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District of Columbia Code Division I. Government of District. § 2-1204. Minimum requirements.

Current as of January 01, 2024 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(a)(1) A movie theater with more than 2 screens shall, no later than 90 days after July 19, 2024, provide scheduled open captioned showings for each motion picture currently showing at the movie theater.  The number of open captioned showings provided shall be as follows:

(A) During the first 2 operating weeks of a motion picture's release, no fewer than 3 open captioned showings per week;

(B) For each subsequent operating week of a motion picture's release, no fewer than 2 open captioned showings per week.

(2) At least one of the scheduled showings required pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be provided during peak weekend hours unless no other showings of the motion picture are scheduled during those hours.

(b) Open captioned showings scheduled by a movie theater and willfully cancelled prior to showing shall not constitute an open captioned showing for the purposes of fulfilling the requirements of this section.  Cancellations due to an event beyond a movie theater's control, such as equipment failure, weather, government order, or studio content error, shall not be considered willfully cancelled.

(c) The following shall be exempt from the requirements of subsection (a) of this section:

(1) Motion pictures that are not produced and made available to movie theaters with open captioning content;  and

(2) Motion pictures for which a movie theater has fewer than 7 scheduled showings in one operating week.

(d) A movie theater with 2 or fewer screens shall, within a reasonable time frame of receipt of a request made according to a process established by rule by the Mayor, pursuant to the requirements of Chapter 5 of Title 2 [§ 2-501 et seq.], provide a screening of a motion picture produced with open movie captioning;  except, that this subsection shall not apply to a movie theater with 2 or fewer screens that provides scheduled open caption showings as described in subsection (a) of this section.

(e) A movie theater shall advertise the date and time of motion picture showings required by this section in the same manner as the movie theater advertises all other motion picture showings.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - District of Columbia Code Division I. Government of District. § 2-1204. Minimum requirements. - last updated January 01, 2024 | https://codes.findlaw.com/dc/division-i-government-of-district/dc-code-sect-2-1204-22/

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