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.









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          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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