W A T C H  T H I S !

Sutton     ADA Notification      States     IDEA Watch the ADA Notification Act: Threats to the ADA in Congress include the ADA Notification Act, which was introduced with the support of Clint Eastwood. Despite the fact that the ADA is more than a decade old and that many millions of dollars have been spent to educate businesses of their ADA responsibilities, supporters seek to delay and complicate the enforcement process.  The disability community is united against this proposed legislation which will discourage voluntary compliance with the ADA and allow offenders to simply wait until they are caught before initiating needed accessibility modifications. Join us in opposing the ADA Notification Act.   List of Organizations & Individuals United in Opposition to the ADA Notification Act Sign the Petition Against the ADA Notification Act ADA Notificaton Act Fact Sheet Contact Members of Congress List of Organizations & Individuals United in Opposition of the ADA Notification Act ADA WATCH is gathering the names of organizations and individuals opposed to the ADA Notification Act.  This list will be presented to Congress with our message: “Hands off the ADA!” Add your name and/or the name of your organization to this petition. Sign the Petition Against the ADA Notification Act Put your name and/or organization on the list of national, state and local groups opposing the ADA Notification Act.  Sign the Petition Against the ADA Notification Act. ADA Notification Act Fact Sheet ADA Notification Act Action Alert (HR 914 and S. 782) Summary As described in numerous NAPAS action alerts, during the last session of Congress Reps. Mark Foley (R-Fla) and E. Clay Shaw (R-Fla) invited Clint Eastwood to testify in support of HR 3590 - a bill to amend Title III of the ADA to impose a requirement that, before filing a Title III lawsuit, a person suffering discrimination must provide a formal notice of the violation to the business and wait 90 days. Rep. Foley has reintroduced the ADA Notification bill and it is now known as H.R. 914.  In the Senate, Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) has introduced the equivalent of the House version of the ADA Notification Act.  Like the House version, the Senate bill, if enacted into law, will weaken civil rights protections for people with disabilities and create a disincentive for voluntary compliance with the ADA. Additionally, the legislative process will open up the ADA and expose it to even more weakening amendments.      The amendment requires that prior to filing lawsuits, people with disabilities must provide business owners with specific notice of ADA violations detailing the location of inaccessible facilities, dates when access was attempted, and facts relating to their attempt to gain access.  Supporters claim that this is not about infringing on the rights of persons with disabilities but about the "sleazy" lawyers who represent them, and whom they claim are abusing the law by filing excessive and unwarranted Title III lawsuits.  Message to Congress: ·                      If enacted, the changes would allow businesses to avoid making any accessibility modifications until they were caught. It would discourage voluntary compliance with the ADA's accessibility requirements and penalize all those who made efforts to ensure accessibility. ·                      People with disabilities have already waited almost 11 years since the ADA was signed into law. This is an attempt to open up the ADA and will lead to any number of amendments weakening the civil rights of people with disabilities. ·                      Millions and millions of Federal dollars continue to be spent to notify and educate business owners of their ADA obligations. We do not need to amend the ADA.  ·                      States have started attaching ADA requirements to all new business licenses and renewals to further notify businesses of their need to comply with the law.   Back to Top Contact Congress Use the information in the ADA Action Alert above to send your message to Congress in opposition of the ADA Notification Act Here is a link to the addresses and phone numbers of your Senators and House Members:  House Members:  http://clerkweb.house.gov/mbrcmtee/mbrcmtee.htm Senators: http://www.senate.gov/senators/senator_by_state.cfm List of Organizations & Individuals United in Opposition to the ADA Notification Act Sign the Petition Against the ADA Notification Act ADA Notificaton Act Fact Sheet Contact Members of Congress Sutton     ADA Notification      States     IDEA