The proposed bill aims to enact the Closed Captioning Act in West Virginia, mandating that public places with televisions must have at least half of those televisions equipped with their closed captioning feature activated at all times. This requirement applies to various establishments, including health care facilities, restaurants, sports bars, entertainment venues, and educational institutions. The bill outlines that if multiple televisions are present, they should be arranged so that patrons can easily view at least one with closed captioning enabled. Additionally, it specifies that closed captioning must remain activated during regular hours upon request.

The bill also includes definitions for key terms such as "closed captioning" and "closed-captioning television receiver," and it establishes an exception where closed captioning is not required if no television or non-closed-captioning television is available in the public area. The legislation is set to take effect upon passage, emphasizing the importance of accessibility for individuals who benefit from closed captioning in public settings.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 5-11C-1