HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2507        FILED ON: 1/19/2017

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2511

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Chris Walsh

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act regarding architectural access.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2507        FILED ON: 1/19/2017

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2511

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)

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An Act regarding architectural access.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. The first paragraph of section 13A of chapter 22 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the second and third sentences and inserting in place thereof the following 3 sentences:- Two of the appointive members shall be architects licensed to practice in the commonwealth. One of the appointive members shall be a licensed building inspector. Three of the appointive members shall be selected after consultation with advocacy groups on behalf of persons with disabilities.

SECTION 2. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 37 and 38, the words “public buildings accessible to, functional for, and safe for use by physically handicapped persons” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- buildings, including areas that are not generally in public use under the Department of Justice’s Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design, accessible to, functional for and safe for use by persons with disabilities.

SECTION 3. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 41 and 42, the following words “for businesses, auditoriums, sporting or recreational facilities, or cultural centers”.

SECTION 4. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 44 to 47, inclusive, the words “of handicapped persons or for vehicles used to transport such handicapped persons if the number of parking spaces in any such area is fifteen or more. The parking spaces reserved for vehicles of such handicapped persons shall be clearly marked as such” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- authorized to display handicapped plates or placards under section 2 of chapter 90; provided, that the parking requirements shall be consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design.

SECTION 5. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 49, the words “for physically handicapped persons” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- and accessible.

SECTION 6. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 52 and 53, the words “; provided, however, that the dwelling is constructed for first occupancy after March thirteenth, nineteen hundred and ninety-one” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- and (3) all public use and common use portions of such multiple dwellings.

SECTION 7. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “to”, in line 57, the following words:- or greater than.

SECTION 8. Said section 13A of said chapter 22 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “Act”, in line 57, the following words:- , the Department of Justice’s Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design.

SECTION 9 Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “buildings”, in line 62, the following words:- and facilities.

SECTION 10. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “buildings”, in line 69, the following words:- and facilities.

SECTION 11. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 74, the words “handicapped persons,” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- persons with a disability.

SECTION 12. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 82 the word “newspaper” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- forms of.

SECTION 13. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “building”, in line 86, the following words:- or facility.

SECTION 14. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “building”, in line 87, the following words:- or facility.

SECTION 15. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “a”, in line 87, the following words:- residential use or a.

SECTION 16. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 88, the word “is” and inserting in place thereof , the following words:- or facility is.

SECTION 17. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “building”, in line 89, the following words:- or facility.

SECTION 18. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 95, the words “physically handicapped persons” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- persons with a disability.

SECTION 19. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the eighth paragraph.

SECTION 20. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 121, the word “person” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- building, or portion thereof,.

SECTION 21. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “building”, in line 139, the second time it appears, the following words:- or facility.

SECTION 22. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “building”, in line 154, the following word:- , facility.

SECTION 23. Said section 13A of said chapter 32, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 163 and 164, 166 and 173 the words “physically handicapped persons” and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- persons with a disability.

SECTION 24. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the definition of “Construction” the following definition:- “Facility”, all or any portion of a building, structure, site improvement, complex, equipment, road, walk, passageway, parking lot or other real or personal property, including the site where the building, property, structure or equipment is located.

SECTION 25. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 185, the words “Physically handicapped person” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- Person with a disability.

SECTION 26. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 188 and 189, the words “Physically handicapped persons” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- A person with a disability.

SECTION 27. Said section 13A of said chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the definition of “Public building” and inserting in place thereof the following definition:- “Public building”, buildings constructed by the commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof with public funds and open to public use, including, but not limited to, those constructed by public housing authorities, the Massachusetts Port Authority, the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, or building authorities of any public educational institution, or their successors; and privately financed buildings that are open to and used by the public.

Buildings that are open to and used by the public shall include, but not be limited to: transportation terminals, institutional buildings, commercial buildings, buildings having places of assembly, hotels, motels, dormitories, funeral homes, shopping centers, restaurants, public parking garages or lots, public sidewalks and ways and public and common use areas of apartment buildings and condominiums.

SECTION 28. Said section 13A of chapter 22, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting in line 38 after the following words "for use by physically handicapped persons," the following new sentence:

"In adopting these rules and regulations, that board shall take into account relative differences in the assessed property values of comparable structures in different municipalities, and it shall take these relative differences into account in developing its compliance thresholds, to ensure that property owners in municipalities with lower average assessed values do not bear a heavier burden of regulation than property owners in municipalities with higher average assessed values. The board may rely upon existing sources of data available from other state agencies in satisfying this requirement.”