The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), signed into law in 1990, was hailed as a great victory in the movement to protect and enforce civil rights for people with disabilities…and it was. However, since its inception, the ADA has been virtually ignored by many of the entities that it targets. Specifically, many areas of government service and public accommodation have still not come into compliance with the ADA’s requirements, leaving people with disabilities literally out in the cold. In addition, the scope of the ADA has been under scrutiny for quite some time through such U.S. Supreme Court cases as the Board of Trustees v. Garrett and, more recently, in Tennessee v. Lane.

For the past few years, New York’s disabilities advocates have been working closely with the Assembly Task Force on People with Disabilities to ensure protections originally secured under the ADA are enforceable on the state level as well as under federal laws and rules. Some of these legal attacks may have weakened the ADA, yet protections against disability discrimination need to be increased, not decreased. While states have no jurisdiction over federal acts, it is the Task Force’s mission to assure that the rights and responsibilities enunciated in the ADA become enforceable state protections and obligations as well. In short, the ADA should be the floor, not the ceiling.

The Assembly Task Force on People with Disabilities remains strong in its commitment to the following measures:

• A.5468-Cahill/S.5803-Spano – This bill 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 to be consistent with the ADA and current policies and practices of the Division of Human Rights.
• A.5469/Cahill – This measure clarifies the scope of protections against discrimination on the basis of disability under the New York State Human Rights Law in the area of public accommodations to be consistent with the ADA and current policies and practices of the Division of Human Rights.
• A.5511/Lifton – This legislation waives the state’s sovereign immunity to liability under the ADA. This bill will restore the rights of state employees to sue New York for damages due to violations of the ADA’s access and accommodation standards. This includes failure to accommodate state employees with disabilities and failure to provide access for people with disabilities to government services, programs and activities.

Given the minimal resources the federal government has devoted to ADA enforcement, the availability of state enforcement mechanisms through the Human Rights Law is essential to assure adequate protections against discrimination on the basis of disability in the areas of government services and public accommodations.

Provided by the New York State Assembly Task Force on People with Disabilities Agency Building 4, 13th Floor Albany, NY 12248 518-455-4592 Assemblymember Kevin A. Cahill, Chair Kimberly T. Hill, Director

I applaud Senator Nicholas Spano (R-Westchester) for introducing Senate Bill S.5803, the companion measure to my bill that offers protections and access to government services. We are now hoping to find Senate sponsors for the other two measures mentioned above and finally be victorious in our mission to offer many of the same protections as the ADA on a state level. Ensuring access for and preventing discrimination against people with disabilities is the next great civil rights movement in the United States. We encourage any and all individuals to join us in this crusade. We look forward to working with you.