Title: Exercise and Fitness for All Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Exercise and Fitness for All Act
This bill requires the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) to develop guidelines for exercise or fitness service providers regarding the provision of accessible exercise or fitness equipment.
The Access Board must subsequently promulgate regulations, consistent with the guidelines, requiring that exercise or fitness classes and instruction provided by fitness providers are accessible to people with disabilities. The regulations also must require that each provider make at least one employee available to assist people with disabilities with using the accessible exercise or fitness equipment.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4561 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4561

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 27, 2019

  Mr. DeSaulnier (for himself and Mr. Young) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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.

    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) 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.
            (3) 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.
            (4) 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.
            (5) Physical inactivity by adults with disabilities can 
        lead to increased risk for functional limitations and secondary 
        health conditions.
            (6) Many individuals with disabilities are unable to engage 
        in the exercises or fitness activities recommended in the 
        Guidelines due to the failure of exercise or fitness service 
        providers to provide accessible exercise or fitness equipment.
            (7) The failure to provide accessible exercise or fitness 
        equipment constitutes discrimination in violation of the 
        Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (referred to in this 
        section as the ``ADA'').
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is--
            (1) to carry out the ADA's objectives of 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 or fitness 
        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) Accessible exercise or fitness equipment.--The term 
        ``accessible exercise or fitness equipment''--
                    (A) means exercise or fitness equipment that is 
                accessible to, and can be independently used and 
                operated by, individuals with disabilities; and
                    (B) includes equipment that complies with--
                            (i) the American Society for Testing and 
                        Materials (referred to in this section as 
                        ``ASTM'') Standard Specification for Universal 
                        Design of Fitness Equipment for Inclusive Use 
                        by Persons with Functional Limitations and 
                        Impairments, ASTM F3021-17 (or any 
                        corresponding similar ASTM standard); and
                            (ii) other ASTM standards with 
                        specifications for inclusive use of specific 
                        exercise or fitness equipment, such as bicycles 
                        or strength equipment.
            (3) Exercise or fitness equipment.--The term ``exercise or 
        fitness 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.
            (4) Exercise or fitness service provider.--The term 
        ``exercise or fitness service provider''--
                    (A) means an entity that--
                            (i) provides exercise or fitness equipment, 
                        or exercise or fitness classes or instruction, 
                        for the use of patrons; and
                            (ii) is considered a public accommodation 
                        under section 301 of the Americans with 
                        Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12181) or 
                        is considered a public entity under section 201 
                        of such Act (42 U.S.C. 12131); 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.
            (5) 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 or fitness equipment.
    (b) Contents of Guidelines.--The guidelines described in subsection 
(a) shall ensure that the appropriate number of items and types of 
accessible exercise or fitness equipment are provided by an exercise or 
fitness service provider.
    (c) Review and Amendment.--
            (1) Revision.--The Access Board shall periodically review 
        and, as appropriate, amend the guidelines, and shall issue the 
        resulting guidelines as revised guidelines.
            (2) Inapplicability of regulatory elimination provision.--
        Executive Order 13771 (5 U.S.C. 601 note; relating to reducing 
        regulation and controlling regulatory costs) shall not apply to 
        this Act.
    (d) Regulations.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the Access 
        Board issues guidelines under this section, the Department of 
        Justice shall issue regulations regarding the provision of 
        accessible exercise or fitness equipment and accessibility of 
        exercise or fitness classes and instruction.
            (2) Equipment.--With respect to the provision of exercise 
        or fitness equipment, the regulations shall be consistent with 
        the Access Board guidelines.
            (3) Exercise or fitness classes and instruction.--The 
        regulations shall--
                    (A) ensure that exercise or fitness classes and 
                instruction offered by the service provider are 
                accessible to individuals 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 or fitness equipment.
            (4) Considerations.--In issuing the regulations, the 
        Department of Justice shall take into consideration each of the 
        following:
                    (A) Whether the exercise or fitness service 
                provider is providing equipment, classes, or 
                instruction at a new or existing facility.
                    (B) The size of the exercise or fitness facility.
                    (C) The availability of closed captioning of video 
                programming displayed on equipment or a television 
                provided by the exercise or fitness service provider.
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