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.