Reporting accessibility complaints

(a) In general The Secretary of Transportation shall ensure that an individual who believes that he or she or a specific class of individuals has been subjected to discrimination on the basis of disability by a public entity may, by himself or herself or by an authorized representative, easily file a complaint with the Department of Transportation. (b) Procedures Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall implement procedures that allow an individual to submit a complaint described in subsection (a) by phone, by mail-in form, and online through the website of the Office of Civil Rights of the Federal Transit Administration. (c) Notice to individuals with disabilities Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall require that each public transit provider and contractor providing paratransit services shall include on a publicly available website of the service provider, any related mobile device application, and online service— (1) the telephone number, or a comparable electronic means of communication, for the disability assistance hotline of the Office of Civil Rights of the Federal Transit Administration; (2) notice that a consumer can file a disability-related complaint with the Office of Civil Rights of the Federal Transit Administration; (3) an active link to the website of the Office of Civil Rights of the Federal Transit Administration for an individual to file a disability-related complaint; and (4) notice that an individual can file a disability-related complaint with the local transit agency and the process and any timelines for filing such a complaint. (d) Investigation of complaints Not later than 60 days after the last day of each fiscal year the Secretary shall publish a report that lists the disposition of complaints described in subsection (a), including— (1) the number and type of complaints filed with Department of Transportation; (2) the number of complaints investigated by the Department; (3) the result of the complaints that were investigated by the Department including whether the complaint was resolved— (A) informally; (B) by issuing a violation through a noncompliance Letter of Findings; or (C) by other means, which shall be described in detail; and (4) if a violation was issued for a complaint, whether the Department resolved the noncompliance by— (A) reaching a voluntary compliance agreement with the entity; (B) referring the matter to the Attorney General; or (C) by other means, which shall be described in detail. (e) Report Upon implementation of this section, the Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, issue a report composed of the information collected under this section for the preceding 5 years.