Assemblymember Harry Bronson (D-Rochester/Chili/Henrietta) announced the Assembly passed a package of bills to help improve the quality of life of New Yorkers with disabilities and mark this year’s Legislative Disabilities Awareness Day.

“This legislative package makes life a little easier for individuals with disabilities by taking steps to alleviate some of the challenges these New Yorkers face every day,” said Assemblymember Bronson. “Passing this legislative package is about ensuring equity.”

Strengthening rights for New Yorkers with disabilities

The Assembly passed bills to combat discrimination against people with disabilities. Specifically, the legislation would:

• 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);
• 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);
• make it against the law to discriminate against a person with a service dog – whether they are training the dog or are using it to aid with their own disability; it also makes it a discriminatory housing practice to refuse occupancy or attempt to evict someone based on their use of a service dog (A.5788);
• establish an advocacy program for individuals with developmental disabilities who receive services through a managed care organization that would advise individuals of applicable rights and responsibilities; provide information, referrals and technical assistance; and pursue legal, administrative and other appropriate remedies to ensure the protection of the rights of the enrollees (A.6962).
• require that sign-language interpreters be made available upon the request of a hearing-impaired individual at public hearings and meetings; this bill would also establish provisions for assistive listening systems to be required in rooms used for public hearings that accommodate over 100 people (A.2826); and

“By passing these bills we will ensure that people with disabilities are afforded the rights and protections under the law they are entitled to and rightfully deserve,” said Assemblymember Bronson. “No one should be denied basic rights because of a disability.”

Ensuring emergency preparedness

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

• 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.6432).
• 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.6445); and

“Recent natural disasters have shown us that we need to have a plan in place and be ready to act at a moments notice,” said Assemblymember Bronson. “In these serious and potentially grave situations we need to do everything we can to make sure people with disabilities can be easily located and are safely evacuated.

Creating equal access to voting

Also part of the package is a bill that would enable blind and visually impaired registered voters to request Braille or large-print absentee ballots to be sent to their homes for all elections administered under the election law and education law; provisions are included in this bill to allow such ballots to be used in education law election polling places until the new machines are fully phased in (A.6195-A).

“This bill eliminates an obstacle that voters with visual impairments face when attempting to cast their vote,” said Assemblymember Bronson. “By enabling voters with visual impairments to participate in the democratic process, we allow them to act on a fundamental right they are granted as citizens of this great country.

Aiding those who served our country

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

“We have an obligation to make certain that service-disabled veterans who have made sacrifices defending our country and protecting our freedom receive the assistance they need,” said Assemblymember Bronson. “Many service-disabled veterans are unaware of the programs available to them here in New York State. This new council will help streamline the process so service-disabled veterans can get the help they deserve.”