Bill Text: IL HB5242 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Environmental Barriers Act. Defines "ICC/ANSI A117.1", as used in the Act, as meaning either of the 2 most recent editions of the International Code Council/American National Institute Standard A117.1 ("Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities"). Provides that no public facility may be constructed or altered and no multi-story housing may be constructed or altered (rather than only constructed) without the statement of an architect registered in the State of Illinois that the plans for the work to be performed comply with the provisions of the Act and the Code promulgated under the Act unless the cost of such construction or alteration is less than $50,000. Provides that multi-story housing that is not a public facility but that is subject to specified requirements shall be deemed to be in compliance with the Code if all dwelling units in the multi-story housing are required to be adaptable dwelling units comply with the requirements for Type A units in ICC/ANSI A117.1, if dwelling units in the multi-story housing comply with the requirements for Type B units in ICC/ANSI A117.1, and if all common use and public uses spaces comply with the Code. Provides that an election to use this alternative compliance method must be explicitly identified in the required statement made by a professional engineer or a structural engineer.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-05 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB5242 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB5242-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB5242 Introduced , by Rep. Kelly M. Cassidy SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
410 ILCS 25/3 from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 3713
410 ILCS 25/5 from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 3715
Amends the Environmental Barriers Act. Defines "ICC/ANSI A117.1", as used in the Act, as meaning either of the 2 most recent editions of the International Code Council/American National Institute Standard A117.1 ("Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities"). Provides that no public facility may be constructed or altered and no multi-story housing may be constructed or altered (rather than only constructed) without the statement of an architect registered in the State of Illinois that the plans for the work to be performed comply with the provisions of the Act and the Code promulgated under the Act unless the cost of such construction or alteration is less than $50,000. Provides that multi-story housing that is not a public facility but that is subject to specified requirements shall be deemed to be in compliance with the Code if all dwelling units in the multi-story housing are required to be adaptable dwelling units comply with the requirements for Type A units in ICC/ANSI A117.1, if dwelling units in the multi-story housing comply with the requirements for Type B units in ICC/ANSI A117.1, and if all common use and public uses spaces comply with the Code. Provides that an election to use this alternative compliance method must be explicitly identified in the required statement made by a professional engineer or a structural engineer.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning health.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Environmental Barriers Act is amended by
changing Sections 3 and 5 as follows:
(410 ILCS 25/3) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 3713)
Sec. 3. Definitions. As used in this Act and the Illinois
Accessibility Code (71 Ill. Adm. Code 400):
"2010 Standards for Accessible Design" means the
regulations promulgated by the Department of Justice, 28 CFR
Parts 35 and 36, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990 (ADA).
"Accessibility Code" or "Code" means those standards,
known as the Illinois Accessibility Code, 71 Ill. Adm. Code
400, adopted by the Capital Development Board pursuant to
Section 4 of this Act.
"Accessible" means that a site, building, facility, or
portion thereof is compliant with the Code.
"Accessible means of egress" means a continuous and
unobstructed way of egress travel from any point in a building
or facility that provides an accessible route to an area of
refuge, a horizontal exit, or a public way.
"Accessible route" means a continuous unobstructed path

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connecting all accessible elements and spaces of a building or
facility. Interior accessible routes may include corridors,
floors, ramps, elevators, lifts, skywalks, tunnels, and clear
floor space at fixtures. Exterior accessible routes may
include parking access aisles, curb ramps, crosswalks at
vehicular ways, walks, ramps, and lifts.
"Adaptability" or "adaptable" means the ability of certain
building spaces and elements, such as kitchen counters, sinks
and grab bars, to be added or altered so as to accommodate the
needs of individuals with different types or degrees of
disability.
"Adaptable dwelling unit" means a dwelling unit
constructed and equipped so it can be converted with minimal
structural change for use by persons with different types and
degrees of disability.
"Alteration" means any modification or renovation that
affects or could affect the usability of the building or
facility or part of the building or facility. "Alteration"
includes, but is not limited to, remodeling, renovation,
rehabilitation, reconstruction, historic preservation,
historic reconstruction, historic rehabilitation, historic
restoration, changes to or rearrangement of the structural
parts or elements, changes to or replacement of plumbing
fixtures or controls, changes to or rearrangement in the plan
configuration of walls and full-height partitions, resurfacing
of circulation paths or vehicular ways, and changes or

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improvements to parking lots. The following work is not
considered to be an alteration unless it affects the usability
of the building or facility: normal maintenance, reroofing,
painting or wallpapering, or changes to mechanical and
electrical systems.
"Built environment" means those parts of the physical
environment which are designed, constructed or altered by
people, including all public facilities and multi-story
housing units.
"Circulation path" means an exterior or interior way of
passage provided for pedestrian travel, including, but not
limited to, walks, hallways, courtyards, elevators, platform
lifts, ramps, stairways, and landings.
"Common use areas" or "common areas" means areas,
including interior and exterior rooms, spaces, or elements,
which are held out for use by all tenants and owners in public
facilities and multi-story housing, including, but not limited
to, residents of an apartment building or condominium complex,
occupants of an office building, or the guests of such
residents or occupants. "Common use areas" or "common areas"
includes, but is not limited to, lobbies, elevators, hallways,
laundry rooms, swimming pools, storage rooms, recreation
areas, parking garages, building offices, conference rooms,
patios, restrooms, telephones, drinking fountains,
restaurants, cafeterias, delicatessens and stores.
"Disability" means a physical or mental impairment that

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substantially limits one or more major life activities; a
record or history of such an impairment; or regarded as having
such an impairment.
"Dwelling unit" means a single unit of residence which
provides a kitchen or food preparation area, in addition to
rooms and spaces for living, bathing, sleeping, and the like.
Dwelling units are found in housing types such as townhouses
and apartment buildings.
"Element" means an architectural, mechanical (including
plumbing), or electrical component of a building, facility,
space, site, or public right-of-way.
"Entrance" means any access point to a building or portion
of a building or facility or multi-story housing used for the
purpose of entering. An entrance includes the approach walk,
the vertical access leading to the entrance platform, the
entrance platform itself, vestibules if provided, and the
entry door or doors or gate or gates.
"Environmental barrier" means an element or space of the
built environment which limits accessibility to or use of the
built environment by individuals with disabilities.
"Facility" means all or any portion of buildings,
structures, site improvements, elements, and pedestrian routes
or vehicular ways located on a site.
"Governmental unit" means State agencies as defined in the
State Auditing Act, circuit courts, units of local government
and their officers, boards of election commissioners, public

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colleges and universities, and school districts.
"ICC/ANSI A117.1" means either of the 2 most recent
editions of the International Code Council/American National
Institute Standard A117.1 ("Accessible and Usable Buildings
and Facilities").
"Multi-story housing" means any building of 4 or more
stories containing 10 or more dwelling units constructed to be
held out for sale or lease by any person to the public.
"Multi-story housing" includes, but is not limited to, the
following building types: apartment buildings, condominium
buildings, convents, housing for the elderly, and monasteries.
"Owner" means the owner of the real property or existing
facility or the tenant of the real property or existing
facility.
"Primary function area" means an area of a building or
facility containing a major activity for which the building or
facility is intended. There can be multiple areas containing a
primary function in a single building. Primary function areas
are not limited to public use areas. Mixed use facilities may
include numerous primary function areas for each use. Areas
containing a primary function do not include: mechanical
rooms, boiler rooms, supply storage rooms, employee lounges or
employee locker rooms, janitorial closets, entrances,
corridors, or restrooms. Restrooms are not areas containing a
primary function unless the provision of restrooms is a
primary purpose of the area, such as in highway rest stops.

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"Public" means any group of people who are users of the
building or employees of the building. The term "public" is
not intended to include those people who are employed by the
owner of a building for the sole purpose of construction or
alteration of a building during the time in which the building
is being constructed or altered.
"Public facility" means:
(1) any building, structure, or site improvement which
is:
(i) owned by or on behalf of a governmental unit,
(ii) leased, rented or used, in whole or in part,
by a governmental unit, or
(iii) financed, in whole or in part, by a grant or
a loan made or guaranteed by a governmental unit;
(2) any building, structure, or site improvement used
or held out for use or intended for use by the public or by
employees for one or more of, but not limited to, the
following:
(i) the purpose of gathering, recreation,
transient lodging, education, employment,
institutional care, or the purchase, rental, sale or
acquisition of any goods, personal property or
services;
(ii) places of public display or collection;
(iii) social service establishments; and
(iv) stations used for specified public

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transportation; or
(3) a public right-of-way.
"Public right-of-way" means public land or property,
usually in interconnected corridors, that is acquired for or
dedicated to transportation purposes.
"Public way" means any street, alley, or other parcel of
land open to the outside air leading to a public street, which
has been deeded, dedicated, or otherwise permanently
appropriated to the public for public use, and which has a
clear width and height of not less than 10 feet (3048 mm).
"State" means the State of Illinois and any
instrumentality or agency thereof.
"Technically infeasible" means, with respect to an
alteration of a building or a facility, that a requirement of
this Act or the Code has little likelihood of being
accomplished because existing structural conditions would
require removing or altering a load-bearing member that is an
essential part of the structural frame; or because other
existing physical or site constraints prohibit modification or
addition of elements, spaces, or features that are in full and
strict compliance with the minimum requirements.
(Source: P.A. 99-582, eff. 1-1-17.)
(410 ILCS 25/5) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 3715)
Sec. 5. Scope.
(a) New construction. Any new public facility or

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multi-story housing, or portion thereof, the construction of
which began after May 1, 1988, is subject to the current
provisions of this Act. The Code adopted by the Capital
Development Board shall apply as follows:
(1) Public facilities; new construction. Any new
public facility or portion thereof, the construction of
which is begun after May 1, 1988 is subject to the
provisions of the Code applicable to new construction as
the Code existed at the time the construction commenced.
(2) Multi-story housing; new construction. Any new
multi-story housing, or portion thereof, the construction
of which is begun after May 1, 1988, is subject to the
provisions of the Code applicable to new construction as
the Code existed at the time the construction commenced.
Twenty percent of the dwelling units in the multi-story
housing shall be adaptable and the adaptable units shall
be distributed throughout the multi-story housing to
provide a variety of sizes and locations. In addition, all
common and public use spaces shall be in compliance with
the Code.
(3) Any new public facility or multi-story housing (i)
for which a specific contract for the planning has been
awarded prior to the effective date of a new version of the
Code and (ii) construction of which is begun within 12
months of the effective date of the new version of the Code
shall be exempt from compliance with the new version of

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the Code and may instead comply with the version of the
Code as it existed at the time the contract was awarded.
(4) Accessibility of structures; new construction. New
housing subject to this Act shall comply with all
applicable laws and regulations. In the case where the new
housing is not defined as multi-story for the purposes of
this Act, but instead is a building in which 4 or more
dwelling units or sleeping units intended to be occupied
as a residence are contained within a single structure,
the housing shall comply with the technical guidance of
the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Fair
Housing Accessibility Guidelines published March 6, 1991
and all subsequent versions, amendments, or supplements.
This subsection (4) does not apply within any unit of
local government that by ordinance, rule, or regulation
prescribes requirements to increase and facilitate access
to the built environment by individuals with disabilities
that are more stringent than those contained in this Act
prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
94th General Assembly.
(5) This Act, together with the Illinois Accessibility
Code, 71 Ill. Adm. Code 400, has the force of a building
code and as such is law in the State of Illinois. Any
violation of the Code is deemed a violation of this Act and
subject to enforcement pursuant to this Act.
(b) Alterations. Any alteration to a public facility shall

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provide accessibility as follows:
(1) Alterations generally. No alteration shall be
undertaken that decreases or has the effect of decreasing
accessibility or usability of a building or facility below
the requirements for new construction at the time of
alteration.
(2) Applicability. Any alteration of a public facility
or multi-story housing shall comply with the Code
provisions regarding alterations as such provisions exist
at the time such alteration commences.
(3) Path of travel to primary function area. An
alteration that affects or could affect the usability of
or access to an area containing a primary function shall
be made so as to ensure that, to the maximum extent
feasible, the path of travel to the altered area,
including the entrance route to the altered area and the
rest rooms, telephones, and drinking fountains serving the
altered area, are readily accessible to and usable by
individuals with disabilities, unless the cost of the
alterations to provide an accessible path of travel to the
primary function area exceeds 20% of the cost of the
overall alteration, or such alterations are otherwise
disproportionate to the overall alterations in terms of
cost and scope as set forth in the Code.
(c) No governmental unit may enter into a new or renewal
agreement to lease, rent or use, in whole or in part, any

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building, structure or improved area which does not comply
with the Code. Any governmental unit which is leasing, renting
or using, in whole or in part, any building, structure or
improved area which does not comply with the Code shall make
all reasonable efforts to terminate such lease, rental or use.
(d) No public facility may be constructed or altered and
no multi-story housing may be constructed or altered without
the statement of an architect registered in the State of
Illinois that the plans for the work to be performed comply
with the provisions of this Act and the Code promulgated
hereunder unless the cost of such construction or alteration
is less than $50,000. In the case of construction or
alteration of an engineering nature, where the plans are
prepared by an engineer, the statement may be made by a
professional engineer registered in the State of Illinois or a
structural engineer registered in the State of Illinois that
the engineering plans comply with the provisions of this Act
and the Code promulgated hereunder. The architect's and/or
engineer's statement shall be filed by the architect or
engineer and maintained in the office of the governmental unit
responsible for the issuance of the building permit. In those
governmental units which do not issue building permits, the
statement shall be filed and maintained in the office of the
county clerk.
(e) The requirements found in the Code cannot be waived by
any party.

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