Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB827 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R7053 LED-F
2	2	By: Seliger S.B. No. 827
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to procedures for asserting claims under the Americans
8	8	with Disabilities Act; providing a civil penalty.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 2, Civil Practice and Remedies
11	11	Code, is amended by adding Chapter 27A to read as follows:
12	12	CHAPTER 27A. ACTIONS INVOLVING THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
13	13	Sec. 27A.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
14	14	(1) "Americans with Disabilities Act" means the
15	15	Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Section 12101 et
16	16	seq.).
17	17	(2) "Claimant" means a person seeking relief under the
18	18	Americans with Disabilities Act.
19	19	(3) "Respondent" means the person against whom a
20	20	claimant is seeking relief under the Americans with Disabilities
21	21	Act.
22	22	Sec. 27A.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies to a
23	23	claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act based on a
24	24	respondent's failure to comply with applicable design,
25	25	construction, technical, or other standards required by the
26	26	Americans with Disabilities Act, including complying with website
27	27	accessibility guidelines.
28	28	Sec. 27A.003. NOTICE OF INTENT TO FILE CLAIM. (a)
29	29	Notwithstanding any other law, before a claimant files an action
30	30	asserting a claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the
31	31	claimant must give notice to the respondent of intent to file the
32	32	claim. Notice required under this section must be made not later
33	33	than the 150th day before the date the action asserting the claim is
34	34	filed.
35	35	(b) The notice must state:
36	36	(1) the name of the individual asserting the claim
37	37	under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the specific
38	38	provision of the Americans with Disabilities Act that gives the
39	39	individual standing to file an action asserting the claim;
40	40	(2) each alleged violation of the Americans with
41	41	Disabilities Act, including each applicable statutory or
42	42	regulatory provision alleged to have been violated;
43	43	(3) each design, construction, technical, or other
44	44	standard alleged to have been violated; and
45	45	(4) the time, place, and manner in which the claimant
46	46	discovered the alleged violation.
47	47	(c) The notice may be given in a manner prescribed for
48	48	service of process in a civil action.
49	49	Sec. 27A.004. RIGHT TO CORRECT. A respondent who has
50	50	received a notice of intent to file a claim under Section 27A.003
51	51	may correct an alleged violation of the Americans with Disabilities
52	52	Act before the earliest date on which the claimant may file an
53	53	action under Section 27A.003.
54	54	Sec. 27A.005. NOTICE OF CORRECTION OR OTHER EXPLANATION.
55	55	(a) A respondent who has corrected an alleged violation of the
56	56	Americans with Disabilities Act shall provide notice of the
57	57	correction to the claimant.
58	58	(b) The notice must describe each correction and the manner
59	59	in which the correction addresses the alleged violation.
60	60	(c) If the respondent concludes that the alleged violation
61	61	has not occurred and that a correction is not necessary, the
62	62	respondent shall provide the claimant an explanation of the
63	63	respondent's conclusion.
64	64	(d) The notice of correction or explanation may be given in
65	65	a manner prescribed for service of process in a civil action.
66	66	Sec. 27A.006. FILING AND ABATEMENT OF ACTION. (a) If a
67	67	claimant files an action asserting a claim under the Americans with
68	68	Disabilities Act, the claimant must establish by a preponderance of
69	69	the evidence that the respondent has not corrected one or more of
70	70	the alleged violations stated in the notice of intent to file a
71	71	claim provided under Section 27A.003.
72	72	(b) If an action is filed, the respondent may file a plea in
73	73	abatement and request an evidentiary hearing on the plea. The court
74	74	shall abate the action for a period not to exceed 60 days from the
75	75	date of the hearing if the court finds, by a preponderance of the
76	76	evidence, that:
77	77	(1) the respondent initiated action to correct the
78	78	alleged violation during the time allowed under Section 27A.004;
79	79	(2) the respondent could not complete the corrections
80	80	within that time; and
81	81	(3) the corrections will be completed by the end of the
82	82	period of abatement.
83	83	Sec. 27A.007. DISMISSAL OR CONTINUATION OF ACTION. If a
84	84	respondent has provided a notice of correction or has completed
85	85	corrections during a period of abatement under Section 27A.006:
86	86	(1) the claimant may file a motion to dismiss the
87	87	action without prejudice; or
88	88	(2) the respondent may file a motion for summary
89	89	judgment in accordance with the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
90	90	Sec. 27A.008. BAD FAITH CLAIMS. (a) A claimant may not in
91	91	bad faith provide a notice of intent to file a claim under the
92	92	Americans with Disabilities Act.
93	93	(b) A notice of intent to file a claim is in bad faith if the
94	94	notice includes a claim that the respondent has violated the
95	95	Americans with Disabilities Act and is liable for that violation
96	96	and the notice:
97	97	(1) does not meet the requirements prescribed by
98	98	Section 27A.003; or
99	99	(2) describes a claim that is objectively baseless
100	100	because:
101	101	(A) the claimant does not have standing to file
102	102	an action asserting the claim under the Americans with Disabilities
103	103	Act; or
104	104	(B) the premises is not subject to the
105	105	requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
106	106	Sec. 27A.009. ATTORNEY GENERAL ENFORCEMENT. (a) If the
107	107	attorney general believes that a person has violated or is
108	108	violating Section 27A.008, the attorney general may bring an action
109	109	on behalf of the state to enjoin the person from violating that
110	110	section.
111	111	(b) In addition to seeking an injunction under Subsection
112	112	(a), the attorney general may request and the court may order any
113	113	other relief that may be in the public interest, including:
114	114	(1) the imposition of a civil penalty in an amount not
115	115	to exceed $50,000 for each violation of Section 27A.008;
116	116	(2) an order requiring reimbursement to this state for
117	117	the reasonable value of investigating and prosecuting a violation
118	118	of Section 27A.008; and
119	119	(3) an order requiring restitution to a recipient of a
120	120	bad faith notice of intent to file a claim for legal and
121	121	professional expenses related to the violation.
122	122	Sec. 27A.010. CONSTRUCTION OF CHAPTER. This chapter may
123	123	not be construed to:
124	124	(1) limit rights and remedies available to the state
125	125	or another person under any other law; or
126	126	(2) alter or restrict the attorney general's authority
127	127	under other law with regard to conduct involving claims under the
128	128	Americans with Disabilities Act.
129	129	Sec. 27A.011. NO PRIVATE CAUSE OF ACTION. This chapter does
130	130	not create a private cause of action for violation of Section
131	131	27A.008.
132	132	SECTION 2. Chapter 27A, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
133	133	as added by this Act, applies only to an action filed or a notice of
134	134	intent to file a claim provided on or after the effective date of
135	135	this Act.
136	136	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.