BILL NUMBER: AB 2093 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Steinorth
FEBRUARY 17, 2016
An act to amend Section 1938 of the Civil Code, and to amend
Sections 4459.8 and 8299.06 of the Government Code, relating to
disability access.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2093, as introduced, 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 the name of
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) 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 January 1, 2017, 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, as specified, or would require a statement on
the form or agreement that, upon request of the lessee or tenant,
the property owner may not prohibit a CASp inspection of the subject
premises at the lessee's or tenant's expense and that the parties
must mutually agree on the arrangements for the time and manner of
the inspection.
(3) 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.
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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. 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 January 1,
2013, 2017, whether or not the
property being leased or rented has subject
premises have undergone inspection by a Certified Access
Specialist (CASp), and, if so, whether the property has or
has not been determined to meet all applicable construction-related
accessibility standards pursuant to Section 55.53.
(CASp).
(b) If the subject premises have undergone inspection by a CASp
and, to the best of the commercial property owner's 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 subject premises'
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 with an agreement from the prospective lessee or tenant that
information in the report shall remain confidential, except as
necessary for the tenant to complete repairs and corrections of
violations of construction-related accessibility standards that the
lessee or tenant agrees to make.
(c) If the subject premises have been issued an inspection report
by a CASp, as described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of
Section 55.53, indicating that it meets applicable standards, as
defined in paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of 55.52, 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 not already provided pursuant to subdivision
(b) within seven days of the date of the execution of the lease form
or rental agreement.
(d) If the subject premises have not been issued a disability
access inspection certificate, as described in subdivision (e) of
Section 55.53, 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 subject
premises and determine whether the subject premises comply with all
of the applicable construction-related accessibility standards under
state law. Although state law does not require a CASp inspection of
the subject premises, the commercial property owner or lessor may not
prohibit the lessee or tenant from obtaining a CASp inspection of
the subject premises for the occupancy or potential occupancy of the
lessee or tenant, at the lessee's or tenant's expense, if requested
by the lessee or tenant. The parties shall mutually agree on the
arrangements for the time and manner of the CASp inspection."
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 pay
do both of 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. The
(B) Provide to the State Architect the
name of 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 pay
do both of the following:
(A) Pay a fee sufficient to cover
the reasonable costs of reassessing qualifications of renewal
applicants.
(B) Provide to the State Architect the name of the city, county,
or city and county in which the applicant has provided services since
the last day of certification by the State Architect.
(2)
(3) The State Architect shall periodically review
its his or her schedule of fees to
ensure that its the 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
the name of the city, county, or city and county in which each
certified access specialist provides or intends to provide services.
SEC. 3. 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 their
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 educational 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. complete, and make
its educational materials and information available to those agencies
and departments.