Rules Committee Backs Citywide ADA Reasonable Modification Policy; Moves Ordinance to Full Board

The Rules Committee advanced an ordinance to add Administrative Code section 28.220.3 to establish a citywide Americans with Disabilities Act reasonable modification policy, following a presentation from the Mayor’s Office on Disability.

Catherine Stephanie, legislative aide to Supervisor Alliotta Peer, introduced the ordinance as building on prior ADA work (SEG 2247–2254). Susan Mizner of the Mayor’s Office on Disability explained the measure’s core elements: a simple, accessible public notice of rights, timely responses to reasonable‑modification requests (guideline: respond within three days for routine requests), provision of adequate communication assistance (including braille, real‑time captioning and translated notices), and a general rule that departments should not require medical documentation except in limited housing contexts (SEG 2260–2330).

Mizner said reasonable modifications do not create new obligations beyond existing law but do set a clear, uniform local standard and training expectations for staff. She described defenses for denial where a request would cause a fundamental alteration or undue administrative burden and gave an example of an alternative accommodation (accessing the administrative code via library computer text‑to‑speech rather than producing an audio recording of the entire code).

Supervisor Marr asked about professional development; Mizner said the Mayor’s Office on Disability and the City Attorney already provide trainings and that the ordinance makes a concise local reference for staff training (SEG 2360–2375). Public commenters with disabilities emphasized that line staff sometimes do not implement accommodations consistently and urged enforcement of training and notice practices.

Supervisors agreed to add committee members as co‑sponsors and moved the ordinance to the full Board as a committee report; the motion passed without objection. The committee closed the meeting after taking up that item.

What happens next: the ordinance will appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda for final action; the Mayor’s Office on Disability will continue providing training and outreach to departments.