Lawmakers Hear Yearslong Push to Require More Adaptable Housing for Seniors and People with Disabilities

Members of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security heard more than an hour of testimony on Oct. 11 in support of House Bill 2569, which would expand the Architectural Access Board’s authority to require adaptable housing features in rehabs and add workplace employee areas to the board’s jurisdiction.

Advocates said the change would make many rehabilitated units and converted buildings usable for people who use wheelchairs or have other mobility needs. "This bill is absolutely crucial to making housing more accessible to people with disabilities," said R Feynman, director of advocacy at the Disability Policy Consortium, in remarks to the committee.

The bill would require that when buildings are rehabilitated they be made "accessible and adaptable," witnesses said, and would extend similar requirements to employee areas in workplaces so people with disabilities can access employment. Testimony detailed the tight supply of…