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[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4719 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4719

To amend the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to require notice 
 and a compliance opportunity to be provided before commencement of a 
 private civil action related to public accommodations, and for other 
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 7, 2016

 Mr. McNerney introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To amend the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to require notice 
 and a compliance opportunity to be provided before commencement of a 
 private civil action related to public accommodations, and for other 
                               purposes.

    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 ``Correcting Obstructions to Mediate, 
Prevent, and Limit Inaccessibility Act'' or the ``COMPLI Act''.

SEC. 2. NOTICE AND COMPLIANCE OPPORTUNITY UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH 
              DISABILITIES ACT.

    Section 308(a)(1) of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 
(42 U.S.C. 12188(a)(1)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``procedures.--'' and all that follows 
        through ``The'', and inserting the following: ``procedures.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), 
                the''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Notice and compliance opportunity.--A civil 
                action for discrimination described in section 
                302(b)(2) may not be commenced by a person aggrieved by 
                such discrimination unless--
                            ``(i) such person has provided to the owner 
                        or operator of such accommodation a written 
                        notice by certified mail specific enough to 
                        allow such owner or operator to identify such 
                        barrier;
                            ``(ii) such notice shall include the date 
                        and time that such person was denied access to 
                        the public accommodation as a result of the 
                        barrier;
                            ``(iii) such notice specifies that the 
                        owner or operator has 90 days to remove the 
                        barrier or correct the violation before a civil 
                        action will be brought;
                            ``(iv) such owner or operator failed to 
                        remove such barrier or correct such violation 
                        within 90 days beginning on the date such 
                        notice was received;
                            ``(v) the civil action states that the 
                        person bringing the action has notified the 
                        owner or operator against whom the action is 
                        brought of the violation as required under this 
                        subparagraph and such owner or operator has not 
                        corrected the alleged violation within the 90-
                        day period; and
                            ``(vi) the person filing the civil action 
                        has refrained from sending any demand letter 
                        (other than the notice described in this 
                        subparagraph), request for settlement, or other 
                        communication to the owner or operator of such 
                        accommodation during such 90-day period.
                    ``(C) Notification of corrective action.--
                            ``(i) In general.--An owner or operator of 
                        a public accommodation who is provided notice 
                        described in subparagraph (B) shall provide 
                        reasonable notification to the public of the 
                        alleged violation that is the subject of the 
                        notice and of the steps being taken by such 
                        owner or operator to remedy the basis for such 
                        alleged violation.
                            ``(ii) Penalty for noncompliance.--An owner 
                        or operator who does not provide such 
                        notification to the public within 15 days after 
                        receiving notice of the alleged violation shall 
                        not be entitled to the 90-day period to remove 
                        the barrier or correct the violation as set 
                        forth in subparagraph (B) and a civil action 
                        for discrimination described in section 
                        302(b)(2) based on the alleged violation may be 
                        commenced immediately after such 15 days.
                    ``(D) Good faith effort.--
                            ``(i) Additional 30 days.--An owner or 
                        operator of a public accommodation who is 
                        provided notice described in subparagraph (B) 
                        who demonstrates a good faith effort to remove 
                        such barrier or correct such violation but is 
                        not able to do so within the 90-day period 
                        provided shall be entitled to an additional 30 
                        days to comply with such requirements.
                            ``(ii) Factors.--Factors indicating such a 
                        good faith effort include that the owner or 
                        operator of a public accommodation--
                                    ``(I) has secured the requisite 
                                construction permits to start the 
                                renovation necessary to remove the 
                                barrier or correct the violation;
                                    ``(II) has hired contractors to 
                                complete such construction and has 
                                secured an estimate from the contractor 
                                for the date of completion for such 
                                renovation; or
                                    ``(III) has begun any necessary 
                                construction and has worked to minimize 
                                delays and complete the required 
                                renovation.
                    ``(E) Limitations.--
                            ``(i) Additional actions.--No civil action 
                        for discrimination under section 302(b)(2) may 
                        be commenced--
                                    ``(I) during the 90-day period 
                                described in subparagraph (B) or, where 
                                applicable, the additional 30-day 
                                period described in subparagraph 
                                (D)(i); or
                                    ``(II) while a civil action 
                                relating to the same violation is 
                                pending.
                            ``(ii) Damages.--In an action described in 
                        this paragraph any damages awarded shall be 
                        limited to a plaintiff who was actually denied 
                        access to or reasonable use of the public 
                        accommodation that is the subject of such 
                        action.''.

SEC. 3. REPORT ON HIGH-FREQUENCY LITIGATORS.

    Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Attorney General shall submit a report to Congress that analyzes the 
impact of the notice and compliance opportunity afforded under section 
308(a)(1)(B), as added by this Act. The report shall include--
            (1) a determination of the number of persons in each State 
        who have filed 10 or more actions alleging a violation 
        described in section 302(b)(2) of the Americans with 
        Disabilities Act of 1990 within any 12-month period after the 
        date of enactment of this Act;
            (2) an analysis on whether the notice and compliance 
        opportunity has had an effect on the number of actions 
        commenced alleging such a violation;
            (3) an analysis on whether the notice and compliance 
        opportunity has impacted an individual's ability to bring a 
        legitimate good-faith accessibility claim under such section; 
        and
            (4) recommendations on whether a cap on recoverable 
        attorneys fees would reduce the number of such actions brought 
        by individual plaintiffs.
                                 <all>
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