Bill Text: CA AB1468 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Civil rights: disability access.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-02-01 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB1468 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB1468-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1468 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Baker
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Wilk)
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
An act to amend Section 55.52 of, and to add Section 54.26 to, the
Civil Code, relating to civil rights.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1468, as amended, Baker. Civil rights: disability access.
Existing law 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.
Existing law prescribes a process for prosecuting an action in this
regard and provides that a person aggrieved or potentially aggrieved
by a violation of these rights may bring an action for damages and
that a prevailing party is entitled to recover reasonable attorney's
fees.
This bill would except from the application of these provisions
public buildings, public facilities, and other public places of a
public entity that, on specified dates, met specified disability
access design standards. The bill would provide that a public entity'
s possession of a close out letter from the State Architect
certifying that the buildings, facilities, and other places to which
the letter applies meet the applicable building and
construction-related accessibility standards of the federal Americans
with Disabilities Act serves as presumptive evidence that the public
buildings, facilities, and places are in compliance with this part
and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
Existing law prescribes a process in certain construction-related
accessibility claims against a place of public accommodation. This
process permits statutory damages to be awarded against a place of
public accommodation only if the violation denied the plaintiff full
and equal access to the place of public accommodation on a particular
occasion. This process also reduces a defendant's minimum statutory
damage liability to $1,000 if the defendant demonstrates that it has
corrected all construction-related violations that are the basis of a
claim within 60 days of being served with the complaint, and other
select conditions are met.
This bill would apply the process described above to an action
commenced on or after that January 1, 2016, or an action commenced
prior to that date for which a final judgment has not been entered,
to public buildings, public facilities, and other public places of
an educational institution of a public entity by revising
the definition of a place of public accommodation.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) Existing law provides that individuals with disabilities or
medical conditions have the same right as the general public to the
full and free use of streets, highways, sidewalks, walkways, public
buildings, medical facilities, public facilities, and other public
places.
(b) Existing law prescribes a process for bringing an action to
remedy issues of accessibility and provides that a person aggrieved
or potentially aggrieved by a violation of these rights may bring an
action for damages.
(c) Legislation enacted in 2012 requires an attorney to provide a
written advisory with each demand letter or complaint to a defendant
or potential defendant for any construction-related accessibility
claim. Certain basic review requirements are also required prior to
sending a demand letter. This legislation did not and does not apply
to public facilities.
(d) It is the mission of community colleges and school districts
to provide quality educational programs and services that address the
diverse needs of students and communities throughout the state.
(e) California's community colleges place a heavy importance on
providing quality educational facilities that are accessible to all
members of the community.
(f) Community colleges and local educational agencies, as well as
other public agencies, are subject to design and construction
oversight by the Division of the State Architect. The Division of the
State Architect evaluates compliance with building code and
Education Code requirements for accessibility, structural safety, and
fire and life safety on new construction projects and on
modernization projects.
(g) As part of its responsibilities, the Division of the State
Architect performs a project closeout to determine that the project
complies with codes and regulations governing school construction,
including accessibility. This process examines facilities for
specific requirements before, during, and after construction to
ensure any outstanding issues have been resolved. At the end of
construction, the Division of the State Architect issues a closeout
letter for the project that indicates compliance with applicable
rules and regulations.
(h) In light of the participation of the Division of the State
Architect in the design and construction of facilities of community
colleges and local educational agencies, it is appropriate that these
facilities receive additional protections already extended to
private defendants in construction-accessibility actions.
SECTION 1. SEC. 2. Section 54.26 is
added to the Civil Code, to read:
54.26. (a) For any action commenced on or after January 1, 2016,
or for an action commenced prior to that date for which a final
judgment has not been entered, the following shall apply:
(1) New construction or alteration of a structure conducted by a
public entity on or before September 15, 2010, that complies with the
1991 ADA Standards for Accessible Design or the Uniform Federal
Accessibility Standards are deemed not in violation of this part.
(2) New construction or alteration of a structure conducted by a
public entity on or after September 15, 2010, and before March 15,
2012, that complies with either the 1991 ADA Standards for Accessible
Design or 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design are deemed not in
violation of this part.
(3) New construction or alteration of a structure conducted by a
public entity on or after March 15, 2012, that complies with the 2010
ADA Standards for Accessible Design or the applicable code in place
at the time of construction or alteration are deemed not in violation
of this part.
(4) Elements in existing facilities of a public entity that have
not been altered on or before March 15, 2012, that comply with the
1991 ADA Standards for Accessible Design or 2010 ADA Standards for
Accessible Design are deemed not in violation of this part.
(b) A public entity's possession of a closeout letter from the
State Architect certifying that the public buildings, public
facilities, and other public places to which the letter applies meet
the applicable building and construction-related accessibility
standards of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act shall serve
as presumptive evidence that the public buildings, facilities, and
places are in compliance with this part and the federal Americans
with Disabilities Act.
SEC. 2. SEC. 3. 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 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 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 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) (A) "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.
(B) For any action commenced on or after that January 1, 2016, or
for an action commenced prior to that date for which a final judgment
has not been entered, "place of public accommodation" also means
public buildings, public facilities, and other public places of
an educational institution of a public entity as defined in
Section 12131(1) of Title 42 of the United States Code and any
related federal regulations.
(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.
