I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 77 
To amend the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to promote compliance 
through education, to clarify the requirements for demand letters, to 
provide for a notice and cure period before the commencement of a 
private civil action, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 4, 2021 
Mr. CALVERT (for himself and Mr. RICE of South Carolina) 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 
promote compliance through education, to clarify the re-
quirements for demand letters, to provide for a notice 
and cure period before the commencement of a private 
civil action, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘ADA Compliance for 
Customer Entry to Stores and Services Act’’ or the ‘‘AC-
CESS Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. COMPLIANCE THROUGH EDUCATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Based on existing funding, the 
Disability Rights Section of the Department of Justice 
shall, in consultation with property owners and represent-
atives of the disability rights community, develop a pro-
gram to educate State and local governments and property 
owners on effective and efficient strategies for promoting 
access to public accommodations for persons with a dis-
ability (as defined in section 3 of the Americans with Dis-
abilities Act (42 U.S.C. 12102)). Such program may in-
clude training for professionals such as Certified Access 
Specialists to provide a guidance of remediation for poten-
tial violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. 
(b) MATERIALS PROVIDED IN OTHER LANGUAGES.— 
The Disability Rights Section of the Department of Jus-
tice shall take appropriate actions, to the extent prac-
ticable, to make technical assistance publications relating 
to compliance with this Act and the amendments made 
by this Act available in all the languages commonly used 
by owners and operators of United States businesses. 
SEC. 3. NOTICE AND CURE PERIOD. 
Paragraph (1) of section 308(a) of the Americans 
with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12188(a)(1)) is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY OF REMEDIES AND PROCE-
DURES.— 
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‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), the remedies and procedures set 
forth in section 204(a) of the Civil Rights Act 
of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a–3(a)) are the rem-
edies and procedures this title provides to any 
person who is being subjected to discrimination 
on the basis of disability in violation of this title 
or who has reasonable grounds for believing 
that such person is about to be subjected to dis-
crimination in violation of section 303. Nothing 
in this section shall require a person with a dis-
ability to engage in a futile gesture if such per-
son has actual notice that a person or organiza-
tion covered by this title does not intend to 
comply with its provisions. 
‘‘(B) BARRIERS TO ACCESS TO EXISTING 
PUBLIC
ACCOMMODATIONS.—A 
civil 
action 
under section 302 or 303 based on the failure 
to remove an architectural barrier to access into 
an existing public accommodation may not be 
commenced by a person aggrieved by such fail-
ure unless— 
‘‘(i) that person has provided to the 
owner or operator of the accommodation a 
written notice specific enough to allow such 
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owner or operator to identify the barrier; 
and 
‘‘(ii)(I) during the period beginning on 
the date the notice is received and ending 
60 days after that date, the owner or oper-
ator fails to provide to that person a writ-
ten description outlining improvements 
that will be made to remove the barrier; or 
‘‘(II) if the owner or operator provides 
the written description under subclause (I), 
the owner or operator fails to remove the 
barrier or, in the case of a barrier, the re-
moval of which requires additional time as 
a result of circumstances beyond the con-
trol of the owner or operator, fails to make 
substantial progress in removing the bar-
rier during the period beginning on the 
date the description is provided and ending 
60 days after that date. 
‘‘(C) SPECIFICATION OF DETAILS OF AL-
LEGED
VIOLATION.—The written notice re-
quired under subparagraph (B) must also speci-
fy in detail the circumstances under which an 
individual was actually denied access to a public 
accommodation, including the address of prop-
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erty, whether a request for assistance in remov-
ing an architectural barrier to access was made, 
and whether the barrier to access was a perma-
nent or temporary barrier.’’. 
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This Act and the amendments made by this Act take 
effect 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 5. MEDIATION FOR ADA ACTIONS RELATED TO ARCHI-
TECTURAL BARRIERS. 
The Judicial Conference of the United States shall, 
under rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or 
any other applicable law, in consultation with property 
owners and representatives of the disability rights commu-
nity, develop a model program to promote the use of alter-
native dispute resolution mechanisms, including a stay of 
discovery during mediation, to resolve claims of architec-
tural barriers to access for public accommodations. To the 
extent practical, the Federal Judicial Center should pro-
vide a public comment period on any such proposal. The 
goal of the model program shall be to promote access 
quickly and efficiently without the need for costly litiga-
tion. The model program should include an expedited 
method for determining the relevant facts related to such 
barriers to access and steps taken before the commence-
ment of litigation to resolve any issues related to access. 
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SEC. 6. STUDY REGARDING WCAG 2.0 STANDARDS. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Attorney General shall complete a study 
to determine whether WCAG 2.0 standards, accessibility 
widgets, or providing a telephone number through which 
members of the public can obtain the same information 
and services as they would on a website would all provide 
reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabil-
ities who are protected by the provisions of the Americans 
with Disabilities Act of 1990. 
Æ 
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