Congress H.R. 620

[mark handler]

ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017This bill requires the Disability Rights Section of the Department of Justice to develop a program to educate state and local governments and property owners on strategies for promoting access to public accommodations for persons with a disability. The program may include training for professionals to provide a guidance of remediation for potential violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).The bill prohibits civil actions based on the failure to remove an architectural barrier to access into an existing public accommodation unless: (1) the aggrieved person has provided to the owners or operators a written notice specific enough to identify the barrier, and (2) the owners or operators fail to provide the person with a written description outlining improvements that will be made to improve the barrier or they fail to remove the barrier or make substantial progress after providing such a description. The aggrieved person's notice must specify: (1) the address of the property, (2) the specific ADA sections alleged to have been violated, (3) whether a request for assistance in removing an architectural barrier was made, and (4) whether the barrier was permanent or temporary.The Judicial Conference of the United States must develop a model program to promote alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve such claims. The model program should include an expedited method for determining relevant facts related to such barriers and steps to resolve accessibility issues before litigation.

 

[JCraver]

Well, at least they're acknowledging that there is a problem.....

 

[VillageInspector]

I hope for once this is pushed through expeditiously and signed by the President. This is sorely needed to clear the fog that seemingly surrounds this entire issue.

 

[conarb]

I hope for once this is pushed through expeditiously and signed by the President. This is sorely needed to clear the fog that seemingly surrounds this entire issue.

I don't think so, they need to clear out all of the regulations and write new clear and concise regulations, the entire Justice Department is now under investigation by Congress, 97% of the employees are registered Democrats and holdovers from the Obama era, Trump's AG Sessions appears to be sleeping at the wheel, until they clean house at the DOJ very little can be done about the ADA fiasco.

 

[ADAguy]

What does an "employees" political affiliation have to do with anything? They are not appointees!

 

[conarb]

What does an "employees" political affiliation have to do with anything? They are not appointees!

They were hired by prior administrations and should be fired by new administrations so they can appoint and hire their own people. That's called "draining the swamp", that has to be done or the politicized departments, like the DOJ, will carry on with the same old same old.

These regulations have been imposed since 1973 through multiple administrations, in many cases new administrations imposing contradictory regulations, it's time to clean them all out and write new coherent reasonable standards.

The United States Access Board (also known as the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board) is an independent agency of the United States government devoted to accessibility for people with disabilities. Created in 1973 to ensure access to federally funded facilities, the Board is now a leading source of information on accessible design. The Board develops and maintains design criteria for the built environment, transit vehicles, telecommunications equipment, and electronic and information technology. It also provides technical assistance and training on these requirements and on accessible design and continues to enforce accessibility standards that cover federally funded facilities.

The Board is structured to function as a coordinating body among federal agencies and to directly represent the public, particularly people with disabilities. Half of its members are representatives from most of the federal departments. The other half are members of the public appointed by the U.S. President, a majority of whom must have a disability.¹

¹ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Access_Board

 

[ADAguy]

And what of the loss of "institutional memory" by what you propose?