Meaningful Access to United States Currency for Blind and Visually Impaired Persons, 28331-28334 [2010-12091]
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 97 / Thursday, May 20, 2010 / Notices
Approved: May 5, 2010.
Gerald Shields,
IRS Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010–12037 Filed 5–19–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4830–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Internal Revenue Service
[INTL–955–86]
Proposed Collection; Comment
Request for Regulation Project
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AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS),
Treasury.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
SUMMARY: The Department of the
Treasury, as part of its continuing effort
to reduce paperwork and respondent
burden, invites the general public and
other Federal agencies to take this
opportunity to comment on proposed
and/or continuing information
collections, as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is
soliciting comments concerning an
existing final regulation, INTL–955–86
(TD 8350), Requirements For
Investments to Qualify Under Section
936(d)(4) As Investments in Qualified
Caribbean Basin Countries (§ 1.936–
10(c)).
DATES: Written comments should be
received on or before July 19, 2010 to be
assured of consideration.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments
to Gerald Shields, Internal Revenue
Service, Room 6129, 1111 Constitution
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20224.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
copies of the regulation should be
directed to Allan Hopkins at Internal
Revenue Service, Room 6129, 1111
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington,
DC 20224, or at (202) 622–6665, or
through the Internet at
Allan.M.Hopkins@irs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Requirements For Investments
to Qualify Under Section 936(d)(4) As
Investments in Qualified Carribean
Basin Countries.
OMB Number: 1545–1138.
Regulation Project Number: INTL–
955–86.
Abstract: This regulation relates to the
requirements that must be met for an
investment to qualify under Internal
Revenue code section 936(d)(4) as an
investment in qualified Caribbean Basin
countries. Income that is qualified
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possession source investment income is
entitled to a quasi-tax exemption by
reason of the U.S. possessions tax credit
under Code section 936(a) and
substantial tax exemptions in Puerto
Rico. Code section 936(d)(4)(C) places
certification requirements on the
recipient of the investment and the
qualified financial institution; and
recordkeeping requirements on the
financial institution and the recipient of
the investment funds to enable the IRS
to verify that the investment funds are
being used properly and in accordance
with the Caribbean Basin Economic
Recovery Act.
Current Actions: There is no change to
this existing regulation.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations.
Estimated Number of Recordkeepers:
50.
Estimated Time per Recordkeeper: 30
hours.
Estimated Total Annual
Recordkeeping Hours: 1,500.
The following paragraph applies to all
of the collections of information covered
by this notice:
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to, a collection of information
unless the collection of information
displays a valid OMB control number.
Books or records relating to a collection
of information must be retained as long
as their contents may become material
in the administration of any internal
revenue law. Generally, tax returns and
tax return information are confidential,
as required by 26 U.S.C. 6103.
Request for Comments: Comments
submitted in response to this notice will
be summarized and/or included in the
request for OMB approval. All
comments will become a matter of
public record.
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether
the collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the agency, including
whether the information shall have
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
collection of information; (c) ways to
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity
of the information to be collected; (d)
ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on
respondents, including through the use
of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology;
and (e) estimates of capital or start-up
costs and costs of operation,
maintenance, and purchase of services
to provide information.
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Approved: April 22, 2010.
Allan Hopkins,
Tax Analyst.
[FR Doc. 2010–12034 Filed 5–19–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4830–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Meaningful Access to United States
Currency for Blind and Visually
Impaired Persons
AGENCY: Bureau of Engraving and
Printing, Department of the Treasury.
ACTION: Notice of proposed agency
action and request for public comments.
SUMMARY: The Department of the
Treasury (Treasury) and the Bureau of
Engraving and Printing (BEP) are issuing
this Notice pursuant to the ruling in
American Council of the Blind v.
Paulson that ordered Treasury to
provide meaningful access to U.S.
currency to people who are blind and
visually impaired pursuant to section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as
amended. BEP seeks to develop a
solution that fully complies with the
Court’s order and provides people who
are blind and visually impaired
meaningful access to U.S. currency,
while also giving appropriate
consideration to the interests of
domestic and international users of
currency, U.S. businesses, and cash
handling and cash-intensive industries.
The purposes of this Federal Register
Notice are to inform the public of the
features that BEP intends to propose to
the Secretary of the Treasury to
accommodate people who are blind and
visually impaired in denominating U.S.
currency, and to solicit public comment
on the proposed accommodations.
DATES: Submit comments on or before
August 18, 2010.
ADDRESSES: See SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section for meeting
addresses and information about
submitting public comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ellen Gano, 202–874–1200.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
By statute, the Secretary of the
Treasury has sole authority for
approving designs of U.S. Federal
Reserve notes (U.S. currency). To
develop the designs, Treasury works in
collaboration with the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve
System (Board) and the Department of
Homeland Security’s United States
Secret Service (USSS), through the
Advanced Counterfeit Deterrence (ACD)
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Steering Committee.1 As a general
guideline, the ACD has recommended
that Treasury redesign Federal Reserve
notes every seven to ten years to deter
counterfeiting by anticipating advances
in technologies. The most recent
redesign of the currency commenced in
2003, and the final note in that series of
currency design is in production. As
Treasury begins its design plans for a
new family of currency, Treasury and
BEP will incorporate additional features
to accommodate people who are blind
and visually impaired. Although it is
somewhat difficult to provide a specific
date or time frame as to when the
redesign of this new family of currency
will be completed, BEP is required by
the Court’s order to ‘‘take such steps as
may be required to provide meaningful
access to United States currency for
blind and other visually impaired
persons * * * not later than the date
when a redesign of that denomination is
next approved by the Secretary of the
Treasury.’’
In anticipation of this endeavor, in
January of 2008, BEP commissioned a
comprehensive study to (1) review and
analyze the needs of the blind and
visually impaired relating to the
identification of U.S. currency through
focus groups, surveys, and usability
tests; (2) examine various methods that
might improve access to the currency by
the blind and visually impaired through
discussions with subject matter experts,
foreign currency experts, and advocacy
groups; (3) perform a cost impact
analysis of possible accommodations on
various government and industry
sectors; and (4) provide a decision
model, by which BEP could evaluate
various potential accommodations. See
Final Report: Study to Address Options
for Enabling the Blind and Visually
Impaired Community to Denominate
U.S. Currency, July 2009 (Study), which
can be found on the BEP Web site at
https://www.bep.gov/uscurrency/
meaningfulaccess.html.
Although there are a wide variety of
definitions and methodologies to define
blindness and visual impairment, the
Study used the following definitions: it
defined blind individuals as those who
have no useful vision for reading any
amount of print, and visually impaired
individuals as those who have difficulty
1 The
ACD Steering Committee was established
by charter in 1982 to recommend designs to the
Secretary of the Treasury for Federal Reserve notes.
The ACD Steering Committee is chaired by the
Treasury’s Under Secretary for Domestic Finance.
Its members include the senior representatives from
the Department of the Treasury, Treasury’s Bureau
of Engraving and Printing, the Federal Reserve
System, and the USSS.
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seeing but are able to read some print
(with or without corrective lenses).
Summary of Proposed Design
Modifications
Based upon the Study’s findings and
BEP’s own expertise in manufacturing
U.S. currency, BEP proposes to
recommend to the Secretary of the
Treasury the following:
I. Tactile Feature. As part of the next
currency redesign, BEP will develop
and deploy a raised tactile feature that
builds upon current tactile feature
technologies. The tactile feature will be
unique to each Federal Reserve note
denomination that it may lawfully
change, and will provide users with a
means of identifying each denomination
by way of touch.2
II. Large, High-Contrast Numerals.
Consistent with current practice, BEP
will continue its practice of adding
large, high-contrast numerals and
different and distinct color schemes to
each denomination that it is permitted
by law to alter to further assist visually
impaired citizens.
III. Supplemental Currency Reader
Program. BEP also proposes to
recommend to the Secretary of the
Treasury a supplemental measure that
will be taken in order to provide access
to U.S. currency. This measure would
involve a process to loan and distribute
currency readers to the blind and
visually impaired at no cost to them.
BEP believes this process will
ameliorate difficulties stemming from
the transition that will occur during the
co-circulation of notes with and without
a tactile feature and large, high contrast
numerals, a transition which will persist
for many years after the introduction of
the tactile-enhanced note.
In addition, BEP will continue to
explore emerging technological
solutions to provide access to U.S.
currency, such as the development of
software to enable blind and visually
impaired individuals to fully access
U.S. currency. Some of the options
include the development and
deployment of assistive software to
enable banknote denomination using
cellular phones, computers, and
imaging and reading devices.
2 The Department of the Treasury is not permitted
to redesign the $1 note. The Omnibus
Appropriations Act of 2009, Public Law 111–8,
Section 111, states that ‘‘None of the funds
appropriated in this Act or otherwise available to
the Department of the Treasury or the Bureau of
Engraving and Printing may be used to redesign the
$1 Federal Reserve note.’’ In addition, the Court’s
October 3, 2008 order explicitly excluded the $1
note and the soon to be released $100 note.
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Recommendation Details
I. Tactile Feature: BEP will develop
and incorporate a raised tactile feature
that will accommodate people who are
blind and visually impaired. This
feature will enable blind and visually
impaired individuals to identify
currency by touching the tactile feature.
The Study demonstrated that raised
tactile features allow most blind and
visually impaired individuals to
denominate currency. Indeed, this kind
of feature is used in some foreign
currency, and the Study’s data indicated
that this feature was more effective than
virtually every other kind of
accommodation tested, including
different-sized notes. Additionally, a
raised tactile feature would not cause a
major disruption to the general
population because the notes will not
appear substantially different from their
current form.
BEP recognizes that implementing a
raised tactile feature will pose some
challenges. First, the Study showed that
current tactile technology wears out
eventually, so the effectiveness of the
feature diminishes over time. In
addition, the Study showed that a raised
tactile feature would impose costs on
both government and industry. For
example, some major cash handlers
expressed concern over stacking,
mechanical counting, examination, and
finishing processes of notes with raised
tactile features. The banking industry
echoed the major cash handlers’
concern of equipment malfunctions
caused by jams and added concerns that
increased jams would require higher
inventory levels with associated
increased carrying costs to ensure
sufficient cash would be available at all
times. In addition, BEP will need to put
forth a comprehensive public education
program for all users of U.S. currency to
acquaint them with the new tactile
feature.
The selection of the raised tactile
feature will require additional targeted
research, testing, and consideration of
the public comments. Nonetheless, the
significant benefits of notes with a
tactile feature, including the excellent
accuracy results the blind and visually
impaired achieved with them, the ease
of use evidenced both by the usability
tests and applicable scientific research,
and the relatively minimal impact on
the general U.S. population, supports
the inclusion of a raised tactile feature
as a recommended accommodation
despite its challenges. Based on
experience, independent research, and
the Study, BEP believes it can develop
a raised tactile feature that is durable
and can be incorporated into its existing
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manufacturing systems at a reasonable
cost, coincident with the introduction of
the next design series of U.S. currency.
BEP invites comment on its proposal
to incorporate raised tactile features in
the next redesign of its currency.
II. Large, High-Contrast Numerals:
BEP began incorporating large, highcontrast numerals into Federal Reserve
notes beginning with the Series 1996
design $50 note in October 1997. In
March 2008, BEP increased the size of
the large high contrast numeral with the
introduction of the Series 2006 $5 note.
The feedback received from visually
impaired individuals has been positive.
This feature will be continued in the
new-design $100 note, which is the last
in the Series 2004 family of designs.
Because BEP has experience printing
this feature and the visually impaired
community has provided positive
feedback on it, BEP proposes to
continue using this feature in the next
design for U.S. currency. BEP is aware,
however, that there may be a number of
options concerning the size, color,
placement, background contrast and
other features for these large numerals
that may improve accessibility of
currency for persons with low-vision.
BEP invites comment from the public,
including persons with low-vision,
about the best choices for the proposed
large, high-contrast numerals.
III. Supplemental Currency Reader
Program: BEP will establish a
supplemental currency reader
distribution program. The purpose of
the program is to provide blind and
visually impaired people a means that
can be used independently to correctly
identify the denomination of U.S.
currency. In compliance with legal
requirements, BEP will loan a currency
reader device to all blind and visually
impaired U.S. citizens and legal
residents, who wish to avail themselves
of this program. The individual may
borrow the reader for as long as the
individual desires the assistance of the
reader. Before a reader is distributed,
BEP first will verify that the requestor
is eligible.
Under the reader program,
individuals who are United States
citizens or persons legally residing in
the United States who are blind or
visually impaired and who need a
reader to accurately identify the
denomination of U.S. currency will be
able to obtain a reader at no cost to the
individual. BEP will define blind or
visually impaired under the same
definition as the Study, with the
following change to the Study’s
definition of visual impairment: The
reader program will not extend to
visually impaired individuals whose
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impairment is corrected with ordinary
eyeglasses or contact lenses.
BEP is considering the scope of an
appropriate verification framework to
determine eligibility to receive a reader.
Specifically, it is considering a
framework inspired by the eligibility
requirements that the Library of
Congress uses when loaning library
materials to blind and other disabled
persons as set forth in 36 CFR 701.6.
Under that framework, applicants may
submit verification of their eligibility
from a ‘‘competent authority.’’ BEP
would define a ‘‘competent authority as
one of the following: doctors of
medicine, doctors of osteopathy, doctors
of optometry, registered nurses, and
licensed practical nurses.
Alternatively, if a person who is blind
or visually impaired has verification of
visual impairment from another Federal
agency, including the Social Security
Administration, the Library of Congress,
or a State or local agency, that person
need only submit a copy of that
verification. BEP is inviting comments
on whether this verification system is
appropriate, or whether other
frameworks would be more appropriate.
Parents or legal guardians of a blind
or visually impaired child under 18, and
caregivers, legal guardians, or those
with power of attorney for a U.S. citizen
or someone legally residing in the U.S.
may act as a proxy on behalf of the blind
or visually impaired child or
represented individual and request a
currency reader. BEP will require
verification for the child or represented
individual.
BEP will solicit and award a single,
long-term contract to implement the
currency reader program. The contractor
will be designated as the Currency
Reader Program Coordinator (CRPC).
Once the program is operational, a
potentially eligible person may request
a currency reader by contacting the
CRPC and completing and submitting a
request form. Depending on the
verification framework adopted, upon
verification of eligibility, the person will
be provided a reader. If an individual
believes that the CRPC erroneously
denied him or her a reader, the
individual may appeal the decision to
the appropriate authority at BEP, who
will be designated after BEP awards the
CRPC contract.
Except for the postage to mail
application forms to the CRPC, the user
should not have to expend any funds for
the reader. Any fees for shipping and
the initial battery will be borne by the
provider. Readers will be delivered by
mail. There will be a ‘‘one reader per
verified eligible person’’ limit. Though
there is a ‘‘one reader’’ limit, an eligible
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28333
individual may receive a replacement
reader from the CRPC upon request if
the circumstances, such as a lost,
damaged, or obsolete reader, are
reasonable and warrant replacement.
The CRPC will also establish a
selection of approved reader suppliers.
BEP anticipates that more than one
reader supplier may be authorized by
the CRPC to provide readers and will
seek to keep costs low by requiring
suppliers to meet the lowest price in
order to be a program participant. The
CRPC shall:
1. Be responsible for overall
implementation and operation of the
program pursuant to a government
contract;
2. Have the program operational
within six months after contract award;
3. Communicate with eligible persons
via mail, Braille, e-mail, phone, fax,
TTY, and Web site;
4. Maintain a help desk for a
minimum of ten hours a day, five days
a week;
5. Be able quickly to scale up or down
staffing resources to react to demand on
the program;
6. Accept requests for readers;
7. Verify eligibility, using the
appropriate criteria;
8. Within three weeks of receiving a
request, either provide a reader to a
requester deemed eligible or inform said
person that he or she does not meet the
eligibility criteria;
9. Establish a formal CRPC
Authorized Supplier Program, with
documented contractual controls and
agreements between the CRPC and each
supplier;
10. Monitor each supplier’s operation;
11. Certify each supplier’s reader
products;
12. Publicize a list of approved
suppliers and products;
13. Establish payment mechanisms for
authorized suppliers;
14. Evaluate and possibly add new
reader suppliers as they enter the
market;
15. Suspend reader suppliers if they
fail to perform;
16. Establish internal controls to assist
BEP in preventing fraud, waste, and
abuse; and obtain an annual
independently verified SAS–70 Report
(Type II) of those controls;
17. Maintain a database of each
person who requested a reader, was
issued a reader, or was denied a reader,
and for readers issued, which reader
(including its serial number) was issued
to which person;
18. Implement privacy controls; and
19. Ensure that all CRPC Authorized
Suppliers are able and contractually
obligated to:
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a. Provide a reader that quickly and
accurately denominates U.S. currency;
b. Interact with verified eligible
persons via mail, Braille, e-mail, phone,
fax, TTY, and Web site;
c. Provide readers directly to verified
eligible persons if necessary;
d. Provide accessible instructional
materials on how to use the reader;
e. Provide readers that use a nonproprietary battery;
f. Provide readers with unique serial
numbers for accountability;
g. Provide at least a one-year parts and
labor warranty on each reader;
h. Provide free return postage for
malfunctioning readers and for warranty
service; and
i. Recognize that the selection of a
reader is based on the free market and
personal choice and that there is no
minimum quantity of readers that the
government guarantees from any
supplier.
BEP will assess the structure of this
program on a continuing basis and
implement changes as needed to
enhance its effectiveness or efficiency.
Funding
The Board pays BEP for its currencyrelated expenses, which are primarily
the costs of producing new currency.
BEP’s costs associated with
incorporating the proposed tactile and
large, high-contrast numeral features
would be funded by the Board, as are
the costs of other design elements for
U.S. currency. BEP plans also to charge
the Board for the costs associated with
the proposed currency readers. Because
the U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia determined that BEP is
required by the Rehabilitation Act to
provide meaningful access to U.S.
currency, BEP believes these costs
represent a necessary expense that may
be appropriately charged to the Board.
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Questions for Comment
Treasury welcomes all comments and
suggestions regarding the proposed
solutions. Treasury is particularly
interested, however, in comments on
the specific questions set forth below:
1. What would be the ideal placement
of the raised tactile feature? In what
kind of pattern or patterns should the
raised tactile feature be arranged?
2. How should the large, high contrast
numerals be incorporated? In other
words, what colors should BEP use,
what is the optimal size of the numerals,
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and where should the numerals be
placed on the note?
3. What background colors would
provide the highest color contrast for
people who are visually impaired?
4. What technological solutions
should BEP explore to help people who
are blind and visually impaired
denominate currency?
5. What is the nature of the burden,
if any, on the general public of
including a raised tactile feature on U.S.
currency?
6. If there are any burdens imposed on
the public by a raised tactile feature on
currency, how can such burdens be
minimized?
7. What is the nature of the burden,
if any, on industry and business of
including a raised tactile feature on U.S.
currency?
8. If there are such burdens, how can
they be minimized?
9. Does the supplemental currency
reader program impose a burden on the
blind and visually impaired?
10. If so, what are those burdens, and
how can they be minimized?
11. Does a verification process of the
currency reader program inspired by the
Library of Congress process impose too
a great a burden on the blind and
visually impaired?
12. If so, what are those burdens, and
how can they be minimized?
13. Alternatively, if a person who is
blind or visually impaired has
verification of visual impairment from
another Federal agency (such as the
Social Security Administration or
Library of Congress), or a State or local
agency, should BEP allow that person to
submit a copy of that verification in
order to satisfy a proof of visual
impairment requirement in order to
obtain a currency reader? If so, what
burdens might this impose, and how
can those burdens be minimized?
14. Should BEP consider working
with local governments and/or State
agencies to deliver the currency readers?
15. Should BEP consider additional or
different criteria when determining
eligibility for the currency reader
program?
16. What administrative and/or
operational challenges does the
currency reader program create?
publicly available rulemaking materials,
including comments received on rules.
Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments. You may also
e-mail electronic comments to
meaningful.access@bep.gov. You may
fax comments to 202–874–1212. Please
mail any written comments to
Meaningful Access, Bureau of Engraving
and Printing, Office of External
Relations, 14th and C Streets, SW.,
Room 530–1M, Washington, DC 20228.
In general, comments received will be
published on Regulations.gov without
change, including any business or
personal information provided.
Comments received, including
attachments and other supporting
materials, are part of the public record
and subject to public disclosure. Do not
enclose any information in your
comment or supporting materials that
you consider confidential or
inappropriate for public disclosure.
You may also inspect and copy
comments at: Treasury Department
Library, Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) collection, Room 1428, Main
Treasury Building, 1500 Pennsylvania
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20220.
Before visiting, you must call (202) 622–
0990 for an appointment.
Electronic Submission of Comments,
Electronic Access and Mailing Address
Larry R. Felix,
Director.
Regulations.gov offers the public the
ability to comment on, search, and view
[FR Doc. 2010–12091 Filed 5–19–10; 8:45 am]
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Public Forum
BEP will host two open public forums
simultaneously on June 22, 2010. One
will be held at the Eastern Currency
Facility (14th and C Streets, SW.,
Washington, DC 20228) and the other at
the Western Currency Facility (9000
Blue Mound Road, Ft. Worth, TX
76131). BEP representatives will be
available to discuss the proposed
accommodations for meaningful access
and to hear public comment.
Registration to attend the public forum
(at either the Washington, DC or Fort
Worth, TX facility) must be made by
calling (877) 874–4114. Because the BEP
is a secure Federal installation, all
attendees must pre-register for the
public forum by providing their name
and are subject to magnetometer
inspection and their bags are subject to
x-ray prior to entering and upon exiting
the facility. To ensure your access,
please notify BEP of your intent to
attend by 5 p.m., EDT on June 18, 2010.
BILLING CODE 4840–01–P
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 97 (Thursday, May 20, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28331-28334]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-12091]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Meaningful Access to United States Currency for Blind and
Visually Impaired Persons
AGENCY: Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Department of the Treasury.
ACTION: Notice of proposed agency action and request for public
comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the Bureau of
Engraving and Printing (BEP) are issuing this Notice pursuant to the
ruling in American Council of the Blind v. Paulson that ordered
Treasury to provide meaningful access to U.S. currency to people who
are blind and visually impaired pursuant to section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. BEP seeks to develop a solution
that fully complies with the Court's order and provides people who are
blind and visually impaired meaningful access to U.S. currency, while
also giving appropriate consideration to the interests of domestic and
international users of currency, U.S. businesses, and cash handling and
cash-intensive industries. The purposes of this Federal Register Notice
are to inform the public of the features that BEP intends to propose to
the Secretary of the Treasury to accommodate people who are blind and
visually impaired in denominating U.S. currency, and to solicit public
comment on the proposed accommodations.
DATES: Submit comments on or before August 18, 2010.
ADDRESSES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for meeting addresses
and information about submitting public comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Gano, 202-874-1200.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
By statute, the Secretary of the Treasury has sole authority for
approving designs of U.S. Federal Reserve notes (U.S. currency). To
develop the designs, Treasury works in collaboration with the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) and the Department of
Homeland Security's United States Secret Service (USSS), through the
Advanced Counterfeit Deterrence (ACD)
[[Page 28332]]
Steering Committee.\1\ As a general guideline, the ACD has recommended
that Treasury redesign Federal Reserve notes every seven to ten years
to deter counterfeiting by anticipating advances in technologies. The
most recent redesign of the currency commenced in 2003, and the final
note in that series of currency design is in production. As Treasury
begins its design plans for a new family of currency, Treasury and BEP
will incorporate additional features to accommodate people who are
blind and visually impaired. Although it is somewhat difficult to
provide a specific date or time frame as to when the redesign of this
new family of currency will be completed, BEP is required by the
Court's order to ``take such steps as may be required to provide
meaningful access to United States currency for blind and other
visually impaired persons * * * not later than the date when a redesign
of that denomination is next approved by the Secretary of the
Treasury.''
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\1\ The ACD Steering Committee was established by charter in
1982 to recommend designs to the Secretary of the Treasury for
Federal Reserve notes. The ACD Steering Committee is chaired by the
Treasury's Under Secretary for Domestic Finance. Its members include
the senior representatives from the Department of the Treasury,
Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Federal Reserve
System, and the USSS.
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In anticipation of this endeavor, in January of 2008, BEP
commissioned a comprehensive study to (1) review and analyze the needs
of the blind and visually impaired relating to the identification of
U.S. currency through focus groups, surveys, and usability tests; (2)
examine various methods that might improve access to the currency by
the blind and visually impaired through discussions with subject matter
experts, foreign currency experts, and advocacy groups; (3) perform a
cost impact analysis of possible accommodations on various government
and industry sectors; and (4) provide a decision model, by which BEP
could evaluate various potential accommodations. See Final Report:
Study to Address Options for Enabling the Blind and Visually Impaired
Community to Denominate U.S. Currency, July 2009 (Study), which can be
found on the BEP Web site at https://www.bep.gov/uscurrency/meaningfulaccess.html.
Although there are a wide variety of definitions and methodologies
to define blindness and visual impairment, the Study used the following
definitions: it defined blind individuals as those who have no useful
vision for reading any amount of print, and visually impaired
individuals as those who have difficulty seeing but are able to read
some print (with or without corrective lenses).
Summary of Proposed Design Modifications
Based upon the Study's findings and BEP's own expertise in
manufacturing U.S. currency, BEP proposes to recommend to the Secretary
of the Treasury the following:
I. Tactile Feature. As part of the next currency redesign, BEP will
develop and deploy a raised tactile feature that builds upon current
tactile feature technologies. The tactile feature will be unique to
each Federal Reserve note denomination that it may lawfully change, and
will provide users with a means of identifying each denomination by way
of touch.\2\
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\2\ The Department of the Treasury is not permitted to redesign
the $1 note. The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009, Public Law 111-
8, Section 111, states that ``None of the funds appropriated in this
Act or otherwise available to the Department of the Treasury or the
Bureau of Engraving and Printing may be used to redesign the $1
Federal Reserve note.'' In addition, the Court's October 3, 2008
order explicitly excluded the $1 note and the soon to be released
$100 note.
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II. Large, High-Contrast Numerals. Consistent with current
practice, BEP will continue its practice of adding large, high-contrast
numerals and different and distinct color schemes to each denomination
that it is permitted by law to alter to further assist visually
impaired citizens.
III. Supplemental Currency Reader Program. BEP also proposes to
recommend to the Secretary of the Treasury a supplemental measure that
will be taken in order to provide access to U.S. currency. This measure
would involve a process to loan and distribute currency readers to the
blind and visually impaired at no cost to them. BEP believes this
process will ameliorate difficulties stemming from the transition that
will occur during the co-circulation of notes with and without a
tactile feature and large, high contrast numerals, a transition which
will persist for many years after the introduction of the tactile-
enhanced note.
In addition, BEP will continue to explore emerging technological
solutions to provide access to U.S. currency, such as the development
of software to enable blind and visually impaired individuals to fully
access U.S. currency. Some of the options include the development and
deployment of assistive software to enable banknote denomination using
cellular phones, computers, and imaging and reading devices.
Recommendation Details
I. Tactile Feature: BEP will develop and incorporate a raised
tactile feature that will accommodate people who are blind and visually
impaired. This feature will enable blind and visually impaired
individuals to identify currency by touching the tactile feature. The
Study demonstrated that raised tactile features allow most blind and
visually impaired individuals to denominate currency. Indeed, this kind
of feature is used in some foreign currency, and the Study's data
indicated that this feature was more effective than virtually every
other kind of accommodation tested, including different-sized notes.
Additionally, a raised tactile feature would not cause a major
disruption to the general population because the notes will not appear
substantially different from their current form.
BEP recognizes that implementing a raised tactile feature will pose
some challenges. First, the Study showed that current tactile
technology wears out eventually, so the effectiveness of the feature
diminishes over time. In addition, the Study showed that a raised
tactile feature would impose costs on both government and industry. For
example, some major cash handlers expressed concern over stacking,
mechanical counting, examination, and finishing processes of notes with
raised tactile features. The banking industry echoed the major cash
handlers' concern of equipment malfunctions caused by jams and added
concerns that increased jams would require higher inventory levels with
associated increased carrying costs to ensure sufficient cash would be
available at all times. In addition, BEP will need to put forth a
comprehensive public education program for all users of U.S. currency
to acquaint them with the new tactile feature.
The selection of the raised tactile feature will require additional
targeted research, testing, and consideration of the public comments.
Nonetheless, the significant benefits of notes with a tactile feature,
including the excellent accuracy results the blind and visually
impaired achieved with them, the ease of use evidenced both by the
usability tests and applicable scientific research, and the relatively
minimal impact on the general U.S. population, supports the inclusion
of a raised tactile feature as a recommended accommodation despite its
challenges. Based on experience, independent research, and the Study,
BEP believes it can develop a raised tactile feature that is durable
and can be incorporated into its existing
[[Page 28333]]
manufacturing systems at a reasonable cost, coincident with the
introduction of the next design series of U.S. currency.
BEP invites comment on its proposal to incorporate raised tactile
features in the next redesign of its currency.
II. Large, High-Contrast Numerals: BEP began incorporating large,
high-contrast numerals into Federal Reserve notes beginning with the
Series 1996 design $50 note in October 1997. In March 2008, BEP
increased the size of the large high contrast numeral with the
introduction of the Series 2006 $5 note. The feedback received from
visually impaired individuals has been positive. This feature will be
continued in the new-design $100 note, which is the last in the Series
2004 family of designs. Because BEP has experience printing this
feature and the visually impaired community has provided positive
feedback on it, BEP proposes to continue using this feature in the next
design for U.S. currency. BEP is aware, however, that there may be a
number of options concerning the size, color, placement, background
contrast and other features for these large numerals that may improve
accessibility of currency for persons with low-vision. BEP invites
comment from the public, including persons with low-vision, about the
best choices for the proposed large, high-contrast numerals.
III. Supplemental Currency Reader Program: BEP will establish a
supplemental currency reader distribution program. The purpose of the
program is to provide blind and visually impaired people a means that
can be used independently to correctly identify the denomination of
U.S. currency. In compliance with legal requirements, BEP will loan a
currency reader device to all blind and visually impaired U.S. citizens
and legal residents, who wish to avail themselves of this program. The
individual may borrow the reader for as long as the individual desires
the assistance of the reader. Before a reader is distributed, BEP first
will verify that the requestor is eligible.
Under the reader program, individuals who are United States
citizens or persons legally residing in the United States who are blind
or visually impaired and who need a reader to accurately identify the
denomination of U.S. currency will be able to obtain a reader at no
cost to the individual. BEP will define blind or visually impaired
under the same definition as the Study, with the following change to
the Study's definition of visual impairment: The reader program will
not extend to visually impaired individuals whose impairment is
corrected with ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses.
BEP is considering the scope of an appropriate verification
framework to determine eligibility to receive a reader. Specifically,
it is considering a framework inspired by the eligibility requirements
that the Library of Congress uses when loaning library materials to
blind and other disabled persons as set forth in 36 CFR 701.6. Under
that framework, applicants may submit verification of their eligibility
from a ``competent authority.'' BEP would define a ``competent
authority as one of the following: doctors of medicine, doctors of
osteopathy, doctors of optometry, registered nurses, and licensed
practical nurses.
Alternatively, if a person who is blind or visually impaired has
verification of visual impairment from another Federal agency,
including the Social Security Administration, the Library of Congress,
or a State or local agency, that person need only submit a copy of that
verification. BEP is inviting comments on whether this verification
system is appropriate, or whether other frameworks would be more
appropriate.
Parents or legal guardians of a blind or visually impaired child
under 18, and caregivers, legal guardians, or those with power of
attorney for a U.S. citizen or someone legally residing in the U.S. may
act as a proxy on behalf of the blind or visually impaired child or
represented individual and request a currency reader. BEP will require
verification for the child or represented individual.
BEP will solicit and award a single, long-term contract to
implement the currency reader program. The contractor will be
designated as the Currency Reader Program Coordinator (CRPC). Once the
program is operational, a potentially eligible person may request a
currency reader by contacting the CRPC and completing and submitting a
request form. Depending on the verification framework adopted, upon
verification of eligibility, the person will be provided a reader. If
an individual believes that the CRPC erroneously denied him or her a
reader, the individual may appeal the decision to the appropriate
authority at BEP, who will be designated after BEP awards the CRPC
contract.
Except for the postage to mail application forms to the CRPC, the
user should not have to expend any funds for the reader. Any fees for
shipping and the initial battery will be borne by the provider. Readers
will be delivered by mail. There will be a ``one reader per verified
eligible person'' limit. Though there is a ``one reader'' limit, an
eligible individual may receive a replacement reader from the CRPC upon
request if the circumstances, such as a lost, damaged, or obsolete
reader, are reasonable and warrant replacement.
The CRPC will also establish a selection of approved reader
suppliers. BEP anticipates that more than one reader supplier may be
authorized by the CRPC to provide readers and will seek to keep costs
low by requiring suppliers to meet the lowest price in order to be a
program participant. The CRPC shall:
1. Be responsible for overall implementation and operation of the
program pursuant to a government contract;
2. Have the program operational within six months after contract
award;
3. Communicate with eligible persons via mail, Braille, e-mail,
phone, fax, TTY, and Web site;
4. Maintain a help desk for a minimum of ten hours a day, five days
a week;
5. Be able quickly to scale up or down staffing resources to react
to demand on the program;
6. Accept requests for readers;
7. Verify eligibility, using the appropriate criteria;
8. Within three weeks of receiving a request, either provide a
reader to a requester deemed eligible or inform said person that he or
she does not meet the eligibility criteria;
9. Establish a formal CRPC Authorized Supplier Program, with
documented contractual controls and agreements between the CRPC and
each supplier;
10. Monitor each supplier's operation;
11. Certify each supplier's reader products;
12. Publicize a list of approved suppliers and products;
13. Establish payment mechanisms for authorized suppliers;
14. Evaluate and possibly add new reader suppliers as they enter
the market;
15. Suspend reader suppliers if they fail to perform;
16. Establish internal controls to assist BEP in preventing fraud,
waste, and abuse; and obtain an annual independently verified SAS-70
Report (Type II) of those controls;
17. Maintain a database of each person who requested a reader, was
issued a reader, or was denied a reader, and for readers issued, which
reader (including its serial number) was issued to which person;
18. Implement privacy controls; and
19. Ensure that all CRPC Authorized Suppliers are able and
contractually obligated to:
[[Page 28334]]
a. Provide a reader that quickly and accurately denominates U.S.
currency;
b. Interact with verified eligible persons via mail, Braille, e-
mail, phone, fax, TTY, and Web site;
c. Provide readers directly to verified eligible persons if
necessary;
d. Provide accessible instructional materials on how to use the
reader;
e. Provide readers that use a non-proprietary battery;
f. Provide readers with unique serial numbers for accountability;
g. Provide at least a one-year parts and labor warranty on each
reader;
h. Provide free return postage for malfunctioning readers and for
warranty service; and
i. Recognize that the selection of a reader is based on the free
market and personal choice and that there is no minimum quantity of
readers that the government guarantees from any supplier.
BEP will assess the structure of this program on a continuing basis
and implement changes as needed to enhance its effectiveness or
efficiency.
Funding
The Board pays BEP for its currency-related expenses, which are
primarily the costs of producing new currency. BEP's costs associated
with incorporating the proposed tactile and large, high-contrast
numeral features would be funded by the Board, as are the costs of
other design elements for U.S. currency. BEP plans also to charge the
Board for the costs associated with the proposed currency readers.
Because the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia determined
that BEP is required by the Rehabilitation Act to provide meaningful
access to U.S. currency, BEP believes these costs represent a necessary
expense that may be appropriately charged to the Board.
Questions for Comment
Treasury welcomes all comments and suggestions regarding the
proposed solutions. Treasury is particularly interested, however, in
comments on the specific questions set forth below:
1. What would be the ideal placement of the raised tactile feature?
In what kind of pattern or patterns should the raised tactile feature
be arranged?
2. How should the large, high contrast numerals be incorporated? In
other words, what colors should BEP use, what is the optimal size of
the numerals, and where should the numerals be placed on the note?
3. What background colors would provide the highest color contrast
for people who are visually impaired?
4. What technological solutions should BEP explore to help people
who are blind and visually impaired denominate currency?
5. What is the nature of the burden, if any, on the general public
of including a raised tactile feature on U.S. currency?
6. If there are any burdens imposed on the public by a raised
tactile feature on currency, how can such burdens be minimized?
7. What is the nature of the burden, if any, on industry and
business of including a raised tactile feature on U.S. currency?
8. If there are such burdens, how can they be minimized?
9. Does the supplemental currency reader program impose a burden on
the blind and visually impaired?
10. If so, what are those burdens, and how can they be minimized?
11. Does a verification process of the currency reader program
inspired by the Library of Congress process impose too a great a burden
on the blind and visually impaired?
12. If so, what are those burdens, and how can they be minimized?
13. Alternatively, if a person who is blind or visually impaired
has verification of visual impairment from another Federal agency (such
as the Social Security Administration or Library of Congress), or a
State or local agency, should BEP allow that person to submit a copy of
that verification in order to satisfy a proof of visual impairment
requirement in order to obtain a currency reader? If so, what burdens
might this impose, and how can those burdens be minimized?
14. Should BEP consider working with local governments and/or State
agencies to deliver the currency readers?
15. Should BEP consider additional or different criteria when
determining eligibility for the currency reader program?
16. What administrative and/or operational challenges does the
currency reader program create?
Electronic Submission of Comments, Electronic Access and Mailing
Address
Regulations.gov offers the public the ability to comment on,
search, and view publicly available rulemaking materials, including
comments received on rules. Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments. You may also e-mail electronic comments to
meaningful.access@bep.gov. You may fax comments to 202-874-1212. Please
mail any written comments to Meaningful Access, Bureau of Engraving and
Printing, Office of External Relations, 14th and C Streets, SW., Room
530-1M, Washington, DC 20228.
In general, comments received will be published on Regulations.gov
without change, including any business or personal information
provided. Comments received, including attachments and other supporting
materials, are part of the public record and subject to public
disclosure. Do not enclose any information in your comment or
supporting materials that you consider confidential or inappropriate
for public disclosure.
You may also inspect and copy comments at: Treasury Department
Library, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) collection, Room 1428, Main
Treasury Building, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20220.
Before visiting, you must call (202) 622-0990 for an appointment.
Public Forum
BEP will host two open public forums simultaneously on June 22,
2010. One will be held at the Eastern Currency Facility (14th and C
Streets, SW., Washington, DC 20228) and the other at the Western
Currency Facility (9000 Blue Mound Road, Ft. Worth, TX 76131). BEP
representatives will be available to discuss the proposed
accommodations for meaningful access and to hear public comment.
Registration to attend the public forum (at either the Washington, DC
or Fort Worth, TX facility) must be made by calling (877) 874-4114.
Because the BEP is a secure Federal installation, all attendees must
pre-register for the public forum by providing their name and are
subject to magnetometer inspection and their bags are subject to x-ray
prior to entering and upon exiting the facility. To ensure your access,
please notify BEP of your intent to attend by 5 p.m., EDT on June 18,
2010.
Larry R. Felix,
Director.
[FR Doc. 2010-12091 Filed 5-19-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4840-01-P