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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 6957
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 5873
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY
Introduced by:
(PS)
AN ACT REQUIRING ACC ESSIBILITY EQUIPMENT TO ASSIST
PERSONS WITH DISABIL ITIES IN CERTAIN STATE BUILDINGS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 29-269 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 2
(a) The State Building Inspector and the Codes and Standards 3
Committee shall revise the State Building Code to be in substantial 4
compliance with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act 5
of 1990, as amended, 42 USC 12101 and the Fair Housing Amendments 6
Act of 1988, as amended, 42 USC 3600. The provisions of this 7
subsection and the State Building Code as from time to time revised 8
pursuant to this section shall control the design, construction and 9
arrangement of all buildings and building elements, constructed under 10
permits issued on or after October 1, 1975, and all buildings or 11
building elements constructed or substantially renovated by the state, 12
any municipality or any other political subdivision of the state, the 13
architectural design of which was commenced on or after October 1, 14
1977, except buildings which have been approved by the Department 15
of Housing and Urban Development as being in conformance with 16 Committee Bill No. 6957
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federal standards for housing for the elderly and physically 17
handicapped and for which a permit was issued prior to June 9, 1976, 18
to ensure accessibility thereto and use by the physically handicapped. 19
(b) Any variation of or exemption from any provision of (1) the State 20
Building Code relating to accessibility to, and use of, buildings and 21
structures by persons with disabilities, (2) subsection (i) of section 14-22
253a, (3) section 29-273, or (4) section 29-274, shall be permitted only 23
when approved by the State Building Inspector. Any person, agent of 24
the state, municipality or any other political subdivision of the state 25
may apply to the State Building Inspector to vary or set aside 26
standards incorporated in the State Building Code pursuant to the 27
provisions of subsection (a) of this section. The State Building 28
Inspector shall, within thirty days of receipt, review the application, 29
and render a decision to accept or reject the application in whole or in 30
part. The State Building Inspector may approve a variation of or 31
exemption from any such standard or specification when the State 32
Building Inspector determines that the standard or specification would 33
not be feasible or would unreasonably complicate the construction, 34
alteration or repair in question. Such determination shall be in writing, 35
shall state the reasons therefor and if it sets aside any such standard or 36
specification, a copy of such determination shall be published 37
electronically by the State Building Inspector on the Internet web site 38
of the Department of Administrative Services. Any person aggrieved 39
by any such decision may appeal to the Codes and Standards 40
Committee within thirty days after such decision has been rendered. 41
(c) Regulations or codes made or amended by authority of this 42
section shall be adopted in accordance with the provisions of section 43
29-252b. 44
(d) If any regulation is set aside by a court of competent jurisdiction, 45
such ruling shall affect only the regulation, standard or specification 46
included in the ruling and all other regulations, standards or 47
specifications shall remain in effect. 48 Committee Bill No. 6957
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(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this 49
section, the State Building Inspector and the Codes and Standards 50
Committee shall revise the State Building Code to require that any 51
state-owned building constructed or renovated on or after the effective 52
date of such revision include accessibility equipment for persons with 53
disabilities, including wheelchair ramps, power-assist doors and 54
accessible restrooms and elevators, as part of the construction or 55
renovation project. 56
[(e)] (f) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this 57
section, a variation or exemption from the State Building Code shall 58
not be required to construct a visitable feature in a residential home. 59
For purposes of this section, "visitable feature" means (1) interior 60
doorways that provide a minimum thirty-two inch wide unobstructed 61
opening, (2) an accessible means of egress, as defined in Appendix A 62
to 28 CFR Part 36, including a ramp complying with the International 63
Residential Code portion of the State Building Code intended to allow 64
access by a wheelchair, or (3) a full or half bathroom on the first floor 65
that is compliant with the provisions of the Americans with 66
Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, 42 USC 12101. 67
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2019) The Department of 68
Administrative Services shall not enter a lease agreement for use of a 69
building by any state agency or other state entity unless the building 70
has accessibility equipment for persons with disabilities, including 71
wheelchair ramps, power-assist doors and accessible restrooms and 72
elevators. 73
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2019 29-269
Sec. 2 July 1, 2019 New section
PS Joint Favorable