BILL NUMBER: SB 251 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Roth
FEBRUARY 18, 2015
An act to amend Sections 52 and 55.52 of the Civil Code, relating
to disability access.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 251, as introduced, Roth. Civil rights: disability access.
Existing law establishes remedies for discrimination on the basis
of various specified personal characteristics, including disability.
The Construction-Related Accessibility Standards Compliance Act
establishes standards for making new construction and existing
facilities accessible to persons with disabilities and provides for
construction-related accessibility claims for violations of those
standards.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these
provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 52 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
52. (a) Whoever denies, aids or incites a denial, or makes any
discrimination or distinction contrary to Section 51, 51.5, or 51.6,
is liable for each and every offense for the
actual damages, and any amount that may be determined by a
jury, or a court sitting without a jury, up to a maximum of three
times the amount of actual damage but in no case less than four
thousand dollars ($4,000), and any attorney's fees that may be
determined by the court in addition thereto, damages
suffered by any person denied the those
rights provided in Section 51, 51.5, or 51.6.
and both of the following:
(1) An amount to be determined by a jury, or a court sitting
without a jury, not more than three times the amount of actual
damages but not less than four thousand dollars ($4,000).
(2) Attorney's fees as may be determined by the court.
(b) Whoever denies the right provided by Section 51.7 or 51.9, or
aids, incites, or conspires in that denial, is liable for each
and every offense for the actual damages suffered
by any person denied that right and, in addition, the following:
(1) An amount to be determined by a jury, or a court sitting
without a jury, for exemplary damages.
(2) A civil penalty of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) to
be awarded to the person denied the right provided by Section 51.7 in
any an action brought by the person
denied the right, or by the Attorney General, a district attorney, or
a city attorney. An action for that penalty brought pursuant to
Section 51.7 shall be commenced within three years of the alleged
practice.
(3) Attorney's fees as may be determined by the court.
(c) Whenever there is reasonable cause to believe that
any a person or group of persons is engaged in
conduct of resistance to the full enjoyment of any of the rights
described in this section, and that conduct is of that nature and is
intended to deny the full exercise of those rights, the Attorney
General, any a district
attorney or attorney, a city attorney, or any
person aggrieved by the conduct may bring a civil action in the
appropriate court by filing with it a complaint. The complaint shall
contain the following:
(1) The signature of the officer, or, in his or her absence, the
individual acting on behalf of the officer, or the signature of the
person aggrieved.
(2) The facts pertaining to the conduct.
(3) A request for preventive relief, including an application for
a permanent or temporary injunction, restraining order, or other
order against the person or persons responsible for the conduct, as
the complainant deems necessary to ensure the full enjoyment of the
rights described in this section.
(d) Whenever an action has been commenced in any
a court seeking relief from the denial of equal
protection of the laws under the Fourteenth Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States on account of race, color,
religion, sex, national origin, or disability, the Attorney
General or any General, district
attorney attorney, or city attorney for or in
the name of the people of the State of California may intervene in
the action upon timely application if the Attorney General
or any General, district attorney
attorney, or city attorney certifies that the
case is of general public importance. In that action, the people of
the State of California shall be entitled to the same relief as if it
had instituted the action.
(e) Actions brought pursuant to this section are independent of
any other actions, remedies, or procedures that may be available to
an aggrieved party pursuant to any other law.
(f) Any person claiming to be aggrieved by an alleged unlawful
practice in violation of Section 51 or 51.7 may also file a verified
complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing pursuant
to Section 12948 of the Government Code.
(g) This section does not require any construction, alteration,
repair, structural or otherwise, or modification of any sort
whatsoever, modification beyond that
construction, alteration, repair, or modification that is otherwise
required by other provisions of law, to any new or existing
establishment, facility, building, improvement, or any other
structure, nor does this section augment, restrict, or alter in any
way the authority of the State Architect to require construction,
alteration, repair, or modifications that the State Architect
otherwise possesses pursuant to other laws.
(h) For the purposes of this section, "actual damages" means
special and general damages. This subdivision is declaratory of
existing law.
(i) Subdivisions (b) to (f), inclusive, shall not be waived by
contract except as provided in Section 51.7.
SEC. 2. Section 55.52 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
55.52. (a) For purposes of this part, the following definitions
apply:
(1) "Construction-related accessibility claim" means any
a civil claim in a civil action with respect to
a place of public accommodation, including, but not limited to, a
claim brought under Section 51, 54, 54.1, or 55, based wholly or in
part on an alleged violation of any construction-related
accessibility standard, as defined in paragraph (6).
(2) "Application for stay and early evaluation conference" means
an application to be filed with the court that meets the requirements
of subdivision (c) of Section 55.54.
(3) "Certified access specialist" or "CASp" means any person who
has been certified pursuant to Section 4459.5 of the Government Code.
(4) "Meets applicable standards" means the site was inspected by a
CASp and determined to meet all applicable construction-related
accessibility standards pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a)
of Section 55.53. A site that is "CASp inspected" on or before the
effective date of the amendments made to this section by
Senate Bill 1186 of the 2011-12 Regular Session of the Legislature
Chapter 383 of the Statutes of 2012 means that
the site "meets applicable standards."
(5) "Inspected by a CASp" means the site was inspected by a CASp
and is pending a determination by the CASp that the site meets
applicable construction-related accessibility standards pursuant to
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 55.53. A site that is
"CASp determination pending" on or before the effective date of the
amendments made to this section by Senate Bill 1186 of the
2011-12 Regular Session of the Legislature Chapter 383
of the Statutes of 2012 means that the site was "inspected by
a CASp."
(6) "Construction-related accessibility standard" means a
provision, standard, or regulation under state or federal law
requiring compliance with standards for making new construction and
existing facilities accessible to persons with disabilities,
including, but not limited to, any provision, standard, or regulation
set forth in Section 51, 54, 54.1, or 55 of this code, Section
19955.5 of the Health and Safety Code, the California Building
Standards Code (Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations), the
federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-336;
42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.), and the federal Americans with
Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (Appendix A to Part 36 of
Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations).
(7) "Place of public accommodation" has the same meaning as
"public accommodation," as set forth in Section 12181(7) of Title 42
of the United States Code and the federal regulations adopted
pursuant to that section.
(8) "Qualified defendant" means a defendant in an action that
includes a construction-related accessibility claim that is asserted
against a place of public accommodation that met the requirements of
"meets applicable standards" or "inspected by a CASp" prior to the
date the defendant was served with the summons and complaint in that
action. To be a qualified defendant, the defendant is not required to
have been the party who hired any CASp, so long as the basis of the
alleged liability of the defendant is a construction-related
accessibility claim. To determine whether a defendant is a qualified
defendant, the court need not make a finding that the place of public
accommodation complies with all applicable construction-related
accessibility standards as a matter of law. The court need only
determine that the place of public accommodation has a status of
"meets applicable standards" or "inspected by a CASp."
(9) "Site" means a place of public accommodation.
(b) Unless otherwise indicated, terms used in this part relating
to civil procedure have the same meanings that those terms have in
the Code of Civil Procedure.