2009 Disability Priority Agenda

July 21, 2009: The Senate was back in session last week and passed over 200 bills, including two from the 2009 NY Association on Independent Living (NYAIL) Disability Priority Agenda

S.5396 (Huntley) Incorporate Title II of ADA into NYS Human Rights Law Title II provides protections against discrimination on the basis of disability in services provided by public entities, including state and local governments. This bill clarifies the scope of protections against discrimination on the basis of disability by these entities, including in the provision of services, programs and activities. The Assembly version of this bill, A.781-B (Paulin) passed the Assembly on May 11th as part of the Disability Awareness Day package.

S.1058 (Addabbo) – Poll Site Access Bill will require all poll sites to comply with the accessibility guidelines of the ADA . It also eliminates the practice of granting waivers for inaccessible sites. The Assembly version of this bill, A. 584 (Cahill), also passed the Assembly on May 11th as part of the Disability Awareness Day package.