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1 | AN ACT concerning State government. | |||||||||||||||||||
2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | |||||||||||||||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly: | |||||||||||||||||||
4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | |||||||||||||||||||
5 | Commission on Disability Access Act. | |||||||||||||||||||
6 | Section 5. Legislative findings and declarations. The | |||||||||||||||||||
7 | General Assembly finds and declares that, despite the fact | |||||||||||||||||||
8 | that State law has provided persons with disabilities the | |||||||||||||||||||
9 | right to full and equal access to public facilities, and that a | |||||||||||||||||||
10 | violation of the right of any person under the Americans with | |||||||||||||||||||
11 | Disabilities Act of 1990 has also constituted a violation of | |||||||||||||||||||
12 | the Illinois Human Rights Act, persons with disabilities are | |||||||||||||||||||
13 | still being denied full and equal access to public facilities | |||||||||||||||||||
14 | in many instances. The General Assembly further finds and | |||||||||||||||||||
15 | declares that businesses in Illinois have the responsibility | |||||||||||||||||||
16 | to provide full and equal access to public facilities as | |||||||||||||||||||
17 | required in State and federal laws and regulations. With a | |||||||||||||||||||
18 | view to developing recommendations that will enable persons | |||||||||||||||||||
19 | with disabilities to exercise their right to full and equal | |||||||||||||||||||
20 | access to public facilities, and that will facilitate business | |||||||||||||||||||
21 | compliance with the laws and regulations to avoid unnecessary | |||||||||||||||||||
22 | litigation, the General Assembly has, by this Act, created the | |||||||||||||||||||
23 | Commission on Disability Access within the Department of Human |
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1 | Services. | ||||||
2 | Section 10. Commission on Disability Access; | ||||||
3 | establishment; membership; terms; vacancies. | ||||||
4 | (a) The Commission on Disability Access is hereby | ||||||
5 | established and shall consist of 11 public members and 6 ex | ||||||
6 | officio nonvoting members, appointed on or before January 1, | ||||||
7 | 2025, as follows: | ||||||
8 | (1) 11 public members appointed by the Governor. Of | ||||||
9 | the Governor's appointees, 4 of the appointees shall be | ||||||
10 | from the disability community, and 3 appointees shall be | ||||||
11 | from the business community, including one appointee who | ||||||
12 | represents chambers of commerce throughout the State. The | ||||||
13 | Governor shall request and consider nominations from the | ||||||
14 | business community and the disability community for these | ||||||
15 | appointments. | ||||||
16 | (2) The Architect of the Capitol, or the Architect's | ||||||
17 | designee, as a nonvoting ex officio member. | ||||||
18 | (3) The Attorney General, or the Attorney General's | ||||||
19 | designee, as a nonvoting ex officio member. | ||||||
20 | (4) 2 members of the Senate, appointed by the Senate | ||||||
21 | Committee on Assignments, as nonvoting ex officio members. | ||||||
22 | One member shall be from the majority party, and one | ||||||
23 | member shall be from the minority party. | ||||||
24 | (5) 2 members of the House of Representatives, | ||||||
25 | appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, |
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1 | as nonvoting ex officio members. One member shall be from | ||||||
2 | the majority party, and one member shall be from the | ||||||
3 | minority party. | ||||||
4 | (b) It is the intent of this Section that the Commission | ||||||
5 | shall be broadly representative of the ethnic, gender, and | ||||||
6 | racial diversity of the population of Illinois. It is further | ||||||
7 | the intent of this Section that both of the following apply: | ||||||
8 | (1) The appointees from the disability community shall | ||||||
9 | be persons with a disability relating to, but not limited | ||||||
10 | to, vision, hearing, mobility, breathing, speech, | ||||||
11 | cognitive, cardiac, emotional, developmental, learning, | ||||||
12 | psychological, or immunological disabilities. | ||||||
13 | (2) The Commission recruitment and appointment process | ||||||
14 | shall engage in identifying qualified disability community | ||||||
15 | representatives who should possess elements of one or more | ||||||
16 | of the following qualifications: | ||||||
17 | (A) The representatives shall identify as people | ||||||
18 | with disabilities, activity limitations, or both. | ||||||
19 | (B) The representatives shall have personal | ||||||
20 | experience with disability and disability advocacy and | ||||||
21 | the ability to speak broadly on disability access | ||||||
22 | issues. | ||||||
23 | (C) The representatives shall be knowledgeable | ||||||
24 | about cross-disability access issues, including, but | ||||||
25 | not limited to, hearing, vision, mobility, speech, and | ||||||
26 | cognitive limitations. |
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1 | (D) The representatives shall be knowledgeable | ||||||
2 | about a variety of physical, communication, and | ||||||
3 | program access issues. | ||||||
4 | (E) The representatives shall be involved with | ||||||
5 | segments of national, State, or local constituencies | ||||||
6 | of the disability community, such as active | ||||||
7 | involvement in broad-based disability organizations. | ||||||
8 | (F) The representatives shall have in place and | ||||||
9 | use communication networks to facilitate communication | ||||||
10 | with the segments of the disability community they are | ||||||
11 | representing, including, but not limited to, segments | ||||||
12 | of diverse ethnic, cultural, sex, sexual orientation, | ||||||
13 | age, and linguistic communities that are | ||||||
14 | representative of the diverse population of | ||||||
15 | Illinoisans with disabilities. | ||||||
16 | (c) Public members shall be appointed for 3-year terms, | ||||||
17 | except that, with respect to the initial appointees, the | ||||||
18 | Governor shall appoint 3 members for a one-year term, 4 | ||||||
19 | members for a 2-year term, and 4 members for a 3-year term. The | ||||||
20 | Senate Committee on Assignments and the Speaker of the House | ||||||
21 | of Representatives shall each initially appoint one member for | ||||||
22 | a 2-year term and one member for a 3-year term. Public members | ||||||
23 | may be reappointed for additional terms. | ||||||
24 | (d) Vacancies shall be filled by the appointing authority | ||||||
25 | for the unexpired portion of the terms. | ||||||
26 | (e) Beginning January 1, 2025, the Commission on |
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1 | Disability Access shall reside within and receive | ||||||
2 | administrative and other necessary support from the Department | ||||||
3 | of Human Services. | ||||||
4 | Section 15. Per diem and traveling expenses; chairperson | ||||||
5 | and vice chairperson. | ||||||
6 | (a) Public members of the Commission shall receive $100 | ||||||
7 | per diem while on official business of the Commission, not to | ||||||
8 | exceed 12 days per year. Each member of the Commission shall | ||||||
9 | also be entitled to receive the member's actual necessary | ||||||
10 | traveling expenses while on official business of the | ||||||
11 | Commission. | ||||||
12 | (b) The Commission shall select annually from its | ||||||
13 | membership a chairperson, who shall be a representative from | ||||||
14 | the disability community, and a vice chairperson, who shall be | ||||||
15 | a representative from the business community. | ||||||
16 | Section 20. Open meeting requirements. Meetings of the | ||||||
17 | Commission shall be subject to the Open Meetings Act. | ||||||
18 | Section 25. Powers and authority. | ||||||
19 | (a) The Commission shall have the powers and authority | ||||||
20 | necessary to carry out the duties imposed upon it by this Act, | ||||||
21 | including, but not limited to, the following: | ||||||
22 | (1) to employ any administrative, technical, or other | ||||||
23 | personnel that may be necessary for the performance of its |
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1 | powers and duties; | ||||||
2 | (2) to hold hearings, make and sign any agreement, and | ||||||
3 | do or perform any act, including the collection of | ||||||
4 | relevant information, that may be necessary, desirable, or | ||||||
5 | proper to carry out the purposes of this Act; | ||||||
6 | (3) to cooperate with, and secure the cooperation of, | ||||||
7 | any department, division, board, bureau, commission, or | ||||||
8 | other agency of the State to facilitate the proper | ||||||
9 | execution of the Commission's powers and duties under this | ||||||
10 | Act; | ||||||
11 | (4) to appoint advisers or advisory committees from | ||||||
12 | time to time when the Commission determines that the | ||||||
13 | experience or expertise of those advisers or advisory | ||||||
14 | committees is needed for projects of the Commission; | ||||||
15 | (5) to accept any federal funds granted by an act of | ||||||
16 | Congress or by executive order for any purpose of this | ||||||
17 | Act; and | ||||||
18 | (6) to accept any gift, donation, grant, or bequest | ||||||
19 | for any purpose of this Act. | ||||||
20 | (b) The Commission may recommend, develop, prepare, or | ||||||
21 | coordinate materials, projects, or other activities, as | ||||||
22 | appropriate, relating to any subject within its jurisdiction. | ||||||
23 | (c) The Commission shall provide, within its resources, | ||||||
24 | information regarding how to: | ||||||
25 | (1) prevent or minimize problems of compliance by | ||||||
26 | Illinois businesses by providing educational services, |
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1 | including outreach efforts, and by preparing and hosting | ||||||
2 | on its website a "Guide to Compliance with State Laws and | ||||||
3 | Regulations Regarding Disability Access Requirements"; | ||||||
4 | (2) recommend programs to enable persons with | ||||||
5 | disabilities to obtain full and equal access to public | ||||||
6 | facilities; and | ||||||
7 | (3) provide information, as requested by the General | ||||||
8 | Assembly, on disability access issues and compliance. | ||||||
9 | Section 30. Duties of the Commission. | ||||||
10 | (a) A priority of the Commission shall be the development | ||||||
11 | and dissemination of educational materials and information to | ||||||
12 | promote and facilitate disability access compliance. | ||||||
13 | (b) The Commission shall work with other State agencies, | ||||||
14 | including the Office of the Architect of the Capitol and the | ||||||
15 | Department of Human Services, to develop educational materials | ||||||
16 | and information for use by businesses to understand their | ||||||
17 | obligations to provide disability access and to facilitate | ||||||
18 | compliance with construction-related accessibility standards, | ||||||
19 | including, but not limited to, accessibility standards for | ||||||
20 | websites. | ||||||
21 | (c)(1) The Commission shall develop and make available on | ||||||
22 | its website, or make available on its website if developed by | ||||||
23 | another governmental agency, including Americans with | ||||||
24 | Disabilities Act centers, toolkits or educational modules to | ||||||
25 | assist an Illinois business to understand its obligations |
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1 | under the law and to facilitate compliance with respect to the | ||||||
2 | top 10 alleged construction-related violations, by type, as | ||||||
3 | specified in subsection (a) of Section 40. | ||||||
4 | (2)(A) Upon completion of this requirement, the Commission | ||||||
5 | shall develop and make available on its website, or work with | ||||||
6 | another agency to develop, other toolkits or educational | ||||||
7 | modules that would educate businesses of the accessibility | ||||||
8 | requirements, including, but not limited to, accessibility | ||||||
9 | standards for websites, and to facilitate compliance with | ||||||
10 | those requirements. | ||||||
11 | (B) On or before January 1, 2026, the Commission shall | ||||||
12 | develop toolkits or educational modules that focus on | ||||||
13 | construction-related accessibility violations in parking lots | ||||||
14 | and exterior paths of travel, including a checklist for | ||||||
15 | businesses to recognize the most common construction-related | ||||||
16 | accessibility violations in those areas. | ||||||
17 | (C) The General Assembly finds and declares, based upon | ||||||
18 | reports of the Commission, that construction-related | ||||||
19 | accessibility violations in parking lots and in exterior paths | ||||||
20 | of travel are consistently in the top 10 alleged | ||||||
21 | construction-related accessibility violations, by type, as | ||||||
22 | specified in subsection (a) of Section 40. | ||||||
23 | (d) The Commission shall post on its website educational | ||||||
24 | materials and information that will assist building owners, | ||||||
25 | tenants, building officials, and building inspectors to | ||||||
26 | understand the disability accessibility requirements and to |
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1 | facilitate compliance with disability access laws. The | ||||||
2 | Commission shall at least annually review the educational | ||||||
3 | materials and information on disability access requirements | ||||||
4 | and compliance available on the website of other local, State, | ||||||
5 | or federal agencies, including Americans with Disabilities Act | ||||||
6 | centers, to augment the educational materials and information | ||||||
7 | developed by the Commission. | ||||||
8 | (e) The Commission shall, to the extent feasible, | ||||||
9 | coordinate with other State agencies and local building | ||||||
10 | departments to ensure that information provided to the public | ||||||
11 | on disability access requirements is uniform and complete, and | ||||||
12 | make its educational materials and information available to | ||||||
13 | those agencies and departments. | ||||||
14 | Section 35. Development and dissemination of educational | ||||||
15 | materials. On or before July 15, 2025, the Commission shall | ||||||
16 | report to the General Assembly, the Chair of the Senate | ||||||
17 | Judiciary Committee, and the Chair of the House of | ||||||
18 | Representatives Judiciary - Civil Committee, of its activities | ||||||
19 | and efforts since the Commission was established to implement | ||||||
20 | this Act. Commencing in 2026, the Commission shall report, on | ||||||
21 | or before March 31 and annually thereafter, to the General | ||||||
22 | Assembly, the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the | ||||||
23 | Chair of the House of Representatives Judiciary - Civil | ||||||
24 | Committee, on its ongoing efforts to implement this Act. |
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1 | Section 40. Compilation and posting of data relating to | ||||||
2 | demand letters or complaints; annual report. The Commission | ||||||
3 | shall compile the following data with respect to any demand | ||||||
4 | letter or complaint sent to the Commission and shall post the | ||||||
5 | information on its website pursuant to the following: | ||||||
6 | (1) The Commission shall identify the various types of | ||||||
7 | access violations alleged in the demand letters and in the | ||||||
8 | complaints, respectively, and shall tabulate the number of | ||||||
9 | claims alleged for each type of violation in the demand | ||||||
10 | letters and complaints, respectively. For purposes of this | ||||||
11 | subsection, any demand for money letters shall be grouped | ||||||
12 | as demand letters. | ||||||
13 | (2) Periodically, but not less than every 6 months | ||||||
14 | beginning July 31, 2026, the Commission shall post on its | ||||||
15 | website a list, by type, of the 10 most frequent types of | ||||||
16 | accessibility violations alleged in the demand letters and | ||||||
17 | in the complaints, respectively, and the numbers of | ||||||
18 | alleged violations for each listed type of violation for | ||||||
19 | the prior 2 quarters. | ||||||
20 | (3) The Commission shall, on a quarterly basis, | ||||||
21 | identify and tabulate the number of demand letters and | ||||||
22 | complaints received by the Commission. The Commission | ||||||
23 | shall further ascertain whether a complaint was filed in | ||||||
24 | State or federal court and tabulate the number of | ||||||
25 | complaints filed in State or federal court, respectively. | ||||||
26 | This data shall be posted on the Commission's website |
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1 | periodically, but not less than every 6 months beginning | ||||||
2 | July 31, 2026. | ||||||
3 | (4) Commencing in 2027, the Commission shall make an | ||||||
4 | annual report to the General Assembly, the Chair of the | ||||||
5 | Senate Judiciary Committee, and the Chair of the House of | ||||||
6 | Representatives Judiciary - Civil Committee by March 31 of | ||||||
7 | each year of the tabulated data for the preceding calendar | ||||||
8 | year as set forth in subsections (a) to (c), inclusive. | ||||||
9 | (5) At least 30 days before requiring a new standard | ||||||
10 | format for the information to be sent to the Commission, | ||||||
11 | the Commission shall post on its website the new standard | ||||||
12 | format and the date on which the Commission shall begin | ||||||
13 | requiring that information to be sent to the Commission in | ||||||
14 | the new standard format. | ||||||
15 | Section 45. Advisory status of Commission. With respect to | ||||||
16 | its duties, the Commission shall be an advisory body only, and | ||||||
17 | there shall be no right or obligation on the part of the State | ||||||
18 | to implement the findings of the Commission without further | ||||||
19 | legislation that specifically authorizes that the evaluations, | ||||||
20 | determinations, and findings of the Commission be implemented. | ||||||
21 | Section 50. Staff hiring and contracting for services. The | ||||||
22 | Commission shall hire staff or contract for those experts or | ||||||
23 | technical and professional services that may be required for | ||||||
24 | the completion of any task authorized or study required under |
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1 | this Act. Staff hired pursuant to this Section shall be hired | ||||||
2 | in compliance with all applicable State and federal laws and | ||||||
3 | regulations. Contracts awarded pursuant to this Section shall | ||||||
4 | be in compliance with the Illinois Procurement Code. The | ||||||
5 | Commission is expressly encouraged and authorized to seek the | ||||||
6 | technical and legal assistance of other State agencies and | ||||||
7 | departments in fulfilling its statutory responsibilities under | ||||||
8 | this Act. | ||||||
9 | Section 55. Implementation of this Act; funds | ||||||
10 | appropriation. This Act shall not be implemented and shall not | ||||||
11 | remain operative unless funds are appropriated for that | ||||||
12 | purpose by the General Assembly. | ||||||
13 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
14 | becoming law. |