BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SJR 35|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SJR 35
Author: Corbett (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
WITHOUT REFERENCE TO COMMITTEE OR FILE
SUBJECT : Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
SOURCE : Disability Rights, CA
Foundation of Independent Lives Centers
DIGEST : This bill commemorates the 20th anniversary of
the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,
encourages all Californians to recognize and celebrate the
important historical significance of the act, and reaffirms
the Legislature's commitment to, and urges the Untied
States Congress to reaffirm its commitment to, the civil
and constitutional rights of Americans with disabilities.
ANALYSIS :
Resolutions findings:
1. July 26, 2010, marks the 20th anniversary of the signing
of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
2. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was one of
the most significant pieces of civil rights legislation
since the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
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3. This landmark legislation ensures that more than 58
million Americans receive the same basic freedoms of
independence, equal access, freedom of choice, and
inclusion afforded to every citizen of our country, and
established the world's first comprehensive prohibition
of discrimination on the basis of disability.
4. Prior to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities
Act, people with disabilities were excluded and
segregated from public life; denied a public education;
subject to discrimination in housing, employment, and
access to public spaces and resources; and forcibly
institutionalized.
5. The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed because
existing federal and state laws were insufficient to
address the pervasive discrimination that existed for
Americans with disabilities.
6. People with disabilities campaigned for empowerment and
the right to live independently in the community.
7. They fought for legal protection from discrimination;
the right to receive quality treatment or services; the
right to refuse treatment or services; due process in
all professional or governmental decisionmaking
affecting them; equal access to public transportation,
employment, state and local government programs and
services, and public accommodations; and, most
fundamentally, opposition to forced institutionalization
and, correspondingly, the right to services to support
living in the community.
8. These advancements were based on the principle of
self-determination, involving individual choices in
daily living, and a collective political voice on the
part of disability communities in the formulation of
public policies and programs that affect them, expressed
in the political demand: "Nothing About Us, Without Us".
9. Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act with
overwhelming bipartisan majorities after two years of
extensive and exhaustive hearings detailing the
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staggering isolation faced by people with disabilities,
and President George H.W. Bush signed the bill into law
on July 26, 1990.
10.Commemorating the 20th anniversary of the signing of the
Americans with Disabilities Act both highlights the
achievements that people with disabilities have gained
since passage of the act and recognizes the work left to
be done to ensure that Americans with disabilities are
fully able to participate in society.
11.Californians are committed to living in a state where we
are united by our belief in the dignity of every
individual, by our responsibility to advance the common
good, and by our understanding that what we choose to do
in our own lifetime matters.
This bill commemorates the 20th anniversary of the federal
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, encourages all
Californians to recognize and celebrate the important
historical significance of the act, and reaffirms the
Legislature's commitment to, and urges the United States
Congress to reaffirm its commitment to, the civil and
constitutional rights of Americans with disabilities.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/3/10)
Disability Rights, CA (co-source)
Foundation of independent Lives Centers (co-source)
CTW:do 8/3/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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