Bill Text: DE SB285 | 2009-2010 | 145th General Assembly | Draft

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Bill Title: An Act To Amend Titles 15 And 29 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Polling Place Accessibility.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-5-1)

Status: (Passed) 2010-07-27 - Signed by Governor [SB285 Detail]

Download: Delaware-2009-SB285-Draft.html

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SPONSOR:	Sen. Katz & Sen. Cloutier & Sen. Connor & Rep. Longhurst
	Sens. McDowell, Ennis, Hall-Long, Sokola & Reps. D.E. Williams, Q. Johnson, Cathcart, Barbieri, George, Kowalko, Manolakos, Oberle, Schooley, Viola & D.P. Williams

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

145th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE BILL NO. 285

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 15 AND 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO POLLING PLACE ACCESSIBILITY.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend §4512(b), Chapter 45, Title 15, Delaware Code by adding the following third and fourth sentences to the end of the subsection:

"If a department of election is uncertain of the accessibility of a proposed or existing polling place, or receives written notice of a deficiency from the State Council for Persons with Disabilities or a registered voter, it shall request a site assessment from the Architectural Accessibility Board and defer to the findings of the Board.No department shall issue more than 5 such requests on an annual basis without the consent of the Board."

Section 2. Amend §7303(b), Chapter 73, Title 29, Delaware Code by capitalizing the word "this" as it appears in the second sentence and striking the first sentence and words "Provided, that".

Section 3. Amend §7306(a), Chapter 73, Delaware Code, by renumbering subsections (8) through (11) as (9) through (12) respectively and inserting a new subsection "(8)" to read as follows:

"(8) Conduct a polling place accessibility assessment upon referral from a department of election in implementation of §4512 of Title 15 of the Delaware Code;"

SYNOPSIS

Federal laws require polling places used in federal elections to be accessible.Likewise, the State Election Code imposes a duty on county departments of election to designate only "readily accessible polling places".This bill would facilitate compliance by prompting departments of election to solicit a site survey by the Architectural Accessibility Board if there are questions raised about the accessibility of a proposed or existing polling place.The Board would be authorized to conduct a survey based on such a request.The annual number of referrals to the Board is limited in recognition of the Board's existing resources.

Author: Senator Katz