| LETTER TO SCOTT SEEKING VETO OF HB 849 |
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GOVERNOR SCOTT SIGNED THIS BILL INTO LAW JUNE 24, 2011
Florida has approximately 20-25% of the population with disabilities. Since we are all living longer, I suspect the actual figure is at 25% or higher. We are a very different state, with these huge and high numbers of people with disabilities. We come here, after disability to live. In 1974, I was chosen to hand carry legislation on minimum standards on how to build buildings in Florida to the Florida Legislature, so that they were built to be accessible for people with disabilities. The most important language we brought to the legislature was: Ss: 553.501-553.513 which may be frequented in, lived in, or worked in by the public shall comply with ss: 553-501-553.513 Ss: 553.501-553.513 which may be frequented in, lived in, or worked in by the public shall comply with ss: 553-501-553.513 The real proponents of this bad bill want this language out of our fine law. They also do not want work spaces to be fully accessible. And they want religious institutions out of our 1974 law. Please begin calling good men and women leaders in churches and other religious institutions and you will see this is not contemporary thinking. We have been a long time climbing out of the "God is punishing you" as the reason for disability. We still have many organized religious institutions who believe we have a disability because "we do not believe". Also, review another 1974 issue that we passed. SECTION 2. Basic rights.-All natural persons, female and male alike, are equal before the law and have inalienable rights, among which are the right to enjoy and defend life and liberty, to pursue happiness, to be rewarded for industry, and to acquire, possess and protect property; except that the ownership, inheritance, disposition and possession of real property by aliens ineligible for citizenship may be regulated or prohibited by law. No person shall be deprived of any right because of race, religion, national origin, or physical disability. History.-Am. S.J.R. 917, 1974; adopted 1974; Am. proposed by Constitution Revision Commission, Revision No. 9, 1998, filed with the Secretary of State May 5, 1998; adopted 1998. Our Florida Constitution on Religion has nothing that conflicts with our Florida Building Code language, nor does it authorize religious institutions to "declare war" on people with disabilities: SECTION 3. Religious freedom.-There shall be no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting or penalizing the free exercise thereof. Religious freedom shall not justify practices inconsistent with public morals, peace or safety. No revenue of the state or any political subdivision or agency thereof shall ever be taken from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution. The Chapter 553 access law took a small hit in approximately 1978 when special interests wanted a waiver of some of the access standards. Some of these Special Interests were Baptist Churches who did not want the baptismal to be accessible. Organized Baptist Churches seem to forget that Jesus was baptised in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. These same Churches ignored how Jesus dealt with people with disabilities he encountered. In 1989 the people with disabilities struck a deal with the Florida Home Builders Association. (FHBA)We people with disabilities agreed to no more local options if we could pass the bill we failed on in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988. People with disabilities kept their end of the deal, The FHBA did not. ADA, passed in 1990, was designed to bring states up to some minimum accessibility standard. Unfortunately, wicked people used the ADA, often to take away the high Florida Building Code Access Standards. In 1993, the DCA and Governor Chiles decided to roll back the 1989 Access Law to the 1990 ADA Guidelines. We were fortunate, on the scene in the state capitol, to be there and reversed the bill so that it ended better than the 1989 version. In 1997 Legislature raided our Access Code in the last days to attempt to remove private clubs and religious institutions in the last week of a legislative session, where people with disabilities and the legislature were working on improving the Access Law. To have been successful, they would have had to remove the language in the law: Ss: 553.501-553.513 which may be frequented in, lived in, or worked in by the public shall comply with ss: 553-501-553.513 None of these evil legislators are left. Charlie Crist was the last such wicked legislator to be taken out. People with disabilities had a strong voice in removing many cabinet level ADA violators. Again, ADA was being miss-used to do roll backs in our fine, since 1974 State Access Law. The preamble in the Americans with Disabilities Act clearly stated it was not intended to be a mechanism to roll back what states already enacted to solve the access issues. The ADA was to bring certain states up to some minimum level of providing accessibility. Florida, with its vast numbers of disabled veterans and civilians and elderly people who brought their disabilities with them to Florida to survive and live a longer life, were the reason we passed legislation on excellent access in new construction in 1974. These "past tense" ADA violators have dumped a Capitol filled with ADA barriers onto Governor Rick Scott. And now a new group has dropped this anti people with disabilities bill on Rick Scott. We are asking Governor Scott to veto the bill. We can workshop the issue for the next 10 months, and get a piece of legislation the Governor and people with disabilities can live with. Unlike the existing statute, this bill was not "work shopped" throughout Florida, where people with disabilities had an opportunity to protest these changes. Example, most of the impute came from South Florida. None of the limited workshops ever got to West Palm Beach, Brossard, Dade or Monroe County. And what workshops that were held were poorly advertised. The Florida Building Code Commission Staff were housed in the Department of Community Affairs. This bill was their work product. In 1993 DCA and Governor Chiles had another bill that gutted our access law. We finally got their bill gutted and the bill back into good shape with improvements. Some of these DCA staffers have survived. They will move over to another Department. These three quotes are from Angel Watson: "lost a foot off of the landings at the bottom of ramps. Vertical accessibility means a way up to the next level in a building; the recommendations pretty much strip out the requirement. Our Florida law says NOTHING shall be construed to relieve the owner of the duty to provide vertical accessibility. Well, the recommendations want to allow steps in employee work areas! The door won't close behind you in the bathroom anymore."
These are some of the reasons we found that requires this bill to be vetoed A. PAGE 32, LINES 885-887 Ss: 553.501-553.513 which may be frequented in, lived in, or worked in by the public shall comply with ss: 553-501-553.513 Ss: 553.501-553.513 which may be frequented in, lived in, or worked in by the public shall comply with ss: 553-501-553.513 That this language is being taken out is reason enough to veto this bill HB 849. This language was in the 1974 law, it was intended to make all buildings, excluding duplexes and single family homes accessible. This language made it clear that areas that are worked in are accessible. When evil and mean spirited legislators attempted to roll back accessibility requirements for private clubs and religious institutions in 1997, they failed due to this language. People with disabilities intended to come back and undo the evil amendment of 1997. Every single legislator involved with that evil act is gone. Charlie Crist was the last one left. This would have been the section that had to be removed that year. B. LINES 895-918-949 The striking of the language is simply not necessary, and should be left alone in the statute. Leave our ramp landing language alone. Leave our curb construction language alone. Leave our ramp handrail extentions alone. C. LINES 923-948 These struck lines about our public food establishments must not come out of the statute. If anything, additions are needed to add accessible, movable tables which are not required to be accessible. Restaurants open without a single wheelchair table. D. Lines 960-964, page 36 All standard water closet seats shall be at a height of 15 inches, measured vertically from the finished floor to the top of the seat, with a variation of plus or minus ½ inch. A portable or attached raised toilet seat shall be provided in all designated handicapped accessible rooms. "All standard water closet seats shall be at a height of 15 inches, measured vertically from the finished floor to the top of the seat, with a variation of plus or minus ½ inch. A portable or attached raised toilet seat shall be provided in all designated handicapped accessible rooms." This language was put into the statute for the vastly different people with wheelchairs and degrees of paralysis. Most of these travelers bring their own custom raised seat attachment that meets their specific needs for bowel movements. The provision of a generic raised attachable toilet seat for others needed a raised height in an accessible room. Eliminating this language from the statute by men who have no concept of the subculture of toilet needs of different people in wheelchairs with differing degrees of paralysis have no business recommending statute changes that were made part of the statute by real people with wheelchair and paralysis disabilities. This change alone is reason to veto this bad bill. E. Line 983 bathing rooms and restrooms This not an appropriate needed change whatsoever. F. Lines 999-1008 Are an assault on our check out lanes. This is a reason alone to veto this bill. We finally have check out lanes that suits the 20-25% of the Florida population and there is no problem. G. LINES 1038-1040 Again, this language regards our disabled parking. It is being struck for no apparent basis. H. LINES 1085-1091 Only an idiot would want the disabled parking spaces wider than 12 feet wide or the access aisle wider than 5 feet. We disabled drivers, know all about people with questionable parking permits in little cars being able to slither in and block up our doors and wheelchair lift doors. Any one in a sedan can operate within the 12 foot space. The access aisle is strictly for the vans, that generally have the lift on the passenger side. Most, if not all operate within the 17 feet width. Leave this statute ALONE!! This folly of widening the disabled parking space and access aisle is reason enough alone to veto this bill. I. LINES 1123-1127 This is in the statute to make sure the parking spaces are level, so our wheelchairs do not roll away when getting ready to transfer. We want the curb ramps to be located outside the disabled parking spaces and access aisles. Some construction of these access aisle ramps interfere with the unloading and loading of the wheelchair. This is language that must stay in the statute. J. None of the other struck language in the Florida Access Law is needed. Our law works fine, when enforced. This bill adds nothing to better enforcement. What is needed is this bill be vetoed. And what is needed is 10 month of workshops across Florida, because there are some very serious issues in the law that need addressing. Here are few:
passenger side for the vans, that unload the wheelchair lift from the passenger side. This is a major issue for the fine quadriplegic drivers. They are often required to back into spaces, which is not often possible or feasible. to be wheelchair accessible. A percentage must be required and designated as such and placed in fair locations along an accessible route. If seating is offered indoors and outdoors both seating shall have wheelchair accessible tables. Ss: 553.501-553.513 which may be frequented in, lived in, or answer.
worked in by the public shall comply with ss: 553-501-553.513 In closing, I am a bit amazed at how many people in the legislature voted for this bad bill. I will review every possible tape of committee meetings to see how this roll back bill moved through the legislature. In a couple days I will send this letter to the legislators and ask them why they voted on this bad bill. It is my firm belief you were chosen to become governor, by the same authority who chose me to try and fix the problems for people with disabilities. I therefore ask you to veto this bill. When you veto it, and I get done there will be no override of a veto by either chamber in the Legislature. Respectfully, Denny R. Wood, President Florida Paraplegic Association, Inc. (est. 1957) www.dignity4disabled.com Where resume is located. 305-253-2563 P.S. I should have been at the legislature. My small business has not been economy proof and each day it is an 8 hour struggle to make the business just survive.
Dear Governor Scott: May 9, 2011 WHY THE GOVERNOR SHOULD VETO HB 849
---Denny Wood, Publisher,
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" Dear Governor Scott: May 9, 2011 WHY THE GOVERNOR SHOULD VETO HB 849 |
| Last Updated on Sunday, 03 July 2011 11:41 |