by Mitch Pomerantz
In my previous column I mentioned preparations for the American Council of the Blind Legislative Seminar in Washington, DC. I indicated that nine of us
would be attending and that we'd be making visits to Capitol Hill to meet with aides representing California's 53 members of Congress and our two Senators.
Not surprisingly given that it was mid-February, Mother Nature intervened and instead of nine CCB participants, our delegation was reduced to seven. Unfortunately,
both Richard Rueda and Vincent Calderon were stranded: Richard in Denver and Vince at the Ontario Airport. A third participant, Charles Nabarrete, arrived
late Monday evening, but was with us Tuesday when we made our rounds.
Despite our reduced numbers, the seven of us managed to meet personally with aides from 43 of the 53 congressional offices and both senators. Packets were
left at the 10 offices with whom we were unable to make appointments. I want to personally and sincerely commend and thank my fellow attendees for a tremendous
effort and your dedication to our cause.
Very briefly, here are the three legislative imperatives about which we were meeting.
Low Vision Device Exclusion ? Urging prompt passage of HR 729, the Medicare Demonstration of Coverage for Low Vision Devices Act of 2015; which would evaluate,
through a five-year national demonstration project, the fiscal impact of a permanent change to the Social Security Act allowing reimbursement for certain
low-vision devices which would be classified as durable medical equipment.
Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act--Encouraging House members to sign on to a letter to gain support in advance of introduction of legislation which
would, among a number of provisions, ensure that every student with vision loss is properly identified regardless of formal disability category or classification;
expand knowledge about the scope and quality of special education and related services through refined data collection that tracks all students with vision
loss; and ramps up US Department of Education responsibilities to monitor and report states' compliance with their obligations to serve students with vision
loss.
Ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty--Urging the Senate to ratify, without raising extraneous issues, the document developed jointly by international representatives
of the blindness community and publishers to provide increased access to printed materials for people with print-reading disabilities.
Now for a whirlwind tour of what's going on legislatively at home. Unfortunately, President Thom and I were only able to find an author for one of CCB's
legislative initiatives: SB 199 (Hall-D), our proposal to add reading and document completion to the list of covered services under the IHSS program. In
March, the bill passed out of the Senate Human Services Committee on a unanimous 5-0 vote. Not unexpectedly, the bill went to Senate Appropriations and
landed in the "suspense file". Luck was on our side, however, as the committee's analysis was favorable. On May 28, SB 199 passed out of Appropriations
on a unanimous vote and was referred to the Senate floor. CCB is cautiously optimistic that this important piece of legislation will reach the Governor's
desk later this year.
CCB is standing in solidarity with California's blind vendors by actively supporting AB 1353 (Patterson-D), which would prohibit Caltrans from being reimbursed
for utility costs incurred by vendors operating under the Business Enterprises Program (BEP). In April it passed out of the Assembly Transportation Committee
11-0, and was referred to Appropriations. Not unexpectedly, it has gone to the suspense file" where its fate is uncertain at this writing.
[Editor's Note: As we finalized this issue, The Presidents List received an update from Ardis Bazyn:
On May 28, [the bill] passed the Assembly Committee on Appropriations 17-0. On June 1, it passed the entire Assembly Floor 78-0. The Assembly and its committees
showed unanimous support for this legislative bill. There are two committees in the senate as well as the senate floor for this bill to pass before AB
1353 can be submitted to the governor.]
AB 8: Gatto (Support), authorizing the use of the state's existing network of changeable message signs to help apprehend a hit-and-run suspect when the
accident has resulted in a fatality or serious injury. Our support is based on the number of blind/low vision persons who have been involved in such accidents
over the years.
AB 61: Allen (Oppose), would permit transit agencies to permit private shuttles to use public bus stops. Our opposition is based on concerns expressed
that such shuttles will block or otherwise make it impossible for blind/low vision persons to locate and board public buses at stops where such shuttles
are permitted to wait for riders.
AB 474: Brown and Thurmond (Support), pegs the level of individual SSI benefits at 112% of the federal poverty level.
AB 683: Lowe (Oppose), while this proposal would make additional recommendations to improve the accessibility of election materials on-line, a threatened
amendment would eliminate the Visually Impaired Voter Assistance Board and subsume its role under a generic Voter Accessibility Advisory Committee. If
this amendment is not included, CCB is likely to change our position to support AB 683.
SB 492: Liu (Support), would establish the Coordinated Care Initiative Consumer Bill of Rights setting forth rights to which an individual receiving care
under the CCI would be entitled. CCB is part of a statewide collaborative which has drafted this proposal.
SB 624: Anderson (Support), would establish the Office of Accessible Technology to monitor and facilitate compliance of state electronic and information
technology with the requirements of state and federal accessibility laws.
That is definitely more than enough for now! See you in October at the CCB Conference and Convention.
