Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Disability Accessibility topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Disability advocates urge lawmakers to 'write disability rights into every bill'
Summary
At a Senate Transportation hearing, Peter John Hee of the Vermont System for Independent Living urged the committee to require disability-rights impact statements for transportation legislation and to codify advance notice and mitigation when services or access are reduced.
Peter John Hee, deputy director for the Vermont System for Independent Living, told the Senate Transportation committee on Wednesday that lawmakers should "write disability rights into every piece of legislation," urging explicit accessibility requirements in transportation bills.
Hee said accessibility should be operationalized — not an afterthought — with concrete provisions covering sidewalks, crosswalks, bus stops and shelters and with measurable outcomes, accountability and meaningful stakeholder engagement. He recommended a disability‑rights impact statement for VTrans that would require lawmakers and agencies to evaluate whether a bill "will increase, decrease, or have an impact on access for Vermonters with disabilities," including access to employment, health care and essential shopping, and to commit to stakeholder notice and mitigation when access is reduced.
Hee warned that federal protections can be lost when services are contracted out, citing local examples of restrictions that have cut vocational and social trips. He said Green Mountain Transit’s O&D program in parts of its service area has been limited to medical trips, and recounted that nine people in Colchester temporarily lost rides to work until the town provided additional funding, illustrating how service reductions can immediately affect employment access.
Hee described how these issues play out in daily life: his spouse’s moderate dementia makes reliable transportation and opportunities for short social outings essential for caregiving and community integration. He also referenced S.75 and S.146 during his remarks and signaled support for bills that increase funding for O&D services while urging more careful drafting to avoid unintended burdens (for example, delivery‑fee or package‑delivery provisions that could have disparate effects).
Committee members thanked Hee for the testimony and said they would keep disability community needs in mind when assembling budgets and working with VTrans. The committee indicated a willingness to follow up and invited further consultation with advocates and agency staff.
