BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Senator Isadore Hall, III
Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1342 Hearing Date: 6/29/2015
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|Author: |Steinorth |
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|Version: |6/22/2015 Amended |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Felipe Lopez |
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SUBJECT: Disability access
DIGEST: This bill appropriates $120,000 from the General Fund
to the California Commission on Disability Access (CCDA) which
shall be used to provide funding to establish two permanent
outreach coordinator positions and enacts other measures
intended to promote disability access compliance.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Establishes the CCDA, an independent state agency composed of
17 members, with the general responsibility for monitoring
disability access compliance in California, and the authority
to hold hearings and make recommendations to the Legislature
for necessary changes to existing state law in order to
facilitate implementation of state and federal laws on
disability access.
2)Requires the State Architect to establish and publicize a
program for the voluntarily certification by the state of any
person who meets specified criteria as a Certified Access
Specialist (CASp).
3)Requires each applicant for CASp certification or renewal to
pay certain fees, and requires the State Architect to
periodically review those fees, as specified.
AB 1342 (Steinorth) Page 2 of ?
4)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.
5)Requires, until December 31, 2018, 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. 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.
6)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:
1)Appropriates $120,000 from the General Fund to the CCDA to
establish a permanent legislative outreach coordinator
position and a permanent educational outreach coordinator
position.
2)Requires 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.
3)Removes the sunset provision under current law that requires
an applicant for a business license or renewal to pay a $1 fee
to local jurisdictions to assist in funding CASp services.
4)Requires the CCDA 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 CCDA's
educational materials and information available to other state
agencies and local building departments.
AB 1342 (Steinorth) Page 3 of ?
5)Requires a commercial property owner or lessor to state on
every lease form or rental agreement executed on or after July
1, 2016, to provide the lessee or tenant with a current
disability access inspection certificate and inspection report
or a copy of the CASp inspection report.
6)Requires, if the subject premises have not been issued a
current disability access inspection certificate, the property
owner or lessor to include a statement on the rental agreement
that, upon request of the lessee or tenant, the property owner
may permit a CASp inspection of the subject premises at the
lessee's or tenant's expense and that the parties must
mutually agree on the time and manner of the inspection.
Background
Purpose of the bill. According to the author, "the CCDA is
entrusted with a variety of responsibilities relating to
disability access throughout California. However, the CCDA has
not received funding increases in accordance with new
responsibilities from the Legislature. The author further
argues that with the funding given to the CCDA by AB 1342, the
CCDA will have a half a year of funding so that they may begin
hiring permanent staff positions to pursue the goals of their
five year strategic plan."
In addition, the author argues that, "AB 1342 takes several
actions relating to CASp inspections. It was noted to our office
by persons involved in the business community that it can be
difficult to identify CASp inspectors in their area who may
inspect their property." AB 1342 would require CASp applicants
to provide the State Architect information about the location of
where he or she will be providing those services and require the
State Architect to post that information on the State
Architect's Internet Web site.
Finally the author argues that, "the bill also requires property
owners to provide tenants with any copies of CASp inspections
that have occurred, so that tenants may be aware of any
potential access violations. If a CASp inspection has not
occurred, as it is not required by state law, property owners
must state on the lease agreements that the tenant may seek a
CASp inspection if they desire, at their own expense. The
purpose of this requirement is to increase awareness that these
inspections are available, providing tenants the opportunity to
AB 1342 (Steinorth) Page 4 of ?
proactively ensure that the property is compliant with the
American with Disabilities Act (ADA)."
History of CCDA. In 2008, the Legislature passed SB 1608
(Corbett, Chapter 549, Statutes of 2008) which established the
CCDA as part of a bipartisan package of reforms shaped by
discussions from disability rights advocates, attorneys for
plaintiffs and defendants, and business interests. According to
their mission statement, the CCDA's mission is to promote
disability access in California through dialogue and
collaboration with stakeholders including but not limited to the
disability and business community and all levels of government.
According to the author of SB 1608, the bill included a
multi-faceted approach aimed at addressing the high rate of
non-compliance with construction-related accessibility standards
by public accommodations in California, recognizing the value of
and promoting voluntary compliance and prevention. Significant
portions of SB 1608 were dependent on the continued funding of
the Commission. The author of AB 1342 contends that the CCDA
since its inception has been tasked with additional
responsibilities without corresponding increases in funding.
Locating a CASp. The State Architect publishes a list of all the
CASps in the State on its website. Currently, there are over
575 CASps, however, the current list does not specify the
location in which a CASp provides his or her services. This
bill requires an applicant for CASp certification or renewal to
provide the State Architect the location where the applicant
will provide CASp services, specifically, the city, county, or
city and county. Additionally, AB 1342 requires the State
Architect to publish information on his or her Internet Web
site.
Compliance with Disability laws. Under current law, a
commercial property owner is required to state on every lease
form or rental agreement whether the property has been inspected
by a CASp. However, because the property owner may not know
whether the property has met all applicable-related
accessibility standards, current law may unintentionally create
a disincentive for a business property owner to obtain CASp
services. The additional information provided under this bill
AB 1342 (Steinorth) Page 5 of ?
might allow commercial tenants to better understand the state of
the leased property, and hopefully allow the commercial property
owner or tenant to take proactive steps in reaching compliance
with disability access laws.
Prior/Related Legislation
AB 52 (Gray, 2015) provides that the defendant's maximum
liability for statutory damages in a construction-related
accessibility claim against a place of public accommodation is
$1,000 for each offense if the defendant has corrected all
construction-related violations within 180 days of being served
with the complaint. (Held in Assembly Judiciary Committee)
AB 54 (Olsen, 2015) requires a plaintiff who has been denied
access to a public accommodation because of a
construction-related accessibility violation of a standard which
has changed in the past three years to give notice to the
defendant 60 days before filing a complaint and an opportunity
to cure the violation, with no statutory damages payable to the
plaintiff; and provides a tax credit under the Personal Income
Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law to any taxpayer who obtains
a certified access specialist inspection. (Held in Assembly
Revenue and Taxation Committee)
AB 1230 (Gomez, 2015) establishes the California Americans with
Disabilities Act Small Business Compliance Act to provide loans
to assist small businesses finance the costs of projects that
alter or retrofit existing small business facilities to comply
with the federal American with Disabilities Act. (Pending in
Senate Governmental Organization Committee)
AB 1468 (Baker, 2015) provides that a public entity's possession
of a close out letter from the State Architect certifying that
the buildings, facilities, and other places meet the applicable
construction-related accessibility standards of the federal
Americans with Disabilities Act, serves as presumptive evidence
of compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
(Held in Assembly Judiciary Committee)
SB 67 (Galgiani, 2015) exempts a small business from statutory
damage liability in connection with a construction-related
accessibility claim and extends the period for correcting
construction-related violations that are the basis of a claim
AB 1342 (Steinorth) Page 6 of ?
from 60 days to 120 days of being served with the complaint, for
purposes of reducing a defendant's minimum statutory damage
liability to $1,000. (Held in Senate Judiciary Committee)
SB 1608 (Corbett, Chapter 549, Statutes of 2008) enacted the
CCDA and various other reforms intended to increase voluntary
compliance with longstanding state and federal laws requiring
access to the disabled in any place of public accommodation.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Yes Fiscal
Com.: Yes Local: No
SUPPORT:
American Institute of Architects California Council
Building Owners and Managers Association of California
California Building Industry Association
California Business Properties Association
California Chamber of Commerce
California Commission on Disability Access
Commercial Real Estate Development Association, NAIOP of
California
Consumer Attorneys of California
Disability Rights California
International Council of Shopping Centers
National Federation of Independent Businesses
OPPOSITION:
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to Disability Rights
California, "the CCDA has been instrumental in collecting
information about disability access issues. Their reports
provide an excellent overview of the types of architectural
access issues that exist. Providing additional funding to
continue their research is critical as they develop and
implement recommendations as outlined in its strategic plan for
improving access across California."
The CCDA argues that "AB 1342 properly addresses the lack of
resources for CCDA to fulfill its mandate. The recognition of
this lack of sufficient resource allocations required for CCDA
to accomplish its legislative mandates is appropriately
AB 1342 (Steinorth) Page 7 of ?
observed. We believe AB 1342 properly establishes the vehicle
to ensure the CCDA will be able to do its work."
DUAL REFERRAL: Senate Judiciary Committee