Bill Text: CA AB2917 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 2917 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Disability access: internet websites, parking lots, and exterior paths of travel.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2022-09-30 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 897, Statutes of 2022. [AB2917 Detail]

Download: California-2021-AB2917-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly March 17, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2917

Introduced by Assembly Member ~~Bauer-Kahan~~ Mike Fong

February 18, 2022

An act to amend ~~Section 1400 of the Corporations Code, relating to corporations.~~ Section 55.32 of the Civil Code, and to amend Section 14985.6 of the Government Code, relating to state law.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2917, as amended, ~~Bauer-Kahan~~ Mike Fong. ~~Bankruptcies: reorganizations.~~ State law: disability access.

Existing law requires an attorney who sends or serves a complaint on the basis of one or more construction-related accessibility claims to satisfy specified requirements, including, among other things, sending a copy of the complaint and submitting information about the complaint to the California Commission on Disability Access.
This bill would also require an attorney who sends or serves a complaint alleging that an internet website is not accessible to satisfy those requirements.
Existing law requires the commission to, among other things, work with other state agencies to develop educational materials and information for use by businesses to understand their obligations to provide disability access and to facilitate compliance with construction-related accessibility standards. Existing law requires the commission to develop and make available on its internet website, or work with another agency to develop, toolkits or educational modules that would educate businesses of the accessibility requirements and to facilitate compliance with those requirements.
This bill would require those educational materials, information, and toolkits or educational modules to also address and facilitate compliance with accessibility standards and requirements for internet websites.
Under existing law, any domestic corporation, with respect to which a proceeding has been initiated under any applicable statute of the United States relating to reorganizations of corporations, has full power and authority to put into effect and carry out any plan of reorganization and the orders of the court or judge entered in that proceeding and is authorized to take any proceeding and do any act provided in the plan or directed by those orders, without further action by its board or shareholders.
~~This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.~~

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NOYES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 55.32 of the Civil Code is amended to read:

55.32.

(a) An attorney who provides a demand letter, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 55.3, shall do all of the following:

(1) Include the attorney’s State Bar license number in the demand letter.

(2) Within five business days of providing the demand letter, send a copy of the demand letter, and submit information about the demand letter in a standard format specified by the California Commission on Disability Access on the commission’s internet website pursuant to Section 14985.8 of the Government Code, to the commission.

(b) An attorney who sends or serves a complaint, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 55.3, or a complaint alleging that an internet website is not accessible, shall do both of the following:

(1) Send a copy of the complaint and submit information about the complaint in a standard format specified by the California Commission on Disability Access on the commission’s internet website pursuant to Section 14985.8 of the Government Code to the commission within five business days of sending or serving the complaint.

(2) Notify the California Commission on Disability Access within five business days of judgment, settlement, or dismissal of the claim or claims alleged in the complaint of the following information in a standard format specified by the commission on the commission’s internet website pursuant to Section 14985.8 of the Government Code:

(A) The date of the judgment, settlement, or dismissal.

(B) Whether or not the construction-related accessibility violations or accessibility violations related to an internet website alleged in the complaint were remedied in whole or in part after the plaintiff filed a complaint or provided a demand letter, as defined by Section 55.3.

(C) If the construction-related accessibility violations or accessibility violations related to an internet website alleged in the complaint were not remedied in whole or in part after the plaintiff filed a complaint or provided a demand letter, as defined by Section 55.3, whether or not another favorable result was achieved after the plaintiff filed the complaint or provided the demand letter.

(D) Whether or not the defendant submitted an application for an early evaluation conference and stay pursuant to Section 55.54, whether the defendant requested a site ~~inspection,~~ inspection of an alleged construction-related accessibility violation, the date of any early evaluation conference, and the date of any site ~~inspection.~~ inspection of an alleged construction-related accessibility violation.

(c) A violation of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) or subdivision (b) shall constitute cause for the imposition of discipline of an attorney if a copy of the demand letter, complaint, or notification of a case outcome is not sent to the California Commission on Disability Access in the standard format specified on the commission’s internet website pursuant to Section 14985.8 of the Government Code within five business days. In the event the State Bar receives information indicating that an attorney has failed to send a copy of the demand letter, complaint, or notification of a case outcome to the California Commission on Disability Access in the standard format specified on the commission’s internet website pursuant to Section 14985.8 of the Government Code within five business days, the State Bar shall investigate to determine whether paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) or subdivision (b) has been violated.

(d) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), an attorney is not required to send to the California Commission on Disability Access a copy of any subsequent demand letter or amended complaint in the same dispute following the initial demand letter or complaint, unless that subsequent demand letter or amended complaint alleges a new construction-related accessibility claim.

(e) A demand letter or notification of a case outcome sent to the California Commission on Disability Access shall be for the informational purposes of Section 14985.8 of the Government Code. A demand letter received by the State Bar from the recipient of the demand letter shall be reviewed by the State Bar to determine whether subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 55.31 has been violated.

(f) (1) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, on or before April 30, 2019, and annually as part of the Annual Discipline Report, no later than April 30 thereafter, the State Bar shall report to the Legislature and the Chairs of the Senate and Assembly Judiciary Committees, both of the following with respect to demand letters received by the State Bar:

(A) The number of investigations opened to date on a suspected violation of subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 55.31.

(B) Whether any disciplinary action resulted from the investigation, and the results of that disciplinary action.

(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

(g) The California Commission on Disability Access shall review and report on the demand letters, complaints, and notifications of case outcomes it receives as provided in Section 14985.8 of the Government Code.

(h) The expiration of any ground for discipline of an attorney shall not affect the imposition of discipline for any act prior to the expiration. An act or omission that constituted cause for imposition of discipline of an attorney when committed or omitted prior to January 1, 2019, shall continue to constitute cause for the imposition of discipline of that attorney on and after January 1, 2019.

(i) Paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) and subdivision (b) shall not apply to a demand letter or complaint sent or filed by an attorney employed or retained by a qualified legal services project or a qualified support center, as defined in Section 6213 of the Business and Professions Code, when acting within the scope of employment in asserting a construction-related accessibility claim. The Legislature finds and declares that qualified legal services projects and support centers are extensively regulated by the State Bar of California, and that there is no evidence of any abusive use of demand letters or complaints by these organizations. The Legislature further finds that, in light of the evidence of the extraordinarily small number of construction-related accessibility cases brought by regulated legal services programs, and given the resources of those programs, exempting regulated legal services programs from the requirements of this section to report to the California Commission on Disability Access will not affect the purpose of the reporting to, and tabulation by, the commission of all other construction-related accessibility claims.

SEC. 2.

Section 14985.6 of the Government Code is amended to read:

14985.6.

(a) A priority of the commission shall be the development and dissemination of educational materials and information to promote and facilitate disability access compliance.

(b) The commission shall work with other state agencies, including the Division of the State Architect and the Department of Rehabilitation, to develop educational materials and information for use by businesses to understand ~~its~~ their obligations to provide disability access and to facilitate compliance with construction-related accessibility ~~standards.~~ standards, including, but not limited to, accessibility standards for internet websites.

(c) The commission shall develop and make available on its ~~Internet Web site,~~ internet website, or make available on its ~~Internet Web site~~ internet website if developed by another governmental agency, including Americans with Disabilities Act centers, toolkits or educational modules to assist a California business to understand its obligations under the law and to facilitate compliance with respect to the top 10 alleged construction-related violations, by type, as specified in subdivision (a) of Section 14985.8. Upon completion of this requirement, the commission shall develop and make available on its ~~Internet Web site,~~ internet website, or work with another agency to develop, other toolkits or educational modules that would educate businesses of the accessibility ~~requirements~~ requirements, including, but not limited to, accessibility standards for internet websites, and to facilitate compliance with ~~that requirement.~~ those requirements.

(d) The commission shall post the following on its ~~Internet Web site:~~ internet website:

(1) Educational materials and information that will assist building owners, tenants, building officials, and building inspectors to understand the disability accessibility requirements and to facilitate compliance with disability access laws. The commission shall at least annually review the educational materials and information on disability access requirements and compliance available on the ~~Internet Web site~~ internet website of other local, state, or federal agencies, including Americans with Disabilities Act centers, to augment the educational materials and information developed by the commission.

(2) A link to the ~~Internet Web site~~ internet website of the Division of the State Architect’s certified access specialist (CASp) program to assist building owners and tenants in locating or hiring a CASp.

(e) The commission shall, to the extent feasible, coordinate with other state agencies and local building departments to ensure that information provided to the public on disability access requirements is uniform and complete, and make its educational materials and information available to those agencies and departments.

SECTION 1.Section 1400 of the Corporations Code is amended to read:
1400.
(a)Any domestic corporation with respect to which a proceeding has been initiated under any applicable statute of the United States, as now existing or hereafter enacted, relating to reorganizations of corporations, has full power and authority to put into effect and carry out any plan of reorganization and the orders of the court or judge entered in such proceeding and may take any proceeding and do any act provided in the plan or directed by such orders, without further action by its board or shareholders. This power and authority may be exercised and these proceedings and acts may be taken, as may be directed by the orders, by the trustee or trustees of the corporation appointed in the reorganization proceeding (or a majority thereof), or if none is appointed and acting, by officers of the corporation designated or a master or other representative appointed by the court or judge, with like effect as if exercised and taken by unanimous action of the board and shareholders of the corporation.
(b)Such corporation may, in the manner provided in subdivision (a), but without limiting the generality or effect of subdivision (a), alter, amend or repeal its bylaws; constitute or reconstitute its board and name, constitute or appoint directors and officers in place of or in addition to all or some of the directors or officers then in office; amend its articles; make any change in its capital stock; make any other amendment, change, alteration or provision authorized by this division; be dissolved, transfer all or part of its assets or merge as permitted by this division, in which case, however, no shareholder shall have any statutory dissenter’s rights; change the location of its principal executive office or remove or appoint an agent to receive service of process; authorize and fix the terms, manner and conditions of the issuance of bonds, debentures or other obligations, whether or not convertible into shares of any class or bearing warrants or rights to purchase or subscribe to shares of any class; or lease its property and franchises to any corporation, if permitted by law.