Senate Bill No. 86
(By Senators Kessler and Edgell)
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[Introduced January 13, 2010; referred to the Committee on Health
and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §5-15-4 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to requiring that handicap restroom
facilities and stalls in all public places be constructed with
two handrails or grab bars to accommodate persons in
wheelchairs and other persons who need assistance.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §5-15-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15. WHITE CANE LAW.
§5-15-4. Equal right to use public facilities; service animals and
trainers.
(a) A person who is blind or is a person with a disability
shall have has the same rights as other persons to the full and
free use of the highways, roads, streets, sidewalks, walkways, public buildings, public facilities and other public places.
(b) Any person who is blind and any person with a disability
is entitled to full and equal accommodations, advantages,
facilities and privileges of all common carriers, airplanes, motor
vehicles, railroad trains, motor buses, streetcars, boats or any
other public conveyances or modes of transportation, hotels,
lodging places, restaurants, professional offices for health or
legal services, hospitals, other places of public accommodation,
amusement or resort, and other places, including places of
employment, to which the general public is invited, subject only to
the conditions and limitations established by law and applicable
alike to all persons.
(c) Every person who is blind, every person with a hearing
impairment and every person with a disability
shall have has the
right to be accompanied by a service animal in any of the places,
accommodations or conveyances specified in subsection (b) of this
section without being required to pay an extra charge for the
admission of the service animal. The person who is blind, deaf or
has a disability
shall be is liable for any damage done by the
service animal to the premises or facilities or to persons using
the premises or facilities:
Provided, That the person who is
blind, deaf or has a disability
shall not be is not liable for any
damage done by the service animal to any person or the property of
a person who has contributed to or caused the service animal's behavior by inciting or provoking the behavior. A service animal
shall not occupy a seat in any public conveyance and shall be upon
a leash while using the facilities of a common carrier.
(d) The rights, privileges and responsibilities provided by
this section also apply to any person who is certified as a trainer
of a service animal while he or she is engaged in the training.
(e) A service animal as defined by section three of this
article is not required to be licensed or certified by a state or
local government, nor
shall there be is there any requirement for
the specific signage or labeling of a service animal.
(f) After the effective date of the amendment to this section
during the 2010 legislative session, handicap restroom facilities
and stalls in all public places with handicap accommodations shall
be constructed with two handrails or grab bars to accommodate
persons in wheelchairs and other persons who need assistance.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require handicap restroom
facilities and stalls in all public places be constructed with two
handrails or grab bars to accommodate persons in wheelchairs and
other persons who need assistance.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.