Utah House urges wider hearing access in public venues under Americans with Disabilities Act

The Utah House of Representatives on Feb. 20, 2001, passed the first substitute of House Resolution 5 urging places of public accommodation across the state to comply more fully with the Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure effective communication for people who are hard of hearing.

The resolution, read aloud on the floor by the legal clerk, lists a range of public accommodations covered by the ADA — including hotels, restaurants, theaters, auditoriums, professional offices, hospitals and libraries — and urges owners and operators to provide assistive listening systems, captioning and interpreting where necessary to achieve “effective communication.” An unidentified floor speaker who requested the reading noted the chamber’s portable hearing-assist equipment as an example and said there are a “conservative estimate” of “over 200,000 persons in our state who are hard of hearing.”

Supporters said the measure is intended as a spotlight and encouragement rather than new state regulation. Representative Holdaway and others praised the resolution’s goal of drawing attention to gaps in service. Members questioned whether the resolution’s examples — banks, insurance agencies and private professional offices — should be read as a directive that all such facilities must install technology; the sponsor and floor speakers clarified that ADA obligations depend on the type of facility and technical triggers in federal law (for example, fixed seating of 50 or more or the presence of an audio-amplification system can trigger assistive-listening requirements) and that the resolution is urging compliance with existing federal standards rather than imposing new state rules.

The floor also heard personal testimony in support: Representative Murray described his own experience with hearing loss and urged colleagues to back the effort to improve access for people who cannot rely solely on personal hearing aids in larger assemblies.

House members passed the resolution by voice and the clerk recorded that the measure was publicly read and signed by the Speaker Pro Tem; the resolution directs that a copy be sent to the state division of services to the deaf and hard of hearing.

The resolution does not create a new state mandate or specify enforcement mechanisms; it reiterates federal ADA obligations and asks owners/operators to consider assistive technology and other accommodations where required by federal law.