We are happy to report that the House Judiciary Subcommittee approved H.R. 620, The ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017, by a vote of 15 to 9, last year and the bill is supposed to be up for a floor vote as soon as next week. Please call your representative and ask them to support the measure.
Introduced by Representatives Ted Poe (R-TX), Scott Peters (D-CA), Ken Calvert (R-CA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Michael Conaway (R-TX), and Ami Bera (D-CA), the bipartisan legislation addresses an unintended consequence of the ADA, which has resulted in a national surge in “drive-by lawsuits” targeting shopping centers as well as hotels, restaurants and other kinds of local businesses.
When you call, it is best to speak from the heart and personal experience. In addition to that, here is some information about the bill specifically:
The measure will create a temporary “pause” in litigation to allow businesses the opportunity to correct alleged barriers to access. In doing so, H.R. 620 will help the business community increase access for their disabled customers, tenants, and other guests.
In California over the last few years our industry has been involved in helping move forward incremental reforms to State Laws that govern ADA which have seen positive results in terms of increasing accessibility. However, Nationally, ADA lawsuits have been on the rise in recent years. More lawsuits of this type were filed in federal court across the country in the first six months of this year than were filed in all of 2013. In many instances, a single plaintiff has filed dozens, even hundreds, of cases across a geographic area alleging violations.
The legislation establishes a “notice and cure” provision that would create a temporary pause in litigation for up to 120 days before a lawsuit can be filed, allowing property owners the opportunity to correct identified barriers to access. If the property owner fails fix the violation, the plaintiff has all the rights and remedies he/she is entitled to under the ADA. The measure also mandates additional compliance safeguards, incentives to remedy alleged violations and additional resources to train professionals to provide guidance and remediation for potential ADA violations.
All the national commercial real estate groups CBPA is affiliated with are working closely together to support this legislation and educate lawmakers on its importance.
We’d like to thank ICSC, NAIOP, BOMA International, and RILA for all their work on our behalf!
Here is a video on the need for ADA reform.
Here is the list of all California House Members – PLEASE CALL!
