BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2093|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2093
Author: Steinorth (R), et al.
Amended: 5/25/16 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/14/16
AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning,
Wieckowski
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 4/21/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Disability access
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill makes various changes to the law as it
pertains to commercial rental agreements and
construction-related access violations.
ANALYSIS: Existing federal law provides, under the federal
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), that no individual shall
be discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full
and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities,
privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public
accommodation by any person who owns, leases, or leases to, or
operates a place of public accommodation. (42 U.S.C. Sec.
12182.)
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Existing state law:
1)Declares, under the Unruh Civil Rights Act, that all persons,
regardless of sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national
origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information,
marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary
language, or immigration status are entitled to the full and
equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or
services in all business establishments of every kind
whatsoever. (Civ. Code Sec. 51 et seq.)
2)Provides that individuals with disabilities or medical
conditions have the same right as the general public to the
full and free use of the streets, highways, sidewalks,
walkways, public buildings, medical facilities, including
hospitals, clinics and physicians' offices, public facilities,
and other public places. It also provides that a violation of
an individual's rights under the ADA constitutes a violation
of state law. (Civ. Code Secs. 54, 54.1.)
3)Provides that a violation of the ADA also constitutes a
violation of Sections 54 or 54.1, and entitles a prevailing
party to recover reasonable attorney's fees. (Civ. Code Sec.
55.)
4)Establishes the California Commission on Disability Access
(CCDA), an independent state agency composed of 17 members, to
monitor disability access compliance in California, and make
recommendations to the Legislature for necessary changes in
order to facilitate implementation of state and federal laws
on disability access. (Gov. Code Sec. 8299 et seq.)
5)Requires a commercial property owner to state on a lease form
or rental agreement executed on or after July 1, 2013, if the
property being leased or rented has undergone inspection by a
Certified Access Specialist (CASp). (Civ. Code Sec. 1938.)
6)Requires the State Architect to establish the CASp Program and
develop the specified criteria to have a person qualify as a
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CASp. (Gov. Code Sec. 4459.5; Civ. Code Sec. 55.52.)
7)Requires, commencing January 1, 2010, a local agency to employ
or retain at least one building inspector who is a CASp, and,
commencing on January 1, 2014, to employ or retain a
sufficient number of building inspectors who are CASp to
conduct inspections with respect to new construction. (Civ.
Code Sec. 55.53(d).)
This bill:
1)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.
2)Requires a commercial property owner, for every lease or
rental agreement executed on or after January 1, 2017, to
state on the lease or rental agreement whether the subject
premises have undergone a CASp inspection.
3)Requires, for properties that have undergone a CASp inspection
and there have been no subsequent modifications or
alterations, the commercial property owner to provide the
lessee or tenant with a copy of the CASp inspection report.
This report shall remain confidential, except as necessary for
the tenant to complete repairs, as specified.
4)Creates a presumption that repairs necessary to correct
violations noted in a CASp report are the responsibility of
the commercial property owner unless otherwise mutually agreed
to by the owner and prospective tenant, and requires the
following:
That the prospective tenant have an opportunity to
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review any CASp report prior to the execution of the lease
or rental agreement;
That if the CASp report is not provided to the
prospective tenant at least 48 hours prior to the execution
of the lease or rental agreement, he or she shall have the
right to rescind the lease or rental agreement, based on
information contained in the report, for up to 72 hours
after the execution of the agreement;
That the property owner provide any available disability
access certificate (indicating that the premises passed a
CASp inspection) to the tenant within seven days of the
execution of the lease or rental agreement; and
A notice on the lease or rental agreement, for a
building that has not had a CASp inspection, providing that
a property owner may not prohibit a tenant from obtaining a
CASp inspection, and that the parties shall mutually agree
on the arrangements for the CASp inspection, including the
payment of the fee, and the cost of making any repairs
necessary to correct violations noted in the report.
1)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 requires the
State Architect to post that information on his or her
Internet Web site.
Background
Since 1969, persons with disabilities have enjoyed protection
under Civil Code Sections 54 and 54.1, which entitle individuals
with disabilities and medical conditions to full and free access
to, and use of, roadways, sidewalks, buildings, and facilities
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open to the public, hospitals and medical facilities, and
housing. After Congress enacted the ADA in 1990, California made
a violation of the ADA also a violation of Section 54 or 54.1.
The protections provided to disabled persons under California
law are comparatively higher than those provided under the ADA
and are independent of the ADA.
Additionally, under the Unruh Civil Rights Act, all persons,
regardless of sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national
origin, disability or medical condition, are entitled to the
full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities,
privileges, or services in all business establishments of every
kind whatsoever. (Civ. Code Sec. 51.) A violation of the ADA
also constitutes a violation of Section 51. A violation of that
section subjects a person to actual damages incurred by an
injured party, plus treble actual damages, but in no event less
than $4,000, and any attorney's fees as the court may determine
to be proper. (Civ. Code Sec. 52.)
The CCDA, established in 2008, is charged with promoting
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. Accordingly, the CCDA is authorized to act as an
information resource; to research and prepare advisory reports
of findings to the Legislature on issues related to disability
access, compliance inspections and continuing education; to
increase coordination between stakeholders; to make
recommendations to promote compliance with federal and state
laws and regulations; and to provide uniform information about
programmatic and architectural disability access requirements to
the stakeholders.
Seeking to better achieve compliance with disability access
requirements in California, this bill requires specific
disclosures to commercial tenants with regard to the compliance
status of a rental property, allows a tenant to rescind the
lease based on information in a CASp report, and requires
certain information to be made publicly available by the CCDA.
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FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified6/17/16)
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
Civil Justice Association of California
Commercial Real Estate Development Association, NAIOP of
California Consumer Attorneys of California
International Council of Shopping Centers
National Federation of Independent Businesses
OPPOSITION: (Verified6/17/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: In support, the Civil Justice
Association of California writes:
Prospective commercial tenants may be unaware of existing
construction-related accessibility standards or compliance
issues. Property owners and tenants alike may be unaware of
the local availability of CASp services.
AB 2093 will improve the ability of property owners to arrange
for CASp inspections, and promote awareness by both owners and
tenants of accessibility requirements and any access issues
with leased property. This bill will promote compliance with
construction-related accessibility standards, improving access
and discouraging abusive lawsuits. For these reasons we
support AB 2093.
AB 2093
Page 7
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 4/21/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper,
Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim,
Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis,
Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte,
O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Rodriguez, Salas,
Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ridley-Thomas
Prepared by:Nichole Rapier / JUD. / (916) 651-4113
6/17/16 15:03:44
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