ACT RELATIVE TO THE ARCHITECTURAL ACCESS BOARD BILL, SENATE 1379, HOUSE 2498

ACT RELATIVE TO THE ARCHITECTURAL ACCESS BOARD BILL, SENATE 1379, HOUSE 2498

There is a severe shortage of accessible and adaptable housing in Massachusetts. This causes people with disabilities and the elderly to be forced to live outside their home communities often in nursing homes or state hospitals. Disabled people also face discrimination, and high unemployment rates, because workplaces are inaccessible. Massachusetts can help to address these problems if the Government passes legislation expanding the Commonwealth’s power to require that developers address these needs when planning new construction and renovation of large buildings. Efforts to pass this legislation made great progress in 2018 but stalled in the House of Representatives. Advocates are dedicated to learning from this effort to build a winning campaign in 2019. Please join us . Together we can have a historic victory!

A letter from Mike Kennealy

Remove Barriers to Work:
Unlike the ADA, State law only requires areas of commercial buildings used by customers be accessible; employee-only areas are not covered. This excludes disabled people from employment opportunities contributing to high unemployment and isolation. Legislation is needed to close loopholes in state law to promote equal access to employment and human rights for all!

Make Housing Accessible and Adaptable: Disabled and elderly residents of Massachusetts are being forced to live in nursing homes or become homeless because of the lack of accessible housing. State law currently is not aligned with the ADA, it has a loophole that exempts buildings constructed before 1991 from providing adaptability in large scale housing conversions. Adaptability is the ability to add an accessibility feature without the high cost of structural change. Massachusetts must comply with the ADA to serve the needs of its older and disabled residents !

Have you been in a public building (retail establishments, hotels and motels, multiple dwellings, educational facilities, medical facilities, detention facilities, places of worship, restaurants, and transportation facilities) that are not compliant with 521CMR or Americans With Disabilities Act? Follow the link below to the Architectural Access Board’s complaint page and fill out a form.