§ 42-46-13. Accessibility for persons with disabilities.
(a) All public bodies, to comply with the nondiscrimination on the basis of disability
requirements of R.I. Const., Art. I, § 2 and applicable federal and state nondiscrimination laws (29 U.S.C. § 794, chapter 87 of this title, and chapter 24 of title 11), shall develop a transition plan setting forth the steps necessary to ensure that
all open meetings of said public bodies are accessible to persons with disabilities.
(b) The state building code standards committee shall, by September 1, 1989, adopt an
accessibility of meetings for persons with disabilities standard that includes provisions
ensuring that the meeting location is accessible to and usable by all persons with
disabilities.
(c) This section does not require the public body to make each of its existing facilities
accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities so long as all meetings required
to be open to the public pursuant to this chapter are held in accessible facilities
by the dates specified in subsection (e).
(d) The public body may comply with the requirements of this section through such means
as reassignment of meetings to accessible facilities, alteration of existing facilities,
or construction of new facilities. The public body is not required to make structural
changes in existing facilities where other methods are effective in achieving compliance
with this section.
(e) The public body shall comply with the obligations established under this section by
July 1, 1990, except that where structural changes in facilities are necessary in
order to comply with this section, such changes shall be made by December 30, 1991,
but in any event as expeditiously as possible unless an extension is granted by the
state building commissioner for good cause.
(f) Each municipal government and school district shall, with the assistance of the state
building commission, complete a transition plan covering the location of meetings
for all public bodies under their jurisdiction. Each chief executive of each city
or town and the superintendent of schools will submit their transition plan to the
governor's commission on disabilities for review and approval. The governor's commission
on disabilities with assistance from the state building commission shall approve or
modify, with the concurrence of the municipal government or school district, the transition
plans.
(g) The provisions of §§ 45-13-7 — 45-13-10, inclusive, shall not apply to this section.