AB 3158: Disability access: construction-related access barrier: civil actions.

Existing law prohibits discrimination on the basis of various specified personal characteristics, including disability. Existing law imposes civil liability upon any person or persons, firm, or corporation who denies or interferes with admittance to or enjoyment of public facilities or otherwise interferes with the rights of an individual with a disability, as specified. 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 prohibit a cause of action on the basis of a construction-related access barrier in an existing public accommodation by an individual who alleges to have been aggrieved by the existence of the access barrier from accruing unless specified conditions are met, including that a written notice has been sent to the owner and operator, as specified. The bill would create a specified 90-day period and an additional 30-day period during which the owner or operator of the public accommodation shall be permitted to remove the barrier or to make substantial progress toward removing the barrier, or to made a good faith effort to remove the barrier, as defined, before a cause of action accrues. The bill would also specify that a cause of action against an owner or operator of a public accommodation on the basis of a construction-related access barrier by an individual who alleges to have been aggrieved by the existence of the access barrier shall not accrue under the Unruh Civil Rights Act, provisions that impose civil liability upon those who deny or interfere with admittance to or enjoyment of public facilities or otherwise interfere with the rights of an individual with a disability, or the Construction-Related Accessibility Standards Compliance Act during a 90-day period, and, if applicable, the additional 30-day period, if a civil action relating to the same construction-related access barrier is pending. The bill would also require the Judicial Council to submit a report to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2021, that analyzes the impact of these provisions, as specified.

Existing law establishes the Department of Rehabilitation in the California Health and Human Services Agency to provide vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities, and directs the department to cooperate with the federal government in carrying out the purposes of federal statutes pertaining to those individuals. Existing law provides for the inspection of places of public accommodation by certified access specialists to determine if the sites meet all applicable construction-related accessibility standards, and the provision of specified certificates and reports regarding those inspections.

This bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2020, to develop a program to educate cities, counties, cities and counties, local government agencies, and private property owners on effective and efficient strategies for promoting access to public accommodations for individuals with disabilities by engaging certified access specialists to provide guidance for remediation of potential violations of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.