Our beloved Governor, not so beloved!

Response to an article By VALERIE BAUMAN, Associated Press

By Clifton Perez, M.S.W. Disability Rights Advocate

cperez@nycap.rr.com

Dear Editor:

On the evening of Thursday September 17, 2009 our beloved governor struck a double blow against disability rights in this state by vetoing not only the Title II bill, but also the polling place accessibility bill. If nothing else, this clearly proves that just because you have something in common with a particular group: race, disability etc. there is absolutely no guaranty that such a person will champion the beliefs, aspirations and apparently, the Civil Rights of such a group – New Yorkers with disabilities! There are no acceptable reasons for vetoing either of these bills.

The Title II bill: A.781-B/S.5369 would add Title II language from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into NYS Human Rights Law, which would strengthen protections for New Yorkers with disabilities against discrimination in New York State. Title II of the ADA provides protections against discrimination on the basis of disability in services provided by public entities, including state and local governments. This Civil Rights bill – if passed into law – would have clarified the obligations of government officials. Public entities would be required to – as they are already required under the ADA & by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 – provide access to their programs, services and activities for persons with disabilities. Even if this was not already a federal law of which we must comply with, why would you deny access to vital government programs to people with disabilities, including individuals who are blind? Why would you deny public officials clarification of an existing federal law, which could only serve to assist government officials with their responsibilities under such a federal law?

This bill imposes no new or additional requirements upon local governments or businesses. It is essential that New Yorkers with disabilities are assured that the provisions of Title II of the ADA are incorporated into state law. This would provide New Yorkers with disabilities with the mechanism necessary for critical access to the administrative enforcement procedures through the State Division of Human Rights.

As for his veto of the polling place bill, which will serve to disenfranchise potential voters with mobility and other impairments, would have fallen under the purview of the above Civil Rights bill. The polling place bill would have required polling places to meet federal accessibility guidelines for the disabled within six months. This was his response to our states obligation to such a federal requirement: “... it would create an unreasonable financial burden for places that currently have federal waivers for the requirements.” Fortunately or unfortunately, there are no federal waivers, the federal government does not grant waivers, the only available waiver is provided by the State through the County Board of Elections, which is what this bill would have changed. One of the requirements of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) is to ensure that voters with disabilities may cast a ballot privately in the same place and manner as all other voters. However, this is not possible if polling places are permitted to violate federal law, which is essentially what will continue to occur as long as New York State persists in granting waivers to polling places that are not accessible. Obviously, this must be what our beloved Governor prefers!