Justice Department Issues New ADA Regulations

Comments on the proposed rule must be submitted and received by the Justice Department on or before August 18. NLC will be submitting comments.

According to the Justice Department, the new rules would set more stringent requirements in some areas, loosen up regulations in other areas and address some issues for the first time — especially those necessary to meet the needs of an aging population and growing numbers of disabled war veterans.

All state and local governments and more than 7 million businesses would be affected by the proposed rule. The new standards would affect everything from the location of light switches to the height of retail service counters, to the types of animals that may be considered “service animals.”

The proposed rule attempts to clarify definitions of commonly used terms such as auxiliary aids, existing facility, service animal and qualified reader. It provides a series of general requirements that every state and local government owned or occupied facility must meet when dealing with mobility devices or seating in stadiums, auditoriums, arenas or other public buildings.

It addresses program accessibility; safe harbor provisions for state and local governments; and existing facility alteration requirements. The rule focuses on corrections facilities and court rooms and provides guidance for meeting disability standards in both.  

Among the broad range of topics covered are the types of animals that may be considered “service animals” and the circumstances in which they may be used; wheelchairs and other power driven mobility devices such as Segways, golf carts, larger wheelchairs and scooters; assisted listening devices and video interpreting services, and whether they can be used in lieu of translators; equipment and furniture including automated teller machines and vending machines; accessible “golf carts” and the number that must exist at a public golf course; athletic facilities including swimming pools and whether all or only a few need to be universally accessible. 

According to the CRD, now seemed to be the appropriate time to raise these topics because changes in the way individuals are addressing their disabilities, and changes in technology have contributed to the need to revisit regulations originally promulgated in 1991 and 2004.

Increasingly, individuals have been using animals other than dogs as service animals, and in some cases have argued that “comfort” animals qualify as service animals. The proposed regulations substantially limit the types of animals that qualify as service animals to dogs and specifically prohibit comfort animals from being viewed as service animals. 

Arguments over whether facilities should be subject to alteration as technologies to assist persons with disabilities improve, has also consumed a great deal of the debate and these proposed rules seek to put an end to that argument by drawing clear distinctions between existing, altered, and newly designed structures. In each instance, a building must comply with the most up to date regulations, but only at the time that the facility undergoes either alteration or is newly built.

A building that meets either the regulations established in 1991 or 2004 is considered in compliance as long as no changes are made to the building. 

The allocation of seating in public auditoriums, stadiums and arenas has also been subject to much discussion since the passage of the ADA, and these rules attempt to put to rest much of the discussion by requiring that public facilities provide sufficient seating for disabled persons at prices reflecting the general pricing of the facility. This means that if a theatre was built before the ADA was passed and now has only accessible seating in the orchestra, some accessible seating in the orchestra would have to be sold at balcony prices

A copy of the proposed rulemaking may be found in the Federal Register for Tuesday, June 17,  at 28 CFR Parts 25 and 26, “Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in State and Local Government Services. Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations and in Commercial Facilities; Proposed Rules.” A copy of the Federal Register announcement may also be found on the NLC website.