NFIB backs four business reform bills

disabilitiesHere’s the analysis of four bills in the California Legislature by the National Federation of Independent Business California. The NFIB supports all the bills. Two are by Democrats, two by Republicans.

Assembly Bill 52: Public accommodations: construction-related accessibility claims. It’s by Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, and would:

  • Protect small businesses from financial exploitation and encourage compliance with construction-related requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
  • Reduce statutory damages in claims against small businesses if the business corrected any violations within 180 days.

Assembly Bill 54: Public accommodations: construction-related accessibility standards: tax credit. It’s by Assembly Republican Leader Kristin Olsen, R-Modesto, and would:

  • Aim to deter costly and unnecessary lawsuits against businesses by providing small businesses a 60 day opportunity to cure, if construction-related accessibility standards related to an alleged Americans with Disabilities Act violation had changed within three years.

Assembly Bill 1486: Civil rights: disability access. It’s by Assembly member Catharine Baker, R-San Ramon, and would:

  • Provide that a State Architect certification of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act would serve as presumptive evidence that public building and facilities are in compliance with the Act.

Senate Bill 67: Disability Access: statutory damages. It’s by state Sen. Cathleen Galgiani, D-Stockton, and would:

  • Exempt small businesses from statutory damages for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
  • Extend the opportunity to cure technical violations from 60 to 120 days.


John Seiler

John Seiler

John Seiler has been writing about California for 25 years. That includes 22 years as an editorial writer for the Orange County Register and two years for CalWatchDog.com, where he is managing editor. He attended the University of Michigan and graduated from Hillsdale College. He was a Russian linguist in U.S. Army military intelligence from 1978 to 1982. He was an editor and writer for Phillips Publishing Company from 1983 to 1986. He has written for Policy Review, Chronicles, LewRockwell.com, Flash Report and numerous other publications. His email: [email protected]

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