§ 37-8-15.1. Accessibility of leased or rented facilities for people with disabilities.
(a) No governmental body or public agency, as defined in § 37-2-7, acting as lessee, shall lease or rent facilities that are not accessible to and
usable by individuals with disabilities. The lessee governmental body or public agency
shall provide the state building commissioner with a list of prospective facilities
to be leased and shall ensure that accessibility certifications in subdivision (a)(1),
(a)(2), or (a)(3) and (a)(4) of this section are completed prior to submission of
the lease or renewal of the lease for final approval by the state properties commission
or other authorized body. Prior to a governmental body or public agency leasing or
renting any facility, or renewing a lease:
(1) The state building commissioner shall certify that the new facility to be leased or
rented conforms to the accessibility for people with disabilities provisions of the
state building code; or that the existing facility to be leased or rented meets the
accessibility requirements of the state building code in effect at the time of first
occupancy after January 1, 1978; or if constructed prior to January 1, 1978, meets
the requirements of the current state building code; or
(2) The state building commissioner shall certify that construction documents for the
proposed facility to be leased or rented conform to the accessibility requirements
of the state building code, and the accessibility renovations shall be completed within
six (6) months of the signing of the lease; or
(3) The state building code board of appeals grants a waiver from some provisions of the
state building code's accessibility requirements for people with disabilities provisions
with respect to state agency leasing the facility; and
(4) The governor's commission on disabilities shall certify that the lessee agency's program
accessibility plan ensures access to, and use of the facility to be leased or rented
for people with disabilities.
(b) The governor's commission on disabilities shall only certify an accessibility plan
that:
(1) Would not operationally serve to deny any individual with a disability access to a
service or program operated by the governmental body or public agency;
(2) Would not operationally serve to deny an employee with a disability or job applicant
with a disability employment or advancement in that governmental body or public agency;
(c) The state building code board of appeals shall only grant waivers when total compliance
with the disability accessibility provisions of the state building code was structurally
infeasible.
(d) The state building commissioner shall reinspect all facilities leased or rented under
subdivision (a)(2) or (a)(3) prior to the date(s) established in the certification
or waiver for completion of any renovations required. If the state building commissioner
is unable to issue a certification of compliance with the accessibility for people
with disabilities provisions of the building code or the variance, then the commissioner
shall inform the director of the department of administration that the facility is
in noncompliance. The governor's commission on disabilities shall have the right to
periodically review the implementation of the accessibility plan, and inform the director
of the department of administration of any noncompliance. Upon submission of said
notification of noncompliance, the director of the department of administration shall
take steps to ensure compliance or forward a report to the attorney general for legal
action to terminate the lease.