The CA Commission on Disability Access (CCDA) was established through legislation (SB 1608) signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in the fall of 2008. It is a 17-member commission with a budget of $80,000 and six committees. One of the committees is the Civil Enforcement Committee, which is designed to look at the whole issue of litigation in California related to the Americans with Disability Act.

Has this committee met since January 1st, 2009? No. Was it supposed to meet? Yes. On May 27th it was supposed to have its first meeting. However it was cancelled due to lack of quorum. It will likely be rescheduled in July sometime. In the meantime ADA lawsuits are being filed left and right throughout the state.

I think it is fair to say that most people in the business community supported SB 1608, not because it was the model legislation that would rid us of these predatory lawsuits, but because it is a compromise that has the potential to end the the rampage of lawsuits being filed by a bunch of trial lawyers in this state. Has it done that?  No. Not even close. And the CCDA is doing nothing about it.

One of the principal roles of the CCDA is to "conduct studies relative to specific problem areas and develop recommendations that will enable persons with disabilities to exercise their right to full and equal access to public facilities, and that will facilitate business compliance with the applicable laws, building standards and regulations to avoid unnecessary litigation."

Are you feeling the love? I am not. The CCDA is still trying to come up with a master checklist by July 1st that can be used by building inspectors. I find it rather strange that there never was one and that businesses have been paying the price. There is still not one location a business can go to see what exactly they need to do to be compliant.

In the meantime, the lawsuits continue to flow. The CCDA continues to find its way and there is little if no light at the end of the tunnel. Californians should be outraged that the Civil Enforcement Committee has still not met and this commission does not even have the budget or staff to deal with all the issues related to ADA access.

Cross-posted at Fox and Hounds Daily.

The "We Need More Jobs, Not More Lawsuits", continued into the Central Valley last week, starting off in Bakersfield with a meeting at Jocko's Electrical Supply. The owner and General Manager, Bruce Peterson, met with CALA and is a true activist. Peterson is very involved in the National Federation of Independent Business. He gets our message and he is willing to help us spread the word.

The afternoon was spent at the Lowe's on Rosedale Highway. We had a display and handed out flyers and our brochure for four hours. The one thing I have learned in this business is the best way to get your message across is to take it to the people. Most people get it and are willing to listen to you. Bakersfield has been hit hard in this economy as have Central Valley communities.

I finished off the day appearing on the Inga Barks Show, a prominent radio talk show that covers a lot of the Central Valley. The 30 minutes was a good discussion of the tour, lawsuit abuse and where the candidates stand on reform. I even took a couple of calls from listeners, including a call about ADA lawsuit abuse. It seems there is not town in California that is not experiencing them.

The second day I was off to the town of Taft, which is celebrating it's 100th Anniversary. It is really a fascinating town with a rich history.  I spoke to the Taft Chamber of Commerce. In the audience were the City Manager, the Police Chief and the Superintendent of Schools. Some of these small communities really do not fully understand how vast the litigation problem is in our state. The audience was very receptive and willing to be supporters of our effort. Then it was off to the Taft Independent newspaper and I was interviewed by Publisher Michael Long. After a good interview, Mike even decided to join us on our Statewide Advisory Council.

From Taft the day continued to Delano where I met with the city's Assistant Executive Director and stopped by the Delano Record. From there I went to Hanford and met with the President of its Chamber of Commerce. I also decided at the last minute to stop by the offices of two Assembly candidates in District 30. Pete Parra, who filled out our candidate survey, and Fran Florez, who did not. Florez has a campaign sign that says, "Water = Jobs." I asked her campaign staff whether she felt the same about legal reform. I think they will get back to me.

The tour continues in Fresno. The days are long, but worth it. People are struggling in this state and business as usual is not the answer. Things need to change. And as we saw from Tuesday's election results, they are.

There is nothing better than getting out of Sacramento and hitting the road to see and hear how consumers and business people are feeling about the times we live in. So on Monday, May 10, I hit the road to start the first phase of the "We Need More Jobs, Not More Lawsuits" tour. The main point of this tour is to get consumers and business people to start asking their candidates where they stand on legal reform. We have a state that is ranked the 46th worst legal climate in the United States and things do not seem to be getting better.

The Central Valley seemed like a good place to start. A lot of key races are going on in that region and people need to get answers from the candidates running for the State Senate and Assembly.

So I hit the road and traveled to communities like Ripon, Modesto, Turlock, Livingston, Atwater, Merced, Chowchilla and Madera. I talked to the media that covers these communities and also to small business people and the various Chambers of Commerce. Everyone seemed responsive to our message. Of all places in the state, the Central Valley definitely understands the need for jobs.

When I pulled into Merced, I needed some money so I went over to the local Bank of America and saw this huge construction project. I saw a trailer marked "ADA Compliance" and asked the project manager what was going on. The angle of the ramp in this B of A parking lot was not compliant with the ADA. It looked like quite the undertaking and this company said they were busy all over the state. I think it is fair to say that there are a lot of jobs in ADA compliance.

The first phase of the tour was a success. Next week it is on to Taft, Bakersfield, Wasco, Delano, Coalinga and other towns along the way. We want to hear your stories and get you involved in CALA. People and businesses need to ask their candidates where they stand on legal reform. Because quite frankly there is not a lot of it occurring in Sacramento.

KABC – TV reports they have found a man who doesn’t have to work because he makes his living filing lawsuits against small business owners who are not in complete compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The story says he’s notorious in the LA Court system because he’s filed at least 70 such lawsuits since 2006 --- at a minimum of $4,000 in damages per incident. His shakedown lawsuits are harming more than just the business community; his unwarranted lawsuits are undermining the credibility of the legitimate disabled community.

In 70 cases looked at by Eyewitness News, the plaintiff had his court fees waived in all but two. KABC-TV said lied he about how many lawsuits he’s filed in a year by checking a box indicating he has not filed more than 12 other claims with the past 12 months. By lying, he gets a break on court fees, which are then paid for using taxpayer dollars.

California is one of three states in the nation along with Hawaii and Florida that makes it very lucrative for people to file unwarranted lawsuits based on technical ADA violations. The store owner is rarely given the opportunity to first fix the problem. There are simply too many state and federal regulations for businesses to know exactly what they are to do to be in compliance. So instead, they are sued.

For years, Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse has advocated to give small business owners 30, 60 or 90 days to fix the problem. In 2008, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed bipartisian legislation into law that is intended to advance the goal of ADA law, which is to give people with disabilities complete access to public places, without burdening businesses with unnecessary litigation that does not increase disability access. SB 1608 created the California Commission on Disability Access to accomplish the goals laid out in the bill .

Why is the abuse of ADA still happening? SB 1608 had noble goals indeed, but until the Commission is properly funded no real progress can be made and professional plaintiffs will continue making their living filing abusive lawsuits under ADA.

Are you surprised? I guess I should not be, but there is still a little of me that thought some legislators would get it. Clearly, they do not. As the trial lawyers swooped down on Sacramento for their annual right of passage, I truly thought there might be a glimmer of hope for legal reform, but not this year and, quite frankly, probably not for a while to come.

Interestingly, the Consumer Attorneys of California had scheduled its Lobby Day on May 4, the same day that the Assembly Judiciary Committee was meeting in Sacramento. This is an important policy committee that deals with all legislation related to legal reform. Two key legal reform measures were taken up in that committee yesterday. One was AB 2588 by Assemblymember Audra Strickland related to class action reform and the other was AB 2740 by Assemblymember Roger Niello related to product liability reform and caps on punitive damages. Both of these reforms were part of the Governor's legal reform package in an attempt to brings jobs and economic recovery back to California.

Predictibly, both of these measures were killed in committee along a party line vote 3-7, with republicans for and democrats against. To see who is on the Assembly Judiciary Committee you can go here. The committee is chaired by Assemblyman Mike Feuer out of Los Angeles, who is a trial lawyer. I think you can put the pieces of the puzzle together without a lot of direction.

So the Governor's legal reform package is dead. Fittingly, it died on Trial Lawyer Lobby Day. When our education system is ranked 48th in the nation, we made it a top priority to fix it. But when our legal climate is ranked 46th in the nation what do we do? Nothing.

California certainly wasn't going to cut off a revenue stream to a bunch of wealthy trial lawyers and ruin their lobby day. On a totally separate subject, I have not seen that many french cuffed shirts in one room in my life. Business is struggling, manufacturing is dying and 13% of our state does not have jobs. And I bet that that number is a lot higher. Yet, the powers-that-be in Sacramento continue to tax you, regulate you and let the trial lawyers litigate you. No reform. Period.

Just remember May 4th. And when these legislators come walking back into their districts and say they are for small business, check their voting records on bills like AB 2588 and AB 2740. Remember their voting records when you go to vote.