Don Risdall, CASp I had a discussion with April Dawson, the Executive Director of the California Commission on Disability Access. Following is a summary of that conversation. "What is the purpose of the California Commission on Disability Access (CCDA)?" The purpose of the CCDA is to create a dialogue between the business and disability communities so important conversations can be had pertaining to access to places of public accommodations. “The intent is to create a dialogue so that accessibility related issues can be resolved before they rise to an acrimonious level” says Commissioner Dawson. The idea is to head off those adversarial situations and provide a place where businesses and people with disabilities can communicate about the importance of access. Another key role of CCDA is to provide resources to help businesses make their facilities more accessible. Current projects include helping to identify potential funding sources, providing toolkits to assist with increasing access, and to assist businesses with understanding the complexities of compliance. "There have been a couple new assembly bills that have recently been signed into law: AB 2917 and AB 2164. What does this legislation mean for CCDA?" CCDA had been tracking the top 10 alleged physical access violations for the past several years. AB 2917 now requires collecting alleged access violations of a public accommodation’s website. Once this data is collected it can be tracked, translated into educational tools, and disseminated to the business community. To this end, part of CCDAs work plan for 2023 is to collaborate with the California Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) to adapt existing toolkits and modules to help businesses understand and incorporate digital access (DOR is charged with assisting other state agencies with complying with title II of the ADA). Additionally, since 2012 and the passage of Senate Bill 1186 (Steinberg) there has been an education and training fee assessed on applications for business licenses and building permits to increase the understanding and implementation of access. This fee is intended primarily to be used for the retention and education of CASps and secondarily for projects related to physical access. This fee was set to decrease in 2024. AB 2164 establishes that the current fee be assessed indefinitely. 90% of the $4 fee is retained by the local jurisdiction. How this pertains to the Commission on Disability Access is in assisting cities and counties on the proper use of these funds. Although it is not within the scope of CCDA to provide legal advice the commission can explain what the legislation says and highlight innovative programs that a particular jurisdiction has implemented. Although the intended benefit of the ADA is to prohibit discrimination, as Commissioner Dawson indicated “We are all a lot more alike than different”. I agree with this statement and hold the position that a society that embraces accessibility has unintended benefits as well. I also believe the proper use of the toolkits and use of the 1186 fees will have a positive impact on the built environment. |