BILL NUMBER: SJR 35	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Corbett

                        JUNE 30, 2010

   Relative to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SJR 35, as introduced, Corbett.
   This measure would commemorate the 20th anniversary of the federal
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, encourage all Californians
to recognize and celebrate the important historical significance of
the act, and reaffirm the Legislature's commitment to, and urge
Congress to reaffirm its commitment to, the civil and constitutional
rights of Americans with disabilities.
   Fiscal committee: no.



   WHEREAS, July 26, 2010, marks the 20th anniversary of the signing
of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; and
   WHEREAS, The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was one of
the most significant pieces of civil rights legislation since the
Civil Rights Act of 1964; and
   WHEREAS, This landmark legislation ensures that more than 58
million Americans receive the same basic freedoms of independence,
equal access, freedom of choice, and inclusion afforded to every
citizen of our country, and established the world's first
comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of
disability; and
   WHEREAS, Prior to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities
Act, people with disabilities were excluded and segregated from
public life; denied a public education; subject to discrimination in
housing, employment, and access to public spaces and resources; and
forcibly institutionalized; and
   WHEREAS, The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed because
existing federal and state laws were insufficient to address the
pervasive discrimination that existed for Americans with
disabilities; and
   WHEREAS, People with disabilities campaigned for empowerment and
the right to live independently in the community; and
   WHEREAS, They fought for legal protection from discrimination; the
right to receive quality treatment or services; the right to refuse
treatment or services; due process in all professional or
governmental decisionmaking affecting them; equal access to public
transportation, employment, state and local government programs and
services, and public accommodations; and, most fundamentally,
opposition to forced institutionalization and, correspondingly, the
right to services to support living in the community; and
   WHEREAS, These advancements were based on the principle of
self-determination, involving individual choices in daily living, and
a collective political voice on the part of disability communities
in the formulation of public policies and programs that affect them,
expressed in the political demand: "Nothing About Us, Without Us";
and
   WHEREAS, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act with
overwhelming bipartisan majorities after two years of extensive and
exhaustive hearings detailing the staggering isolation faced by
people with disabilities, and President George H.W. Bush signed the
bill into law on July 26, 1990; and
   WHEREAS, Commemorating the 20th anniversary of the signing of the
Americans with Disabilities Act both highlights the achievements that
people with disabilities have gained since passage of the act and
recognizes the work left to be done to ensure that Americans with
disabilities are fully able to participate in society; and
   WHEREAS, Californians are committed to living in a state where we
are united by our belief in the dignity of every individual, by our
responsibility to advance the common good, and by our understanding
that what we choose to do in our own lifetime matters; now,
therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature commemorates and honors the
20th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990; recognizes and appreciates the work of the countless
individuals and organizations in the disability rights community who
fought tirelessly to advance the cause of people with disabilities,
leading to the passage and enactment of the Americans with
Disabilities Act; encourages all Californians to recognize and
celebrate the important historical significance of the act; and
reaffirms, and urges Congress to reaffirm, its commitment to
promoting the civil and constitutional rights of Americans with
disabilities, and to strongly support the purposes and goals of the
Americans with Disabilities Act; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States,
to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority
Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from
California in the Congress of the United States.