Assemblyman Al Stirpe (D-Cicero) announced that the Assembly has passed several measures that will help improve the quality of life for New Yorkers with disabilities in honor of Legislative Disabilities Awareness Day.

“No one with a disability should face unnecessary impediments to their quality of life,” said Assemblyman Stirpe. “As the stepfather of a child who is disabled, I know firsthand how important this legislative package is to our family members, friends and neighbors who overcome the obstacles of living with disabilities every day.”

The Assembly passed a series of bills to combat discrimination against those with disabilities. Specifically, these bills would:

• make it illegal to discriminate against a person with a service dog – whether they are training the dog or using it to aid with their disability; it would also make it a discriminatory housing practice to refuse occupancy or attempt to evict someone with a hearing impairment based on their use of a hearing dog (A.5788);
• clarify the definition of a “place of public accommodation, resort or amusement” in the Human Rights Law to include places owned or operated by state and local governments (A.2070);
• require that sign-language interpreters be made available upon the request of a hearing-impaired individual at public hearings and meetings, in addition to establishing provisions for assistive listening systems to be required in rooms used for public hearings that accommodate over 100 people (A.2826);
• ensure consideration of a treating physician’s opinion in determining work limitations, due to a disability or health issue, that might affect the individual’s compliance with public assistance work requirements (A.2960); and
• ensure that all state employees in New York state have equal protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, and the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (A.828).

To help protect and assist people with disabilities during an emergency, the Assembly passed legislation that would:

• require every owner of a high-rise building to establish and maintain an emergency evacuation plan for disabled occupants and visitors; additionally, this bill would require those building owners to maintain and update the emergency evacuation plan for those with disabilities as necessary, and have it available to emergency personnel (A.8817-A);
• aid localities in preparing for and responding to disasters by requiring counties to maintain a confidential registry of people of all ages with disabilities who may require evacuation assistance and shelter during a disaster; provisions are included in this bill that would provide people the option to not be included in the registry (A.8816-A); and

Also part of the package is legislation enabling blind and visually impaired registered voters to request Braille or large-print absentee ballots for all elections administered under the election law and education law to be sent to their homes (A.8815-A).

The Assembly also passed legislation to establish the New York State Interagency Coordinating Council for Service-Disabled Veterans. This council would be tasked with identifying the needs of our service-disabled veterans and efficiently matching these needs with appropriate state resources (A.6213-B).

“From ensuring the right to vote for every New Yorker, to providing the highest quality care to service-disabled veterans, the legislation passed today is a vital step toward making our state a better, safer home for New Yorkers with disabilities,” said Assemblyman Stirpe.