. The members of the council that are serving on August 28, 1993, shall continue to serve in their normal capacities. The original twenty-one members shall determine by lot which seven are to have a one-year term, which seven are to have a two-year term, and which seven are to have a three-year term. Thereafter, the successors to each of the twenty-one members shall serve a three year term and until his successor is appointed by the governor. The members appointed by the governor shall include twelve consumer representatives, the group consisting of individuals with disabilities, parents, spouses, or guardians of individuals with disabilities and shall include a variety of types of disabilities across the age span from all geographic areas of the state, and nine agency representatives, the group consisting of one representative of the division of vocational rehabilitation, one representative of the division of special education, one representative of the department of insurance, one representative of rehabilitation services for the blind, one representative of the division of medical services, one representative of the department of health, one representative of the department of mental health, and two representatives of other agencies or organizations responsible for the service delivery, policy implementation, and funding of assistive technology. In addition, one member who is a member of the house of representatives shall be appointed by the speaker of the house and one member who is a member of the senate shall be appointed by the president pro tempore of the senate. The appointment of individuals representing state agencies shall be conditioned on their continued employment with their respective agencies.
3. A chairperson shall be elected by the council. The council shall meet at the call of the chairperson, but not less often than four times each year.

191.855.

1. The council shall adopt written bylaws to govern its activities.
2. Members shall receive no additional compensation for their service to the council, but shall be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of official duties.

191.857.

The Missouri assistive technology advisory council is assigned to the lead agency for the Technology Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act as designated by the governor so long as funds are available under such act.

191.858.

At such time that federal funds are no longer provided pursuant to the Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act, as amended, the council shall be assigned to the office of administration as if by a type III transfer, as this term is defined in paragraph (c) of subdivision (1) of subsection 7 of section 1 on the omnibus state reorganization act of 1974. The council may not take any official action after the assignment to the office of administration unless or until funds are specifically appropriated by line item to fund the actions of the council and to provide the staff and expenses necessary to carry out the official duties and responsibilities of the council.

191.859.

The council shall advocate for assistive technology policies, regulations and programs and shall establish a consumer-responsive, comprehensive assistive technology service delivery system. The council shall:

1. Promote awareness of the needs of individuals with disabilities for assistive technology devices and services and the efficacy of providing such devices and services to allow persons with disabilities to be productive and independent;
2. Gain an understanding of current policies, practices, and procedures that facilitate or impede the availability or provision of assistive technology and recommend methods to streamline such policies;
3. Research and study data from the major public and private providers of assistive technology regarding numbers and types of devices and services delivered;
4. Establish interagency coordination mechanisms among state agencies and public and private entities that provide assistive technology devices and services in an effort to eliminate gaps and reduce duplication of such services to individuals with disabilities;
5. Foster the capacity of public and private entities to provide assistive technology devices and services so that individuals with disabilities of all ages will, to the extent appropriate, be able to secure and maintain possession of assistive technology as needed to function independently and productively;
6. Recommend and implement specific methods and programs to increase availability of and funding for assistive technology devices and assistive technology services for individuals with disabilities;
7. Employ staff necessary to implement assistive technology services and programs assigned to the council, with all employees exempt from the state merit system pursuant to Chapter 36, RSMo.,
8. Enter into grants or contracts with public or private agencies, schools, or qualified individuals or organizations to deliver federally required or otherwise necessary assistive technology programs and services, including but not limited to assistive device demonstration programs, device recycling programs, device loan programs, financial loan programs, and assistive technology assessments, installation and usage training for individuals with disabilities, with or without utilizing the procurement procedures of the Office of Administration.
9. Establish and administer the Assistive Technology Trust Fund created pursuant to 191.861 RSMo. including the formation of a not for profit corporation that qualifies as an organization pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code.
10. Accept, administer and disburse federal funds as the lead agency for the Assistive Technology Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-364), and any amendments or successors thereto, as well funds from the Assistive Technology Trust Fund established in 191.861 RSMo. and any other appropriated, granted or given funds for the purpose of implementing assistive technology programs and services, and
11. Report annually by January first to the governor and the general assembly on council activities and the results of its studies, recommendations, programs and services designed to increase access to assistive technology.

191.861.

1. There is hereby created in the state treasury the “Assistive Technology Trust Fund” which shall be a public/private partnership fund administered by the Missouri assistive technology advisory council. The fund shall consist of gifts, donations, grants, or bequests from individuals, private organizations, foundations or other sources granted or given for this specific purpose and moneys transferred or paid to the council in return for goods and services provided by the council.
2. Moneys in the fund shall, upon appropriation, be used to establish and maintain assistive technology programs and services provided by the council as authorized in section 191.859 and shall not be used to supplant any existing program or service.
3. The state treasurer shall invest moneys in the assistive technology trust fund in the same manner as surplus state funds are invested pursuant to section 30.260 RSMo. All earnings resulting from the investment of moneys in the assistive technology trust fund shall be credited to the assistive technology trust fund.
4. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 33.080, RSMo, to the contrary, moneys in the fund shall not revert to the general revenue fund at the end of the biennium.

191.863.

1. The council shall work in conjunction with the office of information technology to assure state compliance with the provisions of Section 508 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 regarding accessibility of information technology for individuals with disabilities.
2. When developing, procuring, maintaining, or using information technology, each state department or agency shall ensure, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the department or agency, that the information technology allows employees, program participants and members of the general public access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access by individuals without disabilities.
3. To assure accessibility, the council and the office of information technology shall:

• Adopt accessibility standards to be used by each state department or agency in the procurement of information technology, and in the development and implementation of custom-designed information technology systems, Web sites, and other emerging information technology systems;
• Establish and implement a review procedure to be used to evaluate the accessibility of custom-designed information technology systems proposed by a state department or agency prior to expenditure of state funds;
• Review and evaluate accessibility of information technology commonly purchased by state departments and agencies, and provide accessibility reports on such products to those responsible for purchasing decisions;
• Provide training and technical assistance for state departments and agencies to assure procurement of information technology that meets adopted accessibility standards;
• Involve individuals with disabilities in accessibility reviews of information technology and in the delivery of training and technical assistance;
• Establish complaint procedures, consistent with Section 508 of the Workforce Development Act of 1998 to be used by an individual with a disability who alleges that a state department or agency fails to comply with the provisions of this section.

191.865.

1. The Missouri assistive technology advisory council, established in section 191.853, shall establish an assistive technology loan program. The loan program shall be funded from the assistive technology loan revolving fund established pursuant to section 191.867. The fund shall receive any appropriation and grant moneys received pursuant to subsection 2 of this section to provide loans for the purchase of assistive technology devices and services, as defined in section 191.850.
2. The loan program shall provide loans for the first fiscal year following appropriation. Any matching grant moneys received by the state pursuant to Title III of the federal Assistive Technology Act of 1998 or through any other applicable sources shall be used to fund the loan program. The state treasurer shall provide the assistive technology advisory council with information on the amount of moneys in the assistive technology loan revolving fund at the beginning of each fiscal year. The council shall quarterly expend such moneys in four equal shares to ensure that the loan program will provide loans throughout the entire fiscal year. Any repayments or interest earned during a fiscal year shall not be used for loans in the current fiscal year, but shall be carried over for use in the next fiscal year.
3. The interest rates for loans shall be lower than comparable commercial lending rates and shall be established by the council based on the borrower’s ability to pay. Loans may be made with no interest. Loan repayment periods shall not exceed ten years.
4. The council shall:
5. Promulgate rules relating to borrower eligibility, interest rates, repayment terms and other matters necessary to implement the purpose of this section, including limits on the number and amounts of loans to assure the continued solvency of the fund; and
6. File annual reports with the governor and general assembly which shall include an accounting of the loans and repayments to the fund during the preceding fiscal year.
7. The council may enter into contracts as necessary to carry out the purposes of this section, including but not limited to contracts with disability organizations and lending institutions.
8. By no later than January 1, 2001, the council shall submit a report to the general assembly regarding any rules proposed or promulgated for the implementation of this program.
9. No rule or portion of a rule promulgated pursuant to the authority of this section shall become effective unless it has been promulgated pursuant to chapter 536, RSMo.

191.867.

1. In order to allow Missourians with disabilities to take advantage of Title III of the federal Assistive Technology Act of 1998, there is hereby created in the state treasury the “Assistive Technology Loan Revolving Fund” which shall be administered by the Missouri assistive technology advisory council and the state treasurer.
2. Moneys in the fund shall, upon appropriation, be used to establish and maintain the assistive technology loan program established in section 191.865.
3. The fund shall consist of any moneys appropriated to the fund, repayments of principal and interest by qualified borrowers, and interest earned on the moneys in the fund.
4. The fund may accept federal, state and other public funds, public or private grants, contributions and loans to the fund with the approval of the Missouri assistive technology advisory council.
5. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 33.080, RSMo, to the contrary, moneys in the fund shall not revert to the general revenue fund at the end of the biennium.