Print Friendly VersionADVOCACY ACTION NEWS
December 2005, Issue 96
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
FEDERAL/NATIONAL
WISCONSIN
EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month
Safe Toys and Gifts Month by Prevent Blindness America
December 1 – 7th National Aplastic Anemia Awareness Week
December 1st World AIDS Day
Monthly News Bulletin Published by IndependenceFirst
The Other Movement That Rosa Parks Inspired By Sitting Down
On a warm September day in 1984, about a dozen men and women rolled their wheelchairs in front of a city bus that was pulling onto State Street in Chicago. Then they sat there and didn't move. The group had no secret agenda; they simply wanted to make a point. Days before, the Chicago Transit Authority had announced that it was purchasing 363 new public buses -- and that none of them would be equipped with wheelchair lifts to serve disabled passengers because the lifts had been deemed too expensive. This ragtag group of wheelchair riders, who were affiliated with a disability rights organization called ADAPT, or Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transit, decided to protest that decision by obstructing a bus until the police carted them away. Every one of them wore a simple paper name tag, the sort that you would normally see at a meet-and-greet. They all said: "My name is Rosa Parks."
Rosa Parks' act of courage in Montgomery, Ala., in 1955 did more than dismantle the system of racial segregation on public transportation. Her refusal to give up her seat to a white man also created a legacy she never could have foreseen. It was through Parks' example that the disabled community transformed its own often disorganized cause into a unified disability rights movement. "Had it not been for Parks and the bus boycott, there is no question that the disability rights movement would have been light-years behind, if it would have ever occurred," says Michael Auberger, a disability rights activist who was one of the first to place his wheelchair in front of a bus in the early 1980s.
By the 1960s and '70s, many cities had introduced paratransit services that picked up persons with disabilities. The officials who controlled city budgets, though, typically stipulated that these buses could be used by an individual only a few times a month and that the buses could be used only by appointment. So, in the late '70s and early '80s, some activists began to extend the logic of Parks' silent act of defiance to their own cause: Buses that divided people into separate categories, they said, were inherently unequal. Disabled people shouldn't be limited to using paratransit buses. They deserved to ride the city buses, just like everyone else.
Parks' method of dissent -- sitting still -- was well suited to a community in which many people found themselves having to do that very thing all day long. Within two decades of her refusal to give up her seat, people in cities across the country began staging their own "sit-ins" by parking their wheelchairs in front of ill-equipped city buses -- or, alternatively, by ditching their wheelchairs and crawling onto the stairs of the bus vestibules.
These actions began to change both how people with disabilities were perceived and how they perceived themselves. "Without the history of Parks and Martin Luther King, the only argument that the disability community had was the Jerry Lewis Principle," explains Auberger. "The Poor Pathetic Cripple Principle. But if you take a single disabled person and you show them that they can stop a bus, you've empowered that person. And you've made them feel they had rights."
If Rosa Parks left a lasting legacy on the disability rights movement, it is important to recognize that it is a legacy that is largely unfinished. Detroit's mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, memorialized Parks by saying that "she stood up by sitting down. I'm only standing here because of her."
However, Kilpatrick failed to mention that the Justice Department joined a suit against his city in March. It was initially filed in August 2004, by Richard Bernstein, a blind 31-year-old lawyer from the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills, on behalf of four persons with disabilities. Plaintiffs said that they routinely waited three to four hours in severe cold for a bus with a working lift. Their complaint cited evidence that half of the lifts on the city's bus fleet were routinely broken. The complaint did not ask for compensation. It demanded only that the Motor City comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act.
A 2002 federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics study found that 6 million Americans with disabilities still have trouble obtaining the transportation they need. Many civic leaders and officials at transit organizations have made arguments about the economic difficulty of installing lifts on buses and maintaining them. But they are seeing only one side of the argument: More people in the disability community would pursue jobs and pay more taxes if they could only trust that they could get to work and back safely.
“Rosa Parks could get on the bus to protest," says Roger McCarville, a veteran in Detroit who once chained himself to a bus. "We still can't get on the bus." A true tribute to Parks would be to ensure that every American can.
Author's e-mail : shepherdstown@gmail.com
Charles Wilson, a writer who lives in New York City, has been doing research for a book about the disability rights movement.
Source: http://www.crccertification.com/pdf/CRC_CE_PreApproval_ManualRev0305.pdf
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
In this issue of Advocacy Action News, we have included a summary of currently pending federal and state legislation that may be of interest to persons with disabilities. We urge you to contact your elected officials and to voice your opinions, whatever they may be! Special thanks to Maureen Ryan, Executive Director of WI Coalition of Independent Living Centers, and Jason Beloungy from Independent Living Resources, Inc. for their work compiling this information.
FEDERAL/NATIONAL
HOW TO CONTACT CONGRESS
202-225-3121
• www.house.gov
• www.senate.gov
• http://thomas.loc.gov/
Bill Summary & Status, Bill Text
Committee Reports
ADA NOTIFICATION ACT, HR 2804
• Re-introduced in the House by Rep. Mark Foley (FL).
• 26 co-sponsors.
• Would amend Title III of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) to require people encountering discrimination to give 90 days notice before initiating litigation.
INCLUSIVE HOME DESIGN ACT, HR 1441
• Introduced by Rep. Janice Schakowski (IL).
• 29 co-sponsors.
• Requires that single-family homes and town houses constructed with federal funds must be “visitable” with at least one wheelchair-accessible entrance and access to at least one wheelchair-accessible bathroom.
ENDING THE MEDICARE WAITING PERIOD, S 1217 & HR 2869
• Introduced by Senator Jeff Bingaman (NM) and Rep. Gene Green (TX).
• 19 Co-sponsors in the Senate and 32 Co-sponsors in the House.
• Phases out the two year waiting period to receive Medicare benefits.
MEDICAID COMMUNITY ATTENDANT SERVICES AND SUPPORTS ACT (“MICASSA”), S 401 AND HR 910
• MiCASSA has 19 co-sponsors in the Senate and 14 co-sponsors in the House.
• MiCASSA would end the institutional bias in our long term care system by giving people with disabilities of any age a right to services in the community.
MONEY FOLLOWS THE PERSON, S 528 & HR 3063
• Sponsored by Senator Tom Harkin (IA) in the Senate and Rep. Dale Kildee (MI)
• Has 6 co-sponsors in Senate and 10 in House.
• Money should follow the person not an institution or building.
• Demonstrates that long term care services can be provided in the community for
less money.
• Services in the community would be matched by the federal government at 100
for the first year.
REHABILITATION ACT OF 2005, S 1021 & H 27
• Sponsored by Senator Mike Enzi and Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon.
• Passed the House but not the Senate.
• Senate Bill includes the Title VII, Part C funding formula change for Independent
Living Centers.
• Senate Bill includes the addition of a fifth core service related to community living
and nursing home transition.
• Language to address inaccessibility within the one-stop job center system.
2006 APPROPRIATIONS
CONTINUING RESOLUTION
• Passed September 30, 2005
• Provided funding through November 16, at whichever proposed budget was lowest.
BUDGET RECONCILIATION
• Requires 10 billion in cuts to Medicaid, the largest source of health care
financing for persons with disabilities, nearly 7 million people
• White House and House are working on a bill to provide a 2%-across-the-board
cut
WISCONSIN
HOW TO CONTACT YOUR STATE LEGISLATOR
• Call the State Legislative Hotline at: 1-800-362-9472
• Wisconsin Legislature’s Web Site: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/
Both methods can tell you who your legislators are by providing your address.
OVERTIME EXEMPTIONS FOR PROVIDERS OF COMPANIONSHIP SERVICES, AB 11
• This legislation exempts commercial, for-profit employers of individual
enaged in providing companionship services from the requirement that the
individual be paid overtime pay if conditions are met.
• This bill is currently in the Assembly Committee on Labor.
PROVIDER ORGANIZATIONS SUBJECT TO HEALTH CARE LIABILITY REQUIREMENTS, SB 228
• Certain health care providers are expected to carry health care liability insurance
with set liability limits.
• This legislation broadens the type of provider to include any organization that
provides medical services of physicians and nurses
ACTIONS AGAINST MANUFACTURERS, DISTRIBUTORS, SELLERS, AND PROMOTERS OF PRODUCTS, SB 402
• Currently, due to a WI Supreme Court decision that manufacturers of white lead
carbonate (used for pigment in paint) were liable for injuries caused to a child
who ingested paint that contained the carbonate – even though the child could
not prove that a particular manufacturer produced the lead carbonate.
• This bill would make a defendant liable only if the person injured could prove that
the specific product causing injury was manufactured, distributed, sold, or
produced by the defendant. There are other limited means to which the injured
can prove liability if info listed above is not available. There are also statutory
limitations with this bill.
• This legislation was passed in the Senate on 11-8-05, and will be sent to the
Assembly.
VOTER ID BILL, AB 63 AND SB 42
• This bill requires each person attempting to register or vote at the polls on
election day, to present a valid driver’s license, military ID, or state ID. ID is also
required for absentee ballots.
• The bill has 49 sponsors in the Assembly and 14 in the Senate.
2ND VOTER ID BILL, AB 808
• This bill relates to the same issues as AB 63/SB 42, but adds language
concerning absentee voting in residential care complexes CBRF’s, and adult
family homes (the bill allows municipal clerks and election board commissioners
to send delegates) and registration and voting for felons (the bill requires the
Corrections dept to update the elections board on felons who are eligible or not).
• This bill expands identifying information from a driver’s license or ID card (as
listed in AB 63) and now includes tribal governing body ID’s, several types of
documents containing a person’s name and address, or the last 4 digits of the
social security number. Also, proof of residence is not needed for an ID card.
• Finally, there are different rules (from current law and AB 63) concerning people
without proof of residence who wish to register or vote.
• This bill is currently in the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections.
ELIMINATION OF SAME-DAY VOTER REGISTRATION AT POLLING PLACES, AB 782
• This bill eliminates same-day voter registration and creates a system where
electors need to register by the 14th day preceding the election. A person can
change their name or address on election day at the polling place.• This bill also
extends residency requirements from 10 to 14 days.
• For people not on a registration list, a provisional ballot may be cast.
• A companion bill in the Senate was already voted down.
• This bill is currently in the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections.
GRANTS TO COUNTIES TO PROVIDE ALTERNATIVES TO PROSECUTION AND INCARCERATION FOR PERSON ABUSING ALCOHOL AND DRUGS, SB 142
• This bill establishes a new grant program for counties that provide alternatives to
prosecution or incarceration for criminal offenders who abuse alcohol or other
drugs.
• This bill does not include offenders with mental health needs.
CIP II FUNDS FOR HOME AND COMMUNITY BASED SERVICES, AB 124 AND SB 54
• This bill authorizes the Department of Health & Family Services (DHFS) to
provide CIP II funding for home and community-based services to Medical
Assistance-eligible persons who relocate from a facility to the community.
• Sponsored by Senator Grothman and 8 Representatives.
INCREASING LIMITS FOR INSURANCE COVERAGE OF NERVOUS OR MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS OR AODA, AB 252/SB 128
• This bill would provide a cost of living increase in insurance coverage limits for
the treatment of nervous and mental disorders and alcoholism and other drug
abuse problems, which have not been changed since they were enacted in 1992
and 1985.
INFORMED CONSENT FOR MINORS FOR TREATMENT, PSYCHOTROPIC MEDICATIONS, AND ACCESS TO RECORDS, SB 226
• The bill takes away the sole right of a minor 14 years old and older to request
admittance or refuse admittance to inpatient and outpatient treatment, and
increases or give sole right to the parent or guardian.
• The bill also changes the rules of the right of minors 14 and older to object
access to the minor’s records by parents or guardians.
• This Bill passed the Senate 19-14 on 11-1-05. This bill will be sent to the
Assembly for a vote.
SCHOOL POLICIES ON BULLYING, SB 310
• This bill directs the Department of Public Instruction to develop a model school
policy on bullying, which defines it, prevents it, and provides penalties for it.
• This bill requires each school district in WI to adopt a policy on prohibiting
bullying.
• This bill will also add Wednesday in the fourth week of September as Bullying
Awareness Day for schools.
• The bill passed in the Senate on 11-9-05. The bill will be sent to the Assembly.
ESTABLISHING A CLEARINGHOUSE IN EACH COUNTY FOR INFO ABOUT TRANSITION SERVICES AND VOCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, AB 308
• This legislation directs the Department of Public Instruction to cooperate with the
Department of Workforce Development and DHFS in the establishment of an
internet clearinghouse about the special education transition services and
vocational opportunities available in each county.
• This legislation is currently in the Assembly Committee on Education
HARASSMENT OF, CAUSING INJURY TO, OR THEFT OF A SERVICE DOG AND PROVIDING PENALTIES, AB 353/SB 181
• This legislation creates new crimes involving dogs that are trained for the
purpose of assisting or accommodating persons with disabilities (service dogs)
• This law makes restitution for these crimes the same as crimes against law
enforcement animals.
FULL AND EQUAL ENJOYMENT OF A PUBLIC PLACE OF ACCOMMODATION OR AMUSEMENT BY A PERSON USING A SERVICE ANIMAL, SB 157
• This bill conforms current law to the federal regulations by extending the Public
Accommodations Law to include all types of services animals.
• This bill eliminates rules requiring services dogs to wear leashes, harnesses, or
capes.
• It also eliminates regulations that force a person using a service dog to present
credentials from a training school.
REVISION AND ELIMINATION OF THE EXEMPTION FROM PROPERTY TAX AND USE OF INCOME FROM TAX-EXEMPT LEASED PROPERTY, AB 573
• This bill clarifies the types of properties that are exempt from property taxes, and
which ones are not.
• This clarification should protect the tax-exempt status of properties used for
housing, treatment, and therapy of people with disabilities.
THE RECOVERY OF NON-ECONOMIC DAMAGES IN MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASES, AB 766
• In Wisconsin, there was a limit for damages set at $445,755. The Wisconsin
Supreme Court found the limit to be unconstitutional because it violated the
equal protection provision. This bill will create a limit on damages for each
occurrence of medical malpractice for $550,000 for persons under 18, and
$450,000 for people 18 and over.
EVENTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS
Hello to all persons in WI who consider themselves to be a consumer of mental health/substance abuse recovery and other services!
As you may know, the WI Bureau of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is sponsoring "listening sessions" around the State through mid December. The purpose is to find out what mental health consumers consider to be important in the areas of information, education, advocacy and peer support.
We realize that many of you cannot make it to these listening sessions. BUT - We have another different opportunity for you to submit your opinions and thoughts to us.....please see below for a link to an "online" survey that has been created. Please take a few minutes to fill out and submit by December 31st. Thanks for helping. Contact me with questions.
Wendy Kilbey Warren, Recovery Focused Quality Improvement Specialist, Bureau of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services warrewk@dhfs.state.wi.us
http://doa.wi.gov/DHFSSurveys/TakeSurvey.asp?SurveyID=8JMm93216926M
The IndependenceFirst website, newly redesigned one year ago, had a total of 872,888 hits this past year, for an average of 2,378.44 hits/day. The highest traffic months were in June and July, around the time of the IndependenceFirst POWER LUNCH when it doubled the traffic during these 2 months, compared to other months of the year.
If you haven't had a chance to check out our website, you can access it at http://www.independencefirst.org !
DOJ HAS RELEASED THEIR OCTOBER ISSUE OF DISABILITY RIGHTS ON-LINE NEWS
This publication contains updates on Department of Justice settlements and technical assistance activities. Link to the Disability Rights on-line News at:
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/disabilitynews.htm
EEOC COMMISSIONER VISITS INDEPENDENCEFIRSTIndependenceFirst had the honor of hosting a roundtable meeting with EEOC Commissioner Stuart J. Ishimaru. The event was entitled, “A Disability Community Roundtable Chat with the EEOC”. Commissioner Ishimaru, a Presidential appointee, visited Milwaukee on Thursday, October 20, 2005 and conducted several community roundtable meetings. The Commissioner was specifically interested in having a roundtable discussion with the disability community so that he could engage in interactive dialogue to hear their concerns. Commissioner Ishimaru listened and responded to disability-related employment experiences, concerns and issues. This was a unique opportunity for individuals with disabilities and advocates to talk with a civil rights expert.
THE OVER THE ROAD BUS ACCESSIBILITY PROGRAM PROVIDES MORE FREEDOM TO TRAVELERS WITH DISABILITIES
by Autumn Manz
The Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has announced its Over the Road Bus (OTRB) Accessibility Program selections. The OTRB Accessibility Program provides funds for private businesses of over the road buses to assist with the finances of complying with DOT’s accessibility rules. Over the road buses have a high passenger deck situated over a baggage compartment, such as a tour bus or a greyhound.
The OTRB Accessibility Program funding may be used for the cost of adding accessibility modifications and equipment, such as a wheelchair lift. The funds are also used for training in proper use and maintenance of equipment, boarding assistance, securement, handling and storage of mobility equipment, and sensitivity training.
There were one hundred and twenty applicants who requested $33.7 million of this year’s funding of $6.9 million. In Wisconsin, Badger Coaches, Inc. of Madison will receive $117,495. Lamers Bus Lines Inc. of Green Bay will be awarded $62,175 and Van Galder Bus Company of Jamesville $182,302. Wisconsin Coach Lines of Waukesha will receive $40,000. This funding will help make Wisconsin, as a travel destination, more appealing while providing people with disabilities more freedom and comfort when taking a trip. If you would like more information go to http://www.fta.dot.gov/legal/federal_register/2004/16290_17849_ENG_HTML.htm.
Advocacy Action News is published by IndependenceFirst on or about the 1st of each month. Submissions of articles are due by the 15th of each month prior to publication. For consideration, send your articles or announcements to the Editor, Karen Avery, via e-mail to kavery@independencefirst.org.
Advocacy Action News is available by request in alternative formats such as Braille, large print, on disk or audiotape. It is also made available via our website.
You may also receive Advocacy Action News via email instead of print copy. Contact Alie at 414-291-7520 (V/TTY) or akriofske@independencefirst.org.
If you do not have access to the internet, and would like assistance in obtaining any of the internet-based items described in this news bulletin, please contact Alie at 414-291-7520 (V/TTY).
IndependenceFirst
The Resource for People with Disabilities…
600 W. Virginia Street, 4th Floor
Milwaukee, WI 53204
414-291-7520 (V/TTY)
414-291-7525 (FAX)
www.independencefirst.org