2019 Virginia General Assembly
Legislative Highlights
January 11, 2019
The 2019 legislative session in Virginia is well underway. This is a “short” session meaning that the legislature plans to be in session for 45 days, rather than the 60 days of the “long” session that meets on even-numbered years. Legislators can still file proposed bills, within established individual limits, up until January 18th.
There are several bills already filed that would impact the rights of people with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
SB 1302 (Barker) and HB 2296 (Leftwich) seek to prevent people with disabilities from filing a lawsuit under the ADA when a credit union’s website is inaccessible to people with vision impairments. The bills lay out a complex set of notifications to the credit union that a person with a disability must first follow. After the notices, the person with a disability must then wait an additional 120 days before filing suit. The House bill has not yet been assigned to a committee, but most likely will go to House Courts of Justice. The Senate bill is assigned to Senate Courts of Justice.
HB 1786 (Hurst) seeks to bring Virginia law into alignment with the ADA as it applies to “other power-driven mobility devices.” The bill will be heard in the House Committee on Transportation.
The disAbility law Center of Virginia will be monitoring developments in the legislature that may be of interest to people with disabilities. We are available to educate policy makers about the potential impact of legislative proposals. Please let us know of any legislative proposals or budget issues that you think we should be following. Contact us at info@dlcv.org or by calling 1-800-552-3962 or 804-225-2042.
The mission of the disAbility Law Center of Virginia is to advance independence, choice and self-determination; protect legal, human and civil rights; and eliminate abuse, neglect and discrimination of people with disabilities through zealous and uncompromising legal advocacy and representation.