With the deadline for policy committees to act on bills approaching, a bill aimed at curbing misuse of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) has failed to advance in California. Senate Bill 84, which received strong bipartisan support and passed its house of origin with a 34-2 vote, is currently stalled in the Assembly’s first committee. Without a hearing date or vote this week, the bill will not progress this year.
The proposed legislation seeks to prevent construction-related accessibility claims under the ADA and the Unruh Civil Rights Act from being initiated until small business defendants receive a demand letter specifying each alleged violation and are given 120 days to correct them. A business-coalition letter supporting SB 84 describes it as “common sense legislation that will provide meaningful protection for small businesses and greater access for the disability community.”
John Kabateck, state director for NFIB in California, commented on the widespread use of ADA lawsuits against small business owners across the nation. “Using the ADA to shakedown small business owners for payment to make an unfair lawsuit go away has been happening across the nation for a while,” he said. He cited actions taken by Mark Brnovich, former attorney general of Arizona, who intervened in over 1,000 similar lawsuits in Maricopa County Superior Court.
Kabateck expressed his disappointment with the situation in California. “That’s the type of leadership you can only fantasize about in California,” he said. However, he commended senators who supported SB 84 despite its current status.
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