Thursday, September 20, 2012

Governor Brown signs Olsen’s ADA reform bill into law Law will reduce costs for school press boxes

SACRAMENTO –– Late yesterday, Governor Jerry Brown signed Assemblymember Kristin Olsen’s (R-Modesto) Assembly Bill 2030 into law, which will conform California law to newly passed federal ADA requirements for small press boxes.

“The signing of AB 2030 will go a long way in reducing the financial burden on schools and other facilities that find the addition of a press box unaffordable,” said Olsen. “This is a great win for educational and recreational organizations, which will now have greater utilization of their facilities, and likely greater coverage of their sporting events.”

Olsen carried this bill on behalf of Big Valley Christian School in Modesto, which has indefinitely delayed building a press box at its stadium because of the high cost of the CA ADA requirements.


Currently, sports stadiums in California that include bleachers with an elevated press box must construct an elevator for access. Today, many schools are unable to provide press box facilities due to the prohibitive cost of including an elevator.

AB 2030 uses federal ADA guidelines to eliminate the elevator requirement for press boxes fewer than 500 square feet. This greatly reduces the cost for public and private schools and other small sports facilities.
Earlier this month, Governor Brown also signed State Senator Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Senator Bob Dutton’s (D-Rancho Cucamonga) SB 1186, which will help alleviate the threat of predatory lawsuits businesses face from disabled access lawyers.  
AB 2030 will be implemented with the next CA Building Standards Commission adoption cycle that begins on or after January 1, 2013.