BILL NUMBER: AB 2093 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 25, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Steinorth
( Coauthor: Senator Roth
)
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. access, and
declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2093, as amended, Steinorth. Disability access.
(1) Existing
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
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 would require the commercial property owner or lessor to
state on every lease form or rental agreement executed on or after
January 1, 2017, whether or not the premises have been inspected by a
CASp specialist. The bill would require a 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, if the premises have been
issued an inspection report indicating that they meet applicable
standards. If the premises have not been issued a disability access
inspection certificate, the bill would require a statement on the
lease form or rental agreement stating that, upon request of the
lessee or tenant, the property owner may not prohibit a CASp
inspection of the subject premises and that the parties must mutually
agree on the arrangements for the time and manner of the inspection,
the payment of the associated fee, and the cost of making repairs,
as specified. The
The bill would require a property owner or lessor of
premises that have been subject to CASp inspection, and that remain
unmodified or altered, as specified, since the date of the inspection
and the lease or rental agreement with regard to
construction-related accessibility standards, to provide a copy of
the report that is to remain confidential except as necessary to make
repairs and corrections, as specified. The
The bill would establish a presumption that making
repairs or modifications necessary to correct violations of
construction-related accessibility standards that are noted in a CASp
report is the responsibility of the commercial property owner or
lessor unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties to the lease or
rental agreement. The bill would grant a prospective lessee or tenant
the opportunity to review any CASp report prior to execution of the
lease or rental agreement, and if the report is not provided at least
48 hours prior to execution of a lease or rental agreement, the bill
would grant a prospective lessee or tenant the right to rescind the
lease or agreement, based upon information in the report, for 72
hours after execution.
(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.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Vote: majority 2/3 . Appropriation:
no. Fiscal committee: yes no .
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 January 1,
2017, whether or not the subject premises have undergone inspection
by a Certified Access Specialist (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) Making any repairs or modifications necessary to correct
violations of construction-related accessibility standards that are
noted in a CASp report is presumed to be the responsibility of the
commercial property owner or lessor, unless otherwise mutually agreed
upon by the commercial property owner or lessor and the lessee or
tenant. The prospective lessee or tenant shall have the opportunity
to review any CASp report prior to execution of the lease or rental
agreement. If the report is not provided to the prospective lessee or
tenant at least 48 hours prior to execution of the lease or rental
agreement, the prospective lessee or tenant shall have the right to
rescind the lease or rental agreement, based upon the information
contained in the report, for 72 hours after execution of the
agreement.
(d) 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 Section 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.
(e) 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, if requested by the lessee or tenant. The parties
shall mutually agree on the arrangements for the time and manner of
the CASp inspection, the payment of the fee for the CASp inspection,
and the cost of making any repairs necessary to correct violations of
construction-related accessibility standards within the premises."
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 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.
(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 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.
(3) The State Architect shall periodically review his or her
schedule of fees to ensure that 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 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 on 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 sites 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.
SEC. 2. This act is an urgency statute necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety
within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go
into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to increase compliance with accessibility standards for
the benefit of the public, especially disabled consumers who may
experience unjust discomfort, difficulty, or embarrassment when
public places or businesses are not compliant with accessibility
standards required by law and to improve the ability of businesses to
correct accessibility violations, provide clarity to property owners
and tenants regarding responsibility for correcting accessibility
violations and increase awareness of state programs to inspect
properties for accessibility violations, it is necessary that this
act go into effect immediately.