There are a handful of bills in the works that -- if passed -- will, for people with disabilities, perpetuate the lack of access to public amenities and entities. These bills will require anyone who wants to file a legal complaint against an entity in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to present the entity in question with a written statement specifying the exact violation sixty days prior to pursuing any legal action. This provides the entity in question with an opportunity to comply with -- or begin to comply with -- the ADA; if the entity shows progress towards complying with the ADA, then there is no longer any chance of pursing legal action against that said entity.
These bills were written with the intent of preventing unnecessary lawsuits that are pursued by lawyers simply to gain a profit. Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, who sponsored the bill that has been introduced to the Arizona Senate, suggests that a hotel loosing money over not providing an accessible pool lift is not acceptable. However, it is documented that hotels are legally obligated to provide such amenities -- as an accessible pool lift -- as entities are required to provide equal access to all amenities provided to the public -- including hotel pools.
The ADA was passed on July 26, 1990; this document is law, and should be treated as such. It has been a part of legislation for over twenty-five years - a long enough period of time for entities to have become aware of this set of standards, and to comply with any that pertain to them. Entities have had a 9,462 day notice, so they should not need 60 more. I have encountered many entities that have ignored the ADA, and now there is this set of potential legislation that will allow entities to continue to be in violation of the ADA, but their violations will now be deemed acceptable with no legal consequences.
A perpetuation and validation of discrimination towards people with disabilities will not be the only problem that could occur if any of these bills are passed; a precedent will be set. Other bills could be passed to allow people or entities to require a 60 day notice stating the law in which they are violating prior to being prosecuted or sued.
Take speeding for example. Speeding is against the law. If a person is pulled over, it would not be considered reasonable for the person in question to request a 60 day notice informing them that they are in violation of the speed limit, and need to upgrade their driving tendencies in order to dodge a ticket. This would be ridiculous. The person already broke the law; they were speeding, so they should face the consequence, a ticket.
So, why should it be any different for an entity in violation of the ADA? The ADA is law, just like the speed limit. If an entity is in violation of the ADA, they are already breaking the law. They should not have a chance to right their wrong before being sued. This is not right.
A situation that may be a more relevant topic to compare to this bill is the recent passing of state legislation that either protects or prohibits businesses from denying services to the LGTBQ community based on their religious beliefs. In 2014, the Court of Colorado deemed the bakery, Masterpiece, in violation of a couple's civil rights when denying them access to services -- a wedding cake -- Masterpiece was told that they could continue displaying their beliefs, but they could not deny access to services to one person(s) that they provide to others. In the same year, Arizona's governor vetoed a bill that would have allowed businesses to deny services to anyone based on religious reasons. Though Arizona decided against this bill, they are still in consideration of passing the bill (stated above) that would allow entities to discriminate against people with disabilities by not providing them with equal services.
Arizona is not the only government with this type of bill. If passed in any state -- or at the Federal level -- these bills will make the ADA irrelevant, in turn pushing positive progress made toward a more accessible world, backwards.
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