Disability access fix-it bill now law

Small businesses will get an opportunity to fix handicap access violations without liability with Sen. Roth’s SB269.

BY RICHARD K. De ATLEY / STAFF WRITER

A bill that gives small businesses four months to fix disability access issues and avoid California’s minimum civil liability of $4,000 for each violation if certain conditions are met, was signed into law Tuesday, May 10, by Gov. Jerry Brown

Riverside Sen. Richard Roth’s SB 269 also outlines circumstances that cap the liabilities at $1,000 or $2,000 per violation.

The law takes effect immediately.

It’s the second effort by Roth, a Democrat, to create a procedure for small businesses to both fix disability access violations and avoid the penalties of lawsuits that characteristically have been filed in clusters, citing several businesses in the same neighborhood.

The bill was spurred in part by a series of such lawsuits that named several businesses in downtown Riverside. Two plaintiffs filed a total of 48 such suits in Riverside County Superior Court in 2013-14, naming restaurants, cafes, apartment buildings, motels and other businesses.

Brown in 2015 vetoed Roth’s previous bill, SB251 which offered tax credits for fixing access violations. The tax credits are gone from SB269, which also reduces the size of an eligible business from 100 to 50 employees.

The latest bill passed the Senate 38-0 and went to Brown’s desk in late April. Roth’s office noted it did not receive a “no’ vote during the entire legislative process.

“SB 269 is a bipartisan, commonsense solution that will guarantee access for disabled Californians by providing small businesses with the tools and resources necessary to comply with state and federal disability access regulations,” Roth said in a statement on Tuesday.

“I am glad the Governor agrees with the critical need for this reform, and I am proud to have delivered this victory for California’s small businesses and disability community.”

The bill outlines measures that will generally allow exemption from minimum statutory damages for 120 days for a qualified small business, following a Certified Access Specialist (CASp) inspection to find possible handicap access violations and recommend fixes.

Among SB269’s other features, it defines some technical violations that “are presumed to not cause a person difficulty, discomfort, or embarrassment for the purpose of an award of minimum statutory damage” if they are fixed within 15 days of a complaint.

Among those: “The order in which parking signs are placed or the exact location or wording of parking signs, provided that the parking signs are clearly visible and indicate the location of accessible parking and van-accessible parking.”

Contact the writer: rdeatley@pe.com or 951 368-9573