A N
A C T
RELATING TO STATE
AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- CIVIL RIGHTS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
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Introduced By: Representatives Montanaro, McCauley, Lanzi, Kilmartin, and Williams |
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Date Introduced: May 30, 2002 |
It is enacted
by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 42-87-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-87
entitled "Civil Rights of People With Disabilities" is hereby amended
to read as follows:
42-87-5. Enforcement of anti-discrimination provisions. -- (a) Except as specifically set forth in subsections (b) and (c), the Rhode Island commission for human rights is empowered and directed to prevent any person from violating any of the provisions of sections 42-87-1 -- 42-87-4, provided that before instituting a formal hearing it shall attempt by informal methods of conference, persuasion, and conciliation, to induce compliance with those sections. Upon the commission's own initiative or whenever an aggrieved individual or an organization chartered for the purpose of combating discrimination or of safeguarding civil liberties or rights of persons with disabilities, the individual or organization being hereinafter referred to as the complainant, makes a charge to the commission that any person, agency, bureau, corporation or association, hereinafter referred to as the respondent, has violated or is violating any of the provisions of sections 42-87-1 -- 42-87-4, the commission may proceed in the same manner and with the same powers as provided in sections 28-5-16 -- 28-5-26, and the provisions of sections 28-5-13 and 28-5-16 -- 28-5-36, as to the powers, duties and rights of the commission, its members, hearing examiners, the complainant, respondent, interviewer, and the court shall apply in any proceedings under this section.
(b) (1) The state building
commissioner governor's commission on
disabilities is empowered and directed to investigate and hear all
complaints relating to alleged
violations of this chapter concerning
relating to the physical
inaccessibility of buildings and structures.
(2) The state building commissioner
governor's commission on disabilities
shall have the power and duties to adopt, promulgate, amend and rescind rules
and regulations to effectuate the provisions of this section.
(i) Prior to instituting a formal hearing, the commissioner governor's
commission on disabilities shall attempt by informal methods of
conference, persuasion and conciliation, to induce compliance with this
chapter. If the complaint or any portion of the complaint cannot be resolved by
these informal methods, the commissioner
governor's commission on disabilities
shall conduct a hearing as provided by this section.
(ii) If the governor's commission
on disabilities hearing officer
shall upon all the evidence find that the respondent has not engaged in
violations of the civil rights of individuals with disabilities caused by the
physical inaccessibility of buildings and structures, the hearing official commission
shall state his or her its findings of fact and shall issue and
cause to be served on the complainant an order dismissing the complaint as to
the respondent.
(iii) If upon all the testimony taken, the hearing officer commission
shall determine that the respondent has engaged in violations of the civil
rights of individuals with disabilities caused by the physical inaccessibility
of buildings and structures, then the hearing
officer commission shall
state his or her its findings of fact and shall issue and cause
to be served on upon the respondent an order requiring the
respondent to cease and desist from these
unlawful such practices,
and to take any further affirmative or other
action that will effectuate the purposes of this chapter.
(iv) Any complainant or respondent claiming to be aggrieved by a
final order of the hearing officer commission may obtain judicial review of the
final order; any party may obtain an order of court for enforcement of a final
order of the hearing officer commission. Those
These proceedings shall be brought in
the superior court of the state
within any county where the unlawful practices, which are the subject of the
hearing officer's order, were committed or where any respondent, required in
the order to cease and desist from unlawful practices or to take other
affirmative action resides or transacts business.
(c) The Rhode Island department of education is empowered and directed to hear all complaints relating to violations of this chapter in the area of elementary and secondary education. Those complaints shall be heard in accordance with the process set forth in chapter 39 of title 16.
SECTION 2.
Section 42-51-8 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-51 entitled "Governor's
Commission on Disabilities" is hereby amended to read as follows:
42-51-8. Transfer of personnel. -- All of the personnel and employees of the "governor's committee on employment of the handicapped" shall be transferred to the "governor's commission on the handicapped". No person in the classified, non-classified, or unclassified service of the state on May 28, 1985 shall be discharged, separated from service, or downgraded in service by reason of the enactment of this chapter as provided by law or in the personnel rules and regulations of the state applicable to affected personnel.
All of the personnel and employees
of the state building commission who enforce section 42-87-5 on the effective
date of this act shall be transferred to the governor's commission on
disabilities. No person in the classified, non-classified, or unclassified
service of the state on the effective date of this act shall be discharged,
separated from service, or downgraded in service by reason of the enactment of
this act as provided by law or in applicable personnel rules and regulations.
SECTION 3. Upon the transfer of the functions of the handicap
accessibility unit of the state building commission to the governor's
commission on disabilities, the governor is hereby authorized to transfer or
reallocate in the appropriations and any other property of the handicap
accessibility unit. Any proceedings or other business or matters, undertaken or
commenced prior to the effective date of this act by the handicap accessibility
unit and pending on the effective date of this act, may be conducted and
completed by the governor's commission on disabilities.
SECTION 4.
Section 1 of this act shall take effect on July 1, 2002. Sections 2 and 3 of
this act shall take effect on or before August 1, 2002.