Bill Text: IL SB3376 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates the Commission on Disability Access within the Department of Human Services. Describes the composition of the Commission. Directs the Commission to work with other State agencies, including the Office of the Architect of the Capitol and the Department of Human Services, to develop educational materials and information to facilitate compliance with construction-related accessibility standards. Provides that the Commission shall develop and make available on its website educational modules to assist Illinois businesses in understanding their construction-related accessibility obligations. Describes other duties of the Commission. Requires the Commission to report to the General Assembly. Directs the Commission to compile and make publicly available data relating to demand letters and complaints concerning compliance with construction-related accessibility standards. Specifies that the Commission is an advisory body. Requires the Commission to hire staff or contract for services as needed to complete the tasks authorized under the Act. Provides that the Act shall not be implemented and shall not remain operative unless funds are appropriated for that purpose by the General Assembly. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-07 - Referred to Assignments [SB3376 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB3376-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 SB3376 Introduced 2/7/2024, by Sen. Dan McConchie SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
New Act
Creates the Commission on Disability Access within the Department of Human Services. Describes the composition of the Commission. Directs the Commission to work with other State agencies, including the Office of the Architect of the Capitol and the Department of Human Services, to develop educational materials and information to facilitate compliance with construction-related accessibility standards. Provides that the Commission shall develop and make available on its website educational modules to assist Illinois businesses in understanding their construction-related accessibility obligations. Describes other duties of the Commission. Requires the Commission to report to the General Assembly. Directs the Commission to compile and make publicly available data relating to demand letters and complaints concerning compliance with construction-related accessibility standards. Specifies that the Commission is an advisory body. Requires the Commission to hire staff or contract for services as needed to complete the tasks authorized under the Act. Provides that the Act shall not be implemented and shall not remain operative unless funds are appropriated for that purpose by the General Assembly. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning State government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Commission on Disability Access Act.
Section 5. Legislative findings and declarations. The
General Assembly finds and declares that, despite the fact
that State law has provided persons with disabilities the
right to full and equal access to public facilities, and that a
violation of the right of any person under the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 has also constituted a violation of
the Illinois Human Rights Act, persons with disabilities are
still being denied full and equal access to public facilities
in many instances. The General Assembly further finds and
declares that businesses in Illinois have the responsibility
to provide full and equal access to public facilities as
required in State and federal laws and regulations. With a
view to developing recommendations that will enable persons
with disabilities to exercise their right to full and equal
access to public facilities, and that will facilitate business
compliance with the laws and regulations to avoid unnecessary
litigation, the General Assembly has, by this Act, created the
Commission on Disability Access within the Department of Human

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Services.
Section 10. Commission on Disability Access;
establishment; membership; terms; vacancies.
(a) The Commission on Disability Access is hereby
established and shall consist of 11 public members and 6 ex
officio nonvoting members, appointed on or before January 1,
2025, as follows:
(1) 11 public members appointed by the Governor. Of
the Governor's appointees, 4 of the appointees shall be
from the disability community, and 3 appointees shall be
from the business community, including one appointee who
represents chambers of commerce throughout the State. The
Governor shall request and consider nominations from the
business community and the disability community for these
appointments.
(2) The Architect of the Capitol, or the Architect's
designee, as a nonvoting ex officio member.
(3) The Attorney General, or the Attorney General's
designee, as a nonvoting ex officio member.
(4) 2 members of the Senate, appointed by the Senate
Committee on Assignments, as nonvoting ex officio members.
One member shall be from the majority party, and one
member shall be from the minority party.
(5) 2 members of the House of Representatives,
appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives,

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as nonvoting ex officio members. One member shall be from
the majority party, and one member shall be from the
minority party.
(b) It is the intent of this Section that the Commission
shall be broadly representative of the ethnic, gender, and
racial diversity of the population of Illinois. It is further
the intent of this Section that both of the following apply:
(1) The appointees from the disability community shall
be persons with a disability relating to, but not limited
to, vision, hearing, mobility, breathing, speech,
cognitive, cardiac, emotional, developmental, learning,
psychological, or immunological disabilities.
(2) The Commission recruitment and appointment process
shall engage in identifying qualified disability community
representatives who should possess elements of one or more
of the following qualifications:
(A) The representatives shall identify as people
with disabilities, activity limitations, or both.
(B) The representatives shall have personal
experience with disability and disability advocacy and
the ability to speak broadly on disability access
issues.
(C) The representatives shall be knowledgeable
about cross-disability access issues, including, but
not limited to, hearing, vision, mobility, speech, and
cognitive limitations.

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(D) The representatives shall be knowledgeable
about a variety of physical, communication, and
program access issues.
(E) The representatives shall be involved with
segments of national, State, or local constituencies
of the disability community, such as active
involvement in broad-based disability organizations.
(F) The representatives shall have in place and
use communication networks to facilitate communication
with the segments of the disability community they are
representing, including, but not limited to, segments
of diverse ethnic, cultural, sex, sexual orientation,
age, and linguistic communities that are
representative of the diverse population of
Illinoisans with disabilities.
(c) Public members shall be appointed for 3-year terms,
except that, with respect to the initial appointees, the
Governor shall appoint 3 members for a one-year term, 4
members for a 2-year term, and 4 members for a 3-year term. The
Senate Committee on Assignments and the Speaker of the House
of Representatives shall each initially appoint one member for
a 2-year term and one member for a 3-year term. Public members
may be reappointed for additional terms.
(d) Vacancies shall be filled by the appointing authority
for the unexpired portion of the terms.
(e) Beginning January 1, 2025, the Commission on

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Disability Access shall reside within and receive
administrative and other necessary support from the Department
of Human Services.
Section 15. Per diem and traveling expenses; chairperson
and vice chairperson.
(a) Public members of the Commission shall receive $100
per diem while on official business of the Commission, not to
exceed 12 days per year. Each member of the Commission shall
also be entitled to receive the member's actual necessary
traveling expenses while on official business of the
Commission.
(b) The Commission shall select annually from its
membership a chairperson, who shall be a representative from
the disability community, and a vice chairperson, who shall be
a representative from the business community.
Section 20. Open meeting requirements. Meetings of the
Commission shall be subject to the Open Meetings Act.
Section 25. Powers and authority.
(a) The Commission shall have the powers and authority
necessary to carry out the duties imposed upon it by this Act,
including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) to employ any administrative, technical, or other
personnel that may be necessary for the performance of its

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powers and duties;
(2) to hold hearings, make and sign any agreement, and
do or perform any act, including the collection of
relevant information, that may be necessary, desirable, or
proper to carry out the purposes of this Act;
(3) to cooperate with, and secure the cooperation of,
any department, division, board, bureau, commission, or
other agency of the State to facilitate the proper
execution of the Commission's powers and duties under this
Act;
(4) to appoint advisers or advisory committees from
time to time when the Commission determines that the
experience or expertise of those advisers or advisory
committees is needed for projects of the Commission;
(5) to accept any federal funds granted by an act of
Congress or by executive order for any purpose of this
Act; and
(6) to accept any gift, donation, grant, or bequest
for any purpose of this Act.
(b) The Commission may recommend, develop, prepare, or
coordinate materials, projects, or other activities, as
appropriate, relating to any subject within its jurisdiction.
(c) The Commission shall provide, within its resources,
information regarding how to:
(1) prevent or minimize problems of compliance by
Illinois businesses by providing educational services,

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including outreach efforts, and by preparing and hosting
on its website a "Guide to Compliance with State Laws and
Regulations Regarding Disability Access Requirements";
(2) recommend programs to enable persons with
disabilities to obtain full and equal access to public
facilities; and
(3) provide information, as requested by the General
Assembly, on disability access issues and compliance.
Section 30. Duties of the Commission.
(a) A priority of the Commission shall be the development
and dissemination of educational materials and information to
promote and facilitate disability access compliance.
(b) The Commission shall work with other State agencies,
including the Office of the Architect of the Capitol and the
Department of Human Services, to develop educational materials
and information for use by businesses to understand their
obligations to provide disability access and to facilitate
compliance with construction-related accessibility standards,
including, but not limited to, accessibility standards for
websites.
(c)(1) The Commission shall develop and make available on
its website, or make available on its website if developed by
another governmental agency, including Americans with
Disabilities Act centers, toolkits or educational modules to
assist an Illinois business to understand its obligations

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under the law and to facilitate compliance with respect to the
top 10 alleged construction-related violations, by type, as
specified in subsection (a) of Section 40.
(2)(A) Upon completion of this requirement, the Commission
shall develop and make available on its website, or work with
another agency to develop, other toolkits or educational
modules that would educate businesses of the accessibility
requirements, including, but not limited to, accessibility
standards for websites, and to facilitate compliance with
those requirements.
(B) On or before January 1, 2026, the Commission shall
develop toolkits or educational modules that focus on
construction-related accessibility violations in parking lots
and exterior paths of travel, including a checklist for
businesses to recognize the most common construction-related
accessibility violations in those areas.
(C) The General Assembly finds and declares, based upon
reports of the Commission, that construction-related
accessibility violations in parking lots and in exterior paths
of travel are consistently in the top 10 alleged
construction-related accessibility violations, by type, as
specified in subsection (a) of Section 40.
(d) The Commission shall post on its website educational
materials and information that will assist building owners,
tenants, building officials, and building inspectors to
understand the disability accessibility requirements and to

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facilitate compliance with disability access laws. The
Commission shall at least annually review the educational
materials and information on disability access requirements
and compliance available on the website of other local, State,
or federal agencies, including Americans with Disabilities Act
centers, to augment the educational materials and information
developed by the Commission.
(e) The Commission shall, to the extent feasible,
coordinate with other State agencies and local building
departments to ensure that information provided to the public
on disability access requirements is uniform and complete, and
make its educational materials and information available to
those agencies and departments.
Section 35. Development and dissemination of educational
materials. On or before July 15, 2025, the Commission shall
report to the General Assembly, the Chair of the Senate
Judiciary Committee, and the Chair of the House of
Representatives Judiciary - Civil Committee, of its activities
and efforts since the Commission was established to implement
this Act. Commencing in 2026, the Commission shall report, on
or before March 31 and annually thereafter, to the General
Assembly, the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the
Chair of the House of Representatives Judiciary - Civil
Committee, on its ongoing efforts to implement this Act.

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Section 40. Compilation and posting of data relating to
demand letters or complaints; annual report. The Commission
shall compile the following data with respect to any demand
letter or complaint sent to the Commission and shall post the
information on its website pursuant to the following:
(1) The Commission shall identify the various types of
access violations alleged in the demand letters and in the
complaints, respectively, and shall tabulate the number of
claims alleged for each type of violation in the demand
letters and complaints, respectively. For purposes of this
subsection, any demand for money letters shall be grouped
as demand letters.
(2) Periodically, but not less than every 6 months
beginning July 31, 2026, the Commission shall post on its
website a list, by type, of the 10 most frequent types of
accessibility violations alleged in the demand letters and
in the complaints, respectively, and the numbers of
alleged violations for each listed type of violation for
the prior 2 quarters.
(3) The Commission shall, on a quarterly basis,
identify and tabulate the number of demand letters and
complaints received by the Commission. The Commission
shall further ascertain whether a complaint was filed in
State or federal court and tabulate the number of
complaints filed in State or federal court, respectively.
This data shall be posted on the Commission's website

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periodically, but not less than every 6 months beginning
July 31, 2026.
(4) Commencing in 2027, the Commission shall make an
annual report to the General Assembly, the Chair of the
Senate Judiciary Committee, and the Chair of the House of
Representatives Judiciary - Civil Committee by March 31 of
each year of the tabulated data for the preceding calendar
year as set forth in subsections (a) to (c), inclusive.
(5) At least 30 days before requiring a new standard
format for the information to be sent to the Commission,
the Commission shall post on its website the new standard
format and the date on which the Commission shall begin
requiring that information to be sent to the Commission in
the new standard format.
Section 45. Advisory status of Commission. With respect to
its duties, the Commission shall be an advisory body only, and
there shall be no right or obligation on the part of the State
to implement the findings of the Commission without further
legislation that specifically authorizes that the evaluations,
determinations, and findings of the Commission be implemented.
Section 50. Staff hiring and contracting for services. The
Commission shall hire staff or contract for those experts or
technical and professional services that may be required for
the completion of any task authorized or study required under

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this Act. Staff hired pursuant to this Section shall be hired
in compliance with all applicable State and federal laws and
regulations. Contracts awarded pursuant to this Section shall
be in compliance with the Illinois Procurement Code. The
Commission is expressly encouraged and authorized to seek the
technical and legal assistance of other State agencies and
departments in fulfilling its statutory responsibilities under
this Act.
Section 55. Implementation of this Act; funds
appropriation. This Act shall not be implemented and shall not
remain operative unless funds are appropriated for that
purpose by the General Assembly.