II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1244 

To promote the provision of exercise or fitness equipment, and exercise or 

fitness classes and instruction, that are accessible to individuals with 

disabilities. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 30, 2019 

Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself, Mr. CASEY, and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Finance 

A BILL 

To promote the provision of exercise or fitness equipment, 

and exercise or fitness classes and instruction, that are 

accessible to individuals with disabilities. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Exercise and Fitness 

5 for All Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Individuals with disabilities can maintain 

2 and improve their health through appropriate phys3 ical activity. 

4 (2) In the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for 

5 Americans (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Guide6 lines’’), the Department of Health and Human Serv7 ices recommends that individuals with disabilities, 

8 who are able, participate in regular aerobic activity. 

9 (3) The Guidelines also recommend that adults 

10 with disabilities, who are able, do muscle strength11 ening activities of moderate or high intensity on two 

12 or more days a week, as these activities provide ad13 ditional health benefits. 

14 (4) The Guidelines recommend that when 

15 adults with disabilities are not able to meet the 

16 Guidelines, they should engage in regular physical 

17 activity according to their abilities and avoid inac18 tivity. 

19 (5) Physical inactivity by adults with disabilities 

20 can lead to increased risk for functional limitations 

21 and secondary health conditions. 

22 (6) Many individuals with disabilities are unable 

23 to engage in the exercises or fitness activities rec24 ommended in the Guidelines due to the failure of exVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1244.IS S1244

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1 ercise or fitness service providers to provide acces2 sible exercise or fitness equipment. 

3 (7) The failure to provide accessible exercise or 

4 fitness equipment constitutes discrimination in viola5 tion of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 

6 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘ADA’’). 

7 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is— 

8 (1) to carry out the ADA’s objectives of pro9 viding ‘‘a clear and comprehensive national mandate 

10 for the elimination of discrimination’’ and ‘‘clear, 

11 strong, consistent, enforceable standards addressing 

12 discrimination’’; and 

13 (2) specifically, to carry out those objectives by 

14 issuing guidelines and regulations for exercise or fit15 ness service providers specifying the accessible exer16 cise or fitness equipment, and the accessible exercise 

17 or fitness classes and instruction, necessary to en18 sure that individuals with disabilities can— 

19 (A) obtain the benefits of physical activity; 

20 and 

21 (B) fully participate in the services offered 

22 by exercise or fitness service providers. 

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ACCESS BOARD.—The term ‘‘Access Board’’ 

2 means the Architectural and Transportation Bar3 riers Compliance Board established under section 

4 502 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 

5 792). 

6 (2) ACCESSIBLE EXERCISE OR FITNESS EQUIP7 MENT.—The term ‘‘accessible exercise or fitness 

8 equipment’’— 

9 (A) means exercise or fitness equipment 

10 that is accessible to, and can be independently 

11 used and operated by, individuals with disabil12 ities; and 

13 (B) includes equipment that complies 

14 with— 

15 (i) the American Society for Testing 

16 and Materials (referred to in this section 

17 as ‘‘ASTM’’) Standard Specification for 

18 Universal Design of Fitness Equipment for 

19 Inclusive Use by Persons with Functional 

20 Limitations and Impairments, ASTM 

21 F3021–17 (or any corresponding similar 

22 ASTM standard); and 

23 (ii) other ASTM standards with speci24 fications for inclusive use of specific exerVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1244.IS S1244

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1 cise or fitness equipment, such as bicycles 

2 or strength equipment. 

3 (3) EXERCISE OR FITNESS EQUIPMENT.—The 

4 term ‘‘exercise or fitness equipment’’ means devices 

5 such as motorized treadmills, stair climbers or step 

6 machines, stationary bicycles, rowing machines, 

7 weight machines, circuit training equipment, cardio8 vascular equipment, strength equipment, or other 

9 similar equipment. 

10 (4) EXERCISE OR FITNESS SERVICE PRO11 VIDER.—The term ‘‘exercise or fitness service pro12 vider’’— 

13 (A) means an entity that— 

14 (i) provides exercise or fitness equip15 ment, or exercise or fitness classes or in16 struction, for the use of patrons; and 

17 (ii) is considered a public accommoda18 tion under section 301 of the Americans 

19 with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

20 12181) or is considered a public entity 

21 under section 201 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 12131); and 

23 (B) includes a stand-alone exercise or fit24 ness center and an exercise or fitness center 

25 within an entity such as a hotel, retirement 


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1 community, gymnasium, elementary or sec2 ondary school, or institution of higher edu3 cation. 

4 (5) INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 

5 ‘‘individual with a disability’’ means any person with 

6 a disability as defined in section 3 of the Americans 

7 with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102). 

8 SEC. 4. EXERCISE AND FITNESS ACCESSIBILITY GUIDE9 LINES AND REGULATIONS. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF GUIDELINES.—Not later 

11 than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 

12 the Access Board shall develop and publish guidelines for 

13 exercise or fitness service providers regarding the provi14 sion of accessible exercise or fitness equipment. 

15 (b) CONTENTS OF GUIDELINES.—The guidelines de16 scribed in subsection (a) shall ensure that the appropriate 

17 number of items and types of accessible exercise or fitness 

18 equipment are provided by an exercise or fitness service 

19 provider. 

20 (c) REVIEW AND AMENDMENT.— 

21 (1) REVISION.—The Access Board shall periodi22 cally review and, as appropriate, amend the guide23 lines, and shall issue the resulting guidelines as re24 vised guidelines. 


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1 (2) INAPPLICABILITY OF REGULATORY ELIMI2 NATION PROVISION.—Executive Order 13771 (5 

3 U.S.C. 601 note; relating to reducing regulation and 

4 controlling regulatory costs) shall not apply to this 

5 Act. 

6 (d) REGULATIONS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

8 after the Access Board issues guidelines under this 

9 section, the Department of Justice shall issue regu10 lations regarding the provision of accessible exercise 

11 or fitness equipment and accessibility of exercise or 

12 fitness classes and instruction. 

13 (2) EQUIPMENT.—With respect to the provision 

14 of exercise or fitness equipment, the regulations 

15 shall be consistent with the Access Board guidelines. 

16 (3) EXERCISE OR FITNESS CLASSES AND IN17 STRUCTION.—The regulations shall— 

18 (A) ensure that exercise or fitness classes 

19 and instruction offered by the service provider 

20 are accessible to individuals with disabilities; 

21 and 

22 (B) ensure that the service provider makes 

23 available at least one employee who is able to 

24 assist individuals with disabilities in their use of 

25 accessible exercise or fitness equipment. 


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1 (4) CONSIDERATIONS.—In issuing the regula2 tions, the Department of Justice shall take into con3 sideration each of the following: 

4 (A) Whether the exercise or fitness service 

5 provider is providing equipment, classes, or in6 struction at a new or existing facility. 

7 (B) The size of the exercise or fitness facil8 ity. 

9 (C) The availability of closed captioning of 

10 video programming displayed on equipment or a 

11 television provided by the exercise or fitness 

12 service provider. 

13 SEC. 5. TAX CREDIT FOR EXPENDITURES TO PROVIDE AC14 CESSIBLE EXERCISE OR FITNESS EQUIP15 MENT. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 44(c) of 

17 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended— 

18 (1) by striking ‘‘means amounts paid or in19 curred by an eligible small business’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘means— 

21 ‘‘(A) amounts paid or incurred by an eligi22 ble small business’’; 

23 (2) by striking ‘‘section).’’ and inserting ‘‘sec24 tion), and’’; and 

25 (3) by inserting at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(B) amounts paid or incurred by an eligi2 ble small business which is an exercise or fit3 ness service provider for the purpose of pro4 viding for use by individuals with disabilities ac5 cessible exercise or fitness equipment that 

6 meets the guidelines established by the Access 

7 Board under section 4 of the Exercise and Fit8 ness for All Act. 

9 Any term used in subparagraph (B) which is defined 

10 in section 3 of the Exercise and Fitness for All Act 

11 shall have the meaning given such term in such sec12 tion, as in effect on the date of the enactment of 

13 such subparagraph.’’. 

14 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

15 this section shall apply to expenses paid or incurred in 

16 taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment 

17 of this Act. 

Æ 


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