§ 42-46-13 - Accessibility for persons with disabilities.
SECTION 42-46-13
§ 42-46-13 Accessibility for persons withdisabilities. – (a) All public bodies, to comply with the nondiscrimination on the basis ofdisability requirements of R.I. Const., Art. I, § 2 and applicable federaland state nondiscrimination laws (29 U.S.C. § 794, chapter 87 of thistitle, and chapter 24 of title 11), shall develop a transition plan settingforth the steps necessary to ensure that all open meetings of said publicbodies are accessible to persons with disabilities.
(b) The state building code standards committee shall, bySeptember 1, 1989 adopt an accessibility of meetings for persons withdisabilities standard that includes provisions ensuring that the meetinglocation is accessible to and usable by all persons with disabilities.
(c) This section does not require the public body to makeeach of its existing facilities accessible to and usable by persons withdisabilities so long as all meetings required to be open to the public pursuantto chapter 46 of this title are held in accessible facilities by the datesspecified in subsection (e).
(d) The public body may comply with the requirements of thissection through such means as reassignment of meetings to accessiblefacilities, alteration of existing facilities, or construction of newfacilities. The public body is not required to make structural changes inexisting facilities where other methods are effective in achieving compliancewith this section.
(e) The public body shall comply with the obligationsestablished under this section by July 1, 1990, except that where structuralchanges in facilities are necessary in order to comply with this section, suchchanges shall be made by December 30, 1991, but in any event as expeditiouslyas possible unless an extension is granted by the state building commissionerfor good cause.
(f) Each municipal government and school district shall, withthe assistance of the state building commission, complete a transition plancovering the location of meetings for all public bodies under theirjurisdiction. Each chief executive of each city or town and the superintendentof schools will submit their transition plan to the governor's commission ondisabilities for review and approval. The governor's commission on disabilitieswith assistance from the state building commission shall approve or modify,with the concurrence of the municipal government or school district, thetransition plans.
(g) The provisions of §§ 45-13-7 – 45-13-10,inclusive, shall not apply to this section.