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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10560 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. R. 10560

   To promote the provision of exercise machines and equipment, and 
 exercise and fitness classes and instruction, that are accessible to 
                     individuals with disabilities.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 24, 2024

Mr. DeSaulnier introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
   To promote the provision of exercise machines and equipment, and 
 exercise and fitness classes and instruction, that are accessible to 
                     individuals with disabilities.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Exercise and Fitness for All Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Individuals with disabilities can maintain and improve 
        their health through appropriate physical activity.
            (2) According to a 2023 meta-analysis published in the 
        International Journal of Environmental Research and Public 
        Health, physical exercise programs reduced depressive symptoms 
        in adults with both intellectual and physical disabilities, 
        while other data shows that adults with disabilities report 
        experiencing mental distress approximately five times as often 
        as adults without disabilities.
            (3) In the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans 
        (referred to in this section as the ``Guidelines''), the 
        Department of Health and Human Services recommends that 
        individuals with disabilities, who are able, participate in 
        regular aerobic activity.
            (4) The Guidelines also recommend that adults with 
        disabilities, who are able, do muscle strengthening activities 
        of moderate or high intensity on two or more days a week, as 
        these activities provide additional health benefits.
            (5) The Guidelines recommend that when adults with 
        disabilities are not able to meet the Guidelines, they should 
        engage in regular physical activity according to their 
        abilities and avoid inactivity.
            (6) According to a study published in the Disability and 
        Health Journal in 2020, approximately 60 percent of disabled 
        adults with mobility challenges reported performing no aerobic 
        activity, and those who do not perform aerobic activity are 
        more likely than their physically active counterparts to report 
        at least one of four chronic conditions (heart disease, stroke, 
        diabetes, or cancer).
            (7) Many individuals with disabilities are unable to engage 
        in the exercises or fitness activities recommended in the 
        Guidelines, as a study published in the American Journal of 
        Preventive Medicine in 2004 identified 178 barriers to physical 
        activity participation among persons with disabilities, 
        including barriers related to the built and natural 
        environment, economic challenges, barriers in access to 
        equipment, and barriers related to interpretation of 
        regulations and laws, among other challenges.
            (8) The failure to provide accessible exercise machines and 
        equipment, as well as accessible exercise and fitness classes 
        and instruction, prevents people with disabilities from being 
        full participants in their communities.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is--
            (1) to carry out the objectives of the Americans with 
        Disabilities Act of 1990 (referred to in this section as the 
        ``ADA''), including providing ``a clear and comprehensive 
        national mandate for the elimination of discrimination'' and 
        ``clear, strong, consistent, enforceable standards addressing 
        discrimination''; and
            (2) specifically, to carry out those objectives by issuing 
        guidelines and regulations for exercise or fitness service 
        providers specifying the accessible exercise machines and 
        equipment, and the accessible exercise or fitness classes and 
        instruction, necessary to ensure that individuals with 
        disabilities can--
                    (A) obtain the benefits of physical activity; and
                    (B) fully participate in the services offered by 
                exercise or fitness service providers.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Access board.--The term ``Access Board'' means the 
        Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board 
        established under section 502 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 
        (29 U.S.C. 792).
            (2) Exercise machines and equipment.--The term ``exercise 
        machines and equipment'' means devices such as motorized 
        treadmills, stair climbers or step machines, stationary 
        bicycles, rowing machines, weight machines, circuit training 
        equipment, cardiovascular equipment, strength equipment, or 
        other similar equipment.
            (3) Exercise or fitness service provider.--The term 
        ``exercise or fitness service provider''--
                    (A) means an entity that--
                            (i) provides exercise machines and 
                        equipment, or exercise or fitness classes or 
                        instruction, for the use of patrons; and
                            (ii) is considered a public entity under 
                        section 201 of the Americans with Disabilities 
                        Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131) or is considered 
                        a public accommodation under section 301 of 
                        such Act (42 U.S.C. 12181); and
                    (B) includes a stand-alone exercise or fitness 
                center and an exercise or fitness center within an 
                entity such as a hotel, retirement community, 
                gymnasium, elementary or secondary school, or 
                institution of higher education.
            (4) Individual with a disability.--The term ``individual 
        with a disability'' means any person with a disability as 
        defined in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 
        1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102).

SEC. 4. EXERCISE AND FITNESS ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES AND REGULATIONS.

    (a) Establishment of Guidelines.--Not later than 18 months after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Access Board shall develop and 
publish guidelines for exercise or fitness service providers regarding 
the provision of accessible exercise machines and equipment.
    (b) Contents of Guidelines.--The guidelines described in subsection 
(a) shall ensure that--
            (1) the appropriate number of items and types of accessible 
        exercise machines and equipment are provided by an exercise or 
        fitness service provider; and
            (2) each accessible exercise machine and equipment that has 
        communications features or an interface is accessible for 
        disabled individuals through the availability of features such 
        as closed captioning on monitors, audible output of visual 
        content and tactile buttons for people who are blind or have 
        low vision, and visual indications of information conveyed 
        audibly.
    (c) Review and Amendment.--The Access Board shall periodically 
review and, as appropriate, amend the guidelines, and shall issue the 
resulting guidelines as revised guidelines.
    (d) Regulations.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the Access 
        Board issues guidelines under this section, the Attorney 
        General shall issue regulations pursuant to section 302(a) of 
        the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12182) 
        regarding--
                    (A) the provision of accessible exercise machines 
                and equipment; and
                    (B) the accessibility of exercise or fitness 
                classes and instruction.
            (2) Equipment.--With respect to the provision of accessible 
        exercise machines and equipment, the regulations issued 
        pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. 
        12101 et seq.) shall be consistent with the Access Board 
        guidelines developed pursuant to subsection (a).
            (3) Exercise or fitness classes and instruction.--The 
        regulations shall--
                    (A) specify that service providers are required to 
                make reasonable accommodations to ensure that exercise 
                or fitness classes and instruction are accessible for 
                people with disabilities; and
                    (B) ensure that the service provider makes 
                available at least one employee who is able to assist 
                individuals with disabilities in their use of 
                accessible exercise machines and equipment.
                                 <all>
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