Senate Joint Resolution
No. 35
CHAPTER 139
Relative to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
[
Filed with
Secretary of State
September 07, 2010.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SJR 35, Corbett.
This measure would commemorate the 20th anniversary of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, encourage all Californians to recognize and celebrate the important historical significance of the act, and reaffirm the Legislature’s commitment to, and urge Congress to reaffirm its commitment to, the civil and constitutional rights of Americans with disabilities.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee:
NO WHEREAS, July 26, 2010, marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; and
WHEREAS, The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was one of the most significant pieces of civil rights legislation since the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and
WHEREAS, This landmark legislation ensures that more than 58 million Americans receive the same basic freedoms of independence, equal access, freedom of choice, and inclusion afforded to every citizen of our country, and established the world’s first comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability; and
WHEREAS, Prior to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, people with disabilities were excluded and segregated from public life; denied a public education; subject to discrimination in housing, employment, and access to public spaces and resources; and forcibly institutionalized; and
WHEREAS, The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed because existing federal and state laws were insufficient to address the pervasive discrimination that existed for Americans with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, People with disabilities campaigned for empowerment and the right to live independently in the community; and
WHEREAS, They fought for legal protection from discrimination; the right to receive quality treatment or services; the right to refuse treatment or services; due process in all professional or governmental decisionmaking affecting them; equal access to public transportation, employment, state and local government programs and services, and public accommodations; and, most fundamentally, opposition to forced institutionalization and, correspondingly, the right to services to support living in the community; and
WHEREAS, These advancements were based on the principle of self‑determination, involving individual choices in daily living, and a collective political voice on the part of disability communities in the formulation of public policies and programs that affect them, expressed in the political demand: “Nothing About Us, Without Us"; and
WHEREAS, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act with overwhelming bipartisan majorities after two years of extensive and exhaustive hearings detailing the staggering isolation faced by people with disabilities, and President George H.W. Bush signed the bill into law on July 26, 1990; and
WHEREAS, Commemorating the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act both highlights the achievements that people with disabilities have gained since passage of the act and recognizes the work left to be done to ensure that Americans with disabilities are fully able to participate in society; and
WHEREAS, Californians are committed to living in a state where we are united by our belief in the dignity of every individual, by our responsibility to advance the common good, and by our understanding that what we choose to do in our own lifetime matters; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature commemorates and honors the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; recognizes and appreciates the work of the countless individuals and organizations in the disability rights community who fought tirelessly to advance the cause of people with disabilities, leading to the passage and enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act; encourages all Californians to recognize and celebrate the important historical significance of the act; and reaffirms, and urges Congress to reaffirm, its commitment to promoting the civil and constitutional rights of Americans with disabilities, and to strongly support the purposes and goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.