# Plain Language Summary: The ACCESS Act

This bill makes changes to how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is enforced, with a focus on giving businesses and property owners more time and support to fix accessibility problems before they get sued. The main idea is to encourage compliance through education and a structured warning process rather than jumping straight to lawsuits.

The bill requires the Department of Justice to create educational programs to help business owners and local governments understand how to make their buildings and services accessible to people with disabilities. This includes training for specialists who can advise on fixing accessibility issues. The government also has to provide this guidance in multiple languages so it reaches more business owners. This part is meant to help people understand the rules better rather than punish them for breaking them.

The most significant change involves what happens when someone with a disability encounters an accessibility barrier—like a missing wheelchair ramp or inaccessible entrance. Instead of being able to sue immediately, the person must first send a detailed written notice to the property owner describing exactly what the barrier is and where it's located. The owner then gets 60 days to either fix the problem or provide a written plan explaining what improvements they'll make. If the owner provides a plan, they get another 60 days to actually remove the barrier or make substantial progress on it. Only if the owner fails to respond or doesn't follow through can a lawsuit be filed. The bill also requires courts to develop mediation programs to help resolve these disputes more quickly and cheaply than going to trial.

ACCESS Act

Calvert, Ken

ADA Compliance for Customer Entry to Stores and Services Act or the ACCESS Act This bill addresses access to public accommodations for persons with a disability. The bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to develop a program to educate state and local governments and property owners on strategies for promoting access to public accommodations for persons with a disability. The bill authorizes an aggrieved person, after taking specified actions, to commence a civil action based on the failure to remove an architectural barrier to access an existing public accommodation. Specifically, the aggrieved person must have provided the owners or operators a written notice specific enough to identify the barrier and specify the circumstances under which public accommodation access was denied. The owners or operators must have (1) failed to provide the person a written description outlining improvements that will be made to improve the barrier, or (2) failed to remove the barrier or make substantial progress after providing such a description. The Judicial Conference of the United States must develop a model program to promote alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve claims involving architectural barriers to access for public accommodations. Finally, the bill requires DOJ to complete a study of whether certain web content standards or information services for individuals with disabilities provided telephonically provide the same accommodations as would be available on a website.