Assemblymember Cahill's Able Column - NYS Assembly Legislative Disabilities Awareness Day to be Held June 12, 2002 - June 2002

As chair of the New York State Assembly Task Force on People with Disabilities, I am pleased to announce that the 2002 Legislative Disabilities Awareness Day is being held on Wednesday, June 12, 2002 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Albany. Legislative Disabilities Awareness Day is held every year to provide New York's disability community with an opportunity to educate legislators and their staffs on the issues important to them. At the same time, we strive to highlight the accomplishments of advocates and persons with disabilities.

This year, the Task Force on People with Disabilities and the Assembly's Committee on Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, which is chaired by Assemblyman Martin Luster, are co-hosting the annual event. We are very excited about all of the activities that we have planned for Legislative Disabilities Awareness Day. To begin with, a continental breakfast will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. in the Well of the Legislative Office Building (LOB) for all of the participants of the day. At 10:00 a.m., the Welcoming Ceremony will begin in the Well of the LOB, where Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Assemblyman Luster and I will all offer our remarks and plans for making the lives of people with disabilities easier.

From 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Well of the LOB and all of the way out to the Four Corners of the North Concourse, several organizations that serve people with disabilities will be present to hand out information about the products, programs and services they provide and also to answer questions, and there will also be a display of artwork done by people with disabilities. In addition, we will be holding six seminars on areas of interest to people with disabilities in two of the meeting rooms under the Egg of the Empire State Plaza from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. The seminars will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis, so if you wish to attend a seminar, make sure you get to the meeting room early. The seminars include:

• "Using State of the Art Technology to Accelerate Learning"
• "The Americans with Disabilities Act"
• "State Advocacy Techniques"
• "Work Incentives for People with Disabilities"
• "Status of Olmstead Compliance in New York State"
• "Adult Home Reform"

But probably most importantly to many of you, at 11:30 a.m. when we go into legislative session in the Assembly Chamber, a package of resolutions and legislative measures crafted with significant input from disability advocates will be on the floor. A few of the many measures that we hope to pass on June 12th include:

• A.4884A/S.5234, which provides that the lease, lease-purchase or rental and maintenance of a motor vehicle shall be included within vocational rehabilitation services for the disabled.
• A.4885A, which clarifies the scope of protections against discrimination on the basis of disability under the New York State Human Rights Law in the area of government services, consistent with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and the current policies and practices of the Division of Human Rights.
• A.5971B/S.5493, which waives state's sovereign immunity to liability under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
• A.7536A, which creates a New York State interagency council for services to persons who are deaf, deaf-blind or hard of hearing.
• A.9913A/S.7342, which creates the most integrated setting coordinating council, which will develop and oversee the implementation of a comprehensive plan to ensure that people of all ages with disabilities receive the services they need in the most integrated settings possible.

Assemblyman Luster and I both hope that you will be able to travel to Albany to take part in what we are certain is going to be a very informative and exciting day. If you have any questions, or will need any special accommodations once you are in Albany, please call my Task Force office at 518-455-4592.

Assemblymember Kevin A. Cahill is the Chair of the New York State Assembly Task Force on People with Disabilities. Anyone with questions, comments or suggestions can reach the Task Force office at 518-455-4592 or by email at cahillk@assembly.state.ny.us.