Amended in Senate June 22, 2015

Amended in Assembly June 1, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 28, 2015

Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1342

Introduced by Assembly Member Steinorth

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members Cooley and Kim)

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February 27, 2015

An act to amend Section 1938 of the Civil Code, and to amend Sections 4459.8, 4467, and 8299.06 of the Government Code, relating to disability access, and making an appropriation therefor.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1342, as amended, Steinorth. Disability access.

(1) Existing law requires the State Architect to establish and publicize a program for the voluntary certification by the state of any person who meets specified criteria as a Certified Access Specialist (CASp). Existing law requires each applicant for CASp certification or renewal to pay certain fees, and requires the State Architect to periodically review those fees, as specified. Existing law provides for the deposit of those fees into the Certified Access Specialist Fund, which is continuously appropriated for use by the State Architect to implement the CASp program.

This bill would require applicants for CASp certification or renewal to additionally provide to the State Architect information about the city, county, or city and county in which the applicant intends to provide or has provided services, and would require the State Architect to post that information on his or her Internet Web site.

(2) Until December 31, 2018, existing law requires any applicant for a local business license or equivalent instrument or permit, or renewal of a local business license or equivalent instrument or permit, to pay an additional fee of $1 for that license, instrument, or permit. Under existing law, the city, county, or city and county that collected the fee retains 70% of the fee, and the remaining 30% of the fee is deposited into the Disability Access and Education Revolving Fund, a continuously appropriated fund.

This bill would extend the operation of those provisions indefinitely. By increasing the revenue deposited into a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.

(3) Existing law requires a commercial property owner or lessor to state on every lease form or rental agreement executed on or after July 1, 2013, whether the property has been determined by a CASp to meet all applicable construction-related accessibility standards.

This bill, for every lease form or rental agreement executed on or after July 1, 2016, would require the commercial property owner or lessor to provide the lessee or tenant with a current disability access inspection certificate and inspection report or a copy of a CASp inspection report, or would require a statement on the form or agreement that, upon request of the begin insert lessee or end insert tenant, the property owner begin delete will arrange for end delete begin insert may permit a end insert CASp inspection of the begin delete property end delete begin insert subject premises end insert at the begin insert lessee’s or end insert tenant’s begin delete expense. end delete begin insert expense and that the parties must mutually agree on the arrangements for the time and manner of the inspection. end insert

(4) Existing law establishes the California Commission on Disability Access for purposes of developing recommendations to enable persons with disabilities to exercise their right to full and equal access to public facilities and facilitating business compliance with applicable state and federal laws and regulations. Existing law sets forth the powers and duties of the commission, including, but not limited to, developing educational materials and information for businesses, building owners, tenants, and building officials, posting that information on the commission’s Internet Web site, and coordinating with other state agencies and local building departments to ensure that information provided to the public on disability access requirements is uniform and complete. Existing law provides that those provisions shall not remain operative unless funds are appropriated for those purposes.

This bill would additionally require the commission to provide a link on its Internet Web site to the Internet Web site of the Division of the State Architect’s CASp certification program and to make the commission’s educational materials and information available to other state agencies and local building departments. The bill would also appropriate the sum of $120,000 from the General Fund to the commission for the 2015-16 fiscal year for the purpose of establishing 2 permanent outreach coordinator positions.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 1938 of the Civil Code is amended to
read:

1938.  

(a) A commercial property owner or lessor shall state
on every lease form or rental agreement executed on or after July
1, 2016, whether or not the begin delete property being leased or rented has end delete
begin insert subject premises have end insert undergone inspection by a Certified Access
Specialist (CASp).

(b) If the begin delete property being leased or rented has end delete begin insert subject premises
have end insert undergone inspection by a CASp and, to the best of the
commercial property begin delete owner end delete begin insert owner’s end insert or lessor’s knowledge, there
have been no modifications or alterations completed or commenced
between the date of the inspection and the date of the lease or rental
agreement which have impacted the begin delete property’s end delete begin insert subject premises end insert begin insert ’ end insert
compliance with construction-related accessibility standards, the
commercial property owner or lessor shall provide, prior to
execution of the lease or rental agreement, a copy of any report
prepared by the CASp in response to that inspection to the lessee
or tenant.

(c) If the begin delete property has end delete begin insert subject premises have end insert been issued a
current disability access inspection certificate, as described in
Section 55.53, the commercial property owner or lessor shall
provide a copy of the current disability access inspection certificate
and any inspection report to the lessee or tenant within seven days
of the date of the execution of the lease form or rental agreement.

(d) If the begin delete property has end delete begin insert subject premises have end insert not been issued a
current disability access inspection certificate, the commercial
property owner or lessor shall state the following on the lease form
or rental agreement:

“A Certified Access Specialist (CASp) can inspect the begin delete property end delete
begin insert subject premises end insert and determine whether begin delete it complies end delete begin insert the subject
premises comply end insert with all of the applicable construction-related
accessibility standards under state law. Although state law does
not require a CASp inspection of begin delete this property, end delete begin insert the subject
premises, end insert the begin insert commercial end insert property owner begin delete will arrange for end delete begin insert or lessor
may permit the lessee or tenant to obtain end insert a CASp inspection of
begin delete this property end delete begin insert the subject premises for the occupancy or potential
occupancy of the lessee or tenant, end insert at the begin insert lessee’s or end insert tenant’s
expense, if requested by the begin delete tenant.” end delete begin insert lessee or tenant. The parties
shall mutually agree on the arrangements for the time and manner
of the CASp inspection. end insert begin insert ” end insert

SEC. 2.  

Section 4459.8 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

4459.8.  

(a) The certification authorized by Section 4459.5 is
effective for three years from the date of initial certification and
expires if not renewed. The State Architect, upon consideration of
any factual complaints regarding the work of a certified access
specialist or of other relevant information, may suspend
certification or deny renewal of certification.

(b) (1) The State Architect shall require each applicant for
certification as a certified access specialist to do the following:

(A) Pay fees, including an application and course fee and an
examination fee, at a level sufficient to meet the costs of application
processing, registration, publishing a list, and other activities that
are reasonably necessary to implement and administer the certified
access specialist program.

(B) Provide to the State Architect information about the city,
county, or city and county in which the applicant intends to provide
services.

(2) The State Architect shall require each applicant for renewal
of certification to do the following:

(A) Pay a fee sufficient to cover the reasonable costs of
reassessing qualifications of renewal applicants.

(B) Provide to the State Architect information about the city,
county, or city and county in which the applicant has provided
services since the last day of certification by the State Architect.

(3) The State Architect shall periodically review its schedule
of fees to ensure that its fees for certification are not excessive
while covering the costs to administer the certified access specialist
program. The application fee for a California licensed architect,
landscape architect, civil engineer, or structural engineer shall not
exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250).

(c) All fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited
into the Certified Access Specialist Fund, which is hereby created
in the State Treasury. Notwithstanding Section 13340, this fund
is continuously appropriated without regard to fiscal years for use
by the State Architect to implement Sections 4459.5 to 4459.8,
inclusive.

(d) The State Architect shall post on his or her Internet Web
site information about the city, county, or city and county in which
each certified access specialist provides or intends to provide
services.

SEC. 3.  

Section 4467 of the Government Code is amended to
read:

4467.  

(a) Any applicant for a local business license or
equivalent instrument or permit, and from any applicant for the
renewal of a business license or equivalent instrument or permit,
shall pay an additional fee of one dollar ($1) for that license,
instrument, or permit, which shall be collected by the city, county,
or city and county that issued the license, instrument, or permit.

(b) The city, county, or city and county shall retain 70 percent
of the fees collected under this section, of which up to 5 percent
of the retained moneys may be used for related administrative costs
of this chapter. The remaining moneys shall be used to fund
increased certified access specialist (CASp) services in that
jurisdiction for the public and to facilitate compliance with
construction-related accessibility requirements. The highest priority
shall be given to the training and retention of certified access
specialists to meet the needs of the public in the jurisdiction as
provided in Section 55.53 of the Civil Code.

(c) The remaining 30 percent of all fees collected under this
section shall be transmitted on a quarterly basis to the Division of
the State Architect for deposit in the Disability Access and
Education Revolving Fund established under Sections 4465 and
4470. The funds shall be transmitted within 15 days of the last day
of the fiscal quarter. The Division of the State Architect shall
develop and post on its Internet Web site a standard reporting form
for use by all local jurisdictions. Up to 75 percent of the collected
funds in the Disability Access and Education Revolving Fund shall
be used to establish and maintain oversight of the CASp program
and to moderate the expense of CASp certification and testing.

(d) Each city, county, or city and county shall make an annual
report, commencing March 1, 2014, to the Legislature and to the
Chairs of the Senate and Assembly Committees on Judiciary, and
the Chair of the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review
and the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Budget, of the total
fees collected in the previous calendar year and of its distribution,
including the moneys spent on administrative services, the moneys
spent to increase CASp services, the moneys spent to fund
programs to facilitate compliance, and the moneys transmitted to
the Disability Access and Education Revolving Fund. A report to
be submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in
compliance with Section 9795.

SEC. 4.  

Section 8299.06 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

8299.06.  

(a) A priority of the commission shall be the
development and dissemination of educational materials and
information to promote and facilitate disability access compliance.

(b) The commission shall work with other state agencies,
including the Division of the State Architect and the Department
of Rehabilitation, to develop educational materials and information
for use by businesses to understand its obligations to provide
disability access and to facilitate compliance with
construction-related accessibility standards.

(c) The commission shall develop and make available on its
Internet Web site, or make available on its Internet Web site if
developed by another governmental agency, including Americans
with Disabilities Act centers, toolkits or educational modules to
assist a California business to understand its obligations under the
law and to facilitate compliance with respect to the top 10 alleged
construction-related violations, by type, as specified in subdivision
(a) of Section 8299.08. Upon completion of this requirement, the
commission shall develop and make available on its Internet Web
site, or work with another agency to develop, other toolkits or
educational modules that would educate businesses of the
accessibility requirements and to facilitate compliance with that
requirement.

(d) The commission shall post the following on its Internet Web
site:

(1) Educational materials and information that will assist
building owners, tenants, building officials, and building inspectors
to understand the disability accessibility requirements and to
facilitate compliance with disability access laws. The commission
shall at least annually review the educational materials and
information on disability access requirements and compliance
available on the Internet Web site of other local, state, or federal
agencies, including Americans with Disabilities Act centers, to
augment the educational materials and information developed by
the commission.

(2) A link to the Internet Web site of the Division of the State
Architect’s Certified Access Specialist (CASp) Program to assist
building owners and tenants in locating or hiring a CASp.

(e) The commission shall, to the extent feasible, coordinate with
other state agencies and local building departments to ensure that
information provided to the public on disability access requirements
is uniform and complete, and make its educational materials and
information available to those agencies and departments.

(f) The commission shall establish a permanent legislative
outreach coordinator position and a permanent educational outreach
coordinator position.

SEC. 5.  

For the 2015-16 fiscal year, the sum of one hundred
twenty thousand dollars ($120,000) is hereby appropriated from
the General Fund to the California Commission on Disability
Access for the purpose of establishing the outreach coordinator
positions described in subdivision (f) of Section 8299.06 of the
Government Code.