EJ MONTINI

Montini: Latest on lawmakers' hit list: The disabled

EJ Montini
opinion columnist
Lawmakers are targeting the disabled with a new bill.

Really?

Now they’re going after the disabled?

Yes. Really.

So far this session the Republican-controlled Arizona Legislature and Gov. Doug Ducey have passed bills that rob public schools of much needed money; help wealthy parents pay for their kids' private education while hamstringing those in the middle class; make it practically impossible for ordinary citizens to get an initiative on the ballot, and impose cruel new regulations on parents suffering through a medically recommended pregnancy termination.

They want a way to thwart the ADA

Now, it’s the disabled.

Lawmakers said they wanted to pass a law that would protect businesses from frivolous lawsuits filed over violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act and its Arizona counterpart. Then again, it could be argued that such a law isn’t necessary. Attorney General Mark Brnovich successfully spanked those filing nuisance lawsuits.

Besides that, the Americans With Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, more than a quarter-century ago, plenty of time to get around to obeying the law. And up until the end, advocates for the disabled thought they'd struck a compromise with lawmakers. That deal was broken.

All the bill approved by the Legislature does is give businesses the upper hand over the rights of the disabled.

The Arizona Center for Disability Law sent out a statement saying in part that the new law "amends the Arizonans With Disabilities Act (AzDA) to take away important civil rights protections. First, it makes it more difficult for people with disabilities to file lawsuits against businesses that have inaccessible parking lots, buildings or facilities, including restrooms. Second, it exempts Arizona businesses from making their websites accessible and usable by people with disabilities.”

The bill was pushed by House Speaker Rep. J.D. Mesnard. The Republicans who control the Legislature gave businesses up to 90 days to correct structural accessibility issues and eliminated several previously agreed upon compromises involving violations and website requirements.

'Proper balance' or needless barrier?

Mesnard called it a "proper balance.”

In fact it’s lawmakers placing more barriers in front of those who already face too many. And Gov. Ducey, bowing again to business interests over citizen interests, signed it.

As the disability law center said, ”Currently, no minority group or other protected group is required to notify a business or organization if they intend to exercise their civil rights. Senate Bill 1406 creates special, separate rules for people who have disabilities. SB 1406 also creates more hoops to jump through to file a lawsuit.”

Imagine that. It's as if the Legislature is telling a particular group of citizens: Don't worry. You are free to exercise your civil rights — after three months.

Mesnard said, "I'm not going to minimize the feelings of those in the disability community when they face a situation (with an accessibility issue). At the same time, I'm not going to minimize the frustration of businesses as they attempt to comply with a litany of government regulations."

Oh, gee. Poor businesses.

They've only had 25-plus years to comply with those pesky “regulations,” the ones that allow access to men and women and children who daily must overcome more frustrations, more obstacles than any of those business owners, or lawmakers, could possibly imagine.

Or maybe they could and just don’t give a damn.