This article will provide background information and answers to frequently asked questions about Colorado House Bill 21-1110 (HB21-1110) and its impact on CivicPlus' Agenda and Meeting Management Essential customers.
What is Colorado Accessibility Law HB21-1110
Colorado Accessibility Law HB21-1110 (House Bill 21-1110) marks a pivotal moment in civil rights legislation. It aims to ensure that individuals with disabilities are not denied services or benefits due to inaccessible government websites. The Act makes it clear that exclusion based on lack of accessibility for individuals with disabilities is a state civil rights violation. HB21-1110 bolsters existing Colorado laws safeguarding individuals with disabilities against discrimination, particularly concerning accessibility to government information technology. The Act prohibits the exclusion of persons with disabilities from public entity services or programs. On April 25, 2024, Colorado HB24-1454 (House Bill 24-1454) was signed into law, granting a one-year extension to HB21-1110. The new date for compliance is July 1, 2025.
What consequences does our administration face if we fail to comply with HB21-1110?
Colorado government entities failing to meet web accessibility standards set forth by the Governor's Office of Information Technology (OIT) could face injunctions, monetary damages, or fines of up to $3,500 per valid discrimination claim payable to affected individuals. Under this Colorado Accessibility Act legislation, liability for noncompliance differs depending on whether it pertains to content or platform hosting. Please note: CivicPlus cannot provide legal guidance. Please consult your administration's attorney for more information.
How will Colorado HB21-110 impact my use of the CivicPlus' Agenda and Meeting Management Essential solution?
CivicPlus is committed to doing our part to ensure our software solutions enable our customers to comply with the laws of their state. To help our customers mitigate their risk concerning compliance with HB21-1110 (House Bill 21-1110), CivicPlus is focusing its resources on updating its public-facing display of our Agenda and Meeting Management Select software to meet accessibility standards of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 AA (WCAG 2.1 AA Guidelines, W3C) by July 1, 2025.
CivicPlus will not update our Agenda and Meeting Management Essential software before the July 1, 2025, compliance deadline. As a result, we have determined it will be in our Colorado Essential customers' best interest to migrate from our Essential to our Agenda and Meeting Management Select (formerly CivicClerk) solution.
What level of effort will my staff and I need to take during the migration process?
We are committed to being a trustworthy and reliable partner. Our goal is to take on the majority of the migration process. Our team will identify and migrate customer agendas, meeting minutes, and other records from Essential to Select and categorize them in the same manner in Select as they appear in Essential.
How long does the migration take?
We estimate your time commitment to be a total of eight hours over a six to eight-week time period.
Attend an introduction call to confirm your configuration (30 minutes)
Review provided training videos and related materials (up to 4 hours)
Attend interactive group training sessions (up to 3 hours)
Attend a project check-in call (30 minutes)
First live meeting with Agenda and Meeting Management Select
Maximize your CivicPlus care for any added support or questions upon launch
Once we have migrated content, we will need you or a member of your staff to review and approve it to ensure our team has migrated all the applicable content and set the tool up to meet your needs. We also recommend that you, your staff, and stakeholders participate in a training session to learn how to use Select effectively and proficiently.
Will my pricing or contract change as part of this migration from Essential to Select?
No, as your technology partner, we want to support your compliance with HB21-1110 (House Bill 21-1110) and will not increase or otherwise change your software price at this time.
What benefits will I receive by migrating to your Select solution?
Select offers all the same core functionality as our Essential solution that our customers enjoy today, including:
Cloud-based hosting
Easy-to-use, intuitive interface
Microsoft Word-based templates for agendas and meeting minutes
Integration with our Website and Online Code Hosting solutions
Access to our award-winning Technical Support team
A public resident portal
Permission controls
Record votes
Compatibility with video streaming tools
In addition, Select offers additional integrations and features and will offer even more time-saving and collaborative functionality, such as:
Document routing for collaborative reviews and approvals
Collaboration tools like messaging, robust internal notifications, approvals, advanced versioning, and detailed agenda and item-level audit trails
Advanced search functionality
Advanced security
Analytics and ad-hoc reporting
No cost integration with CivicPlus Portal
Optional integration with our CivicPlus Media live and recording video tool for open meetings
May I see a demonstration of your Select solution before I agree to migrate?
Yes. Please contact your Customer Success Manager. They will schedule a time for your custom demonstration.