Bill Text: NY A01495 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

New York Assembly Bill 1495

Introduced

Bill Title: Requires public buildings which are or contain an area of public assembly or service to have equipped and installed an induction loop listening system for use by persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-10 - referred to governmental operations [A01495 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A01495-Introduced.html




                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1495

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 10, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. SIMON, WOERNER -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Governmental Operations

        AN ACT to amend the public buildings law, in relation to induction  loop
          listening systems

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 53 of the public buildings law, as amended by chap-
     2  ter 23 of the laws of 1989, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter  221  of
     3  the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows:
     4    § 53. [Assistive]  Induction  loop  listening  systems. 1. (a) All new
     5  public buildings, construction of which commences after  January  first,
     6  nineteen hundred ninety-one, [containing] which are or contain within an
     7  [auditorium,  theater, meeting hall, hearing room, amphitheater, or room
     8  used in any similar capacity which are so designated by the  appropriate
     9  building  and  fire code] area of public assembly or service, shall have
    10  equipped and installed an [assistive] induction  loop  listening  system
    11  for  use  by persons who are deaf or hard of hearing who require the use
    12  of such a system to improve their reception of sound.
    13    (b) The owner of any public building which is or  contains  within  an
    14  area  of  public assembly or service and has an induction loop listening
    15  system installed and equipped shall post  in  a  clear  and  conspicuous
    16  manner  permanently  mounted  signage  to indicate to visitors that such
    17  induction loop listening system is available.
    18    (c) On a biennial basis, the owner of any public building which is  or
    19  contains  within  an  area  of  public  assembly  or  service and has an
    20  induction loop listening system installed and equipped shall complete  a
    21  self-certification   form  and  submit  such  form  to  the  state  fire
    22  prevention and building code council, attesting that such induction loop
    23  listening system continues to be functional.
    24    2. Standards for such systems shall be developed  by  the  state  fire
    25  prevention and building code council upon receiving recommendations from

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04704-01-5
        A. 1495                             2

     1  the  advisory  board  on [assistive] induction loop listening systems in
     2  places of public assembly.
     3    3. For purposes of this section, the [term] following terms shall have
     4  the following meanings:
     5    (a)  "[assistive]  Induction loop listening system" shall mean [situa-
     6  tional-personal acoustic communication equipment designed to improve the
     7  transmission and auditory reception  of  sound]  a  hardwired  assistive
     8  listening system through which a loop of wire around an area of a build-
     9  ing produces a signal, or a hardwired countertop version that produces a
    10  signal, received directly by hearing aids and cochlear implants equipped
    11  with telecoil features used by persons with hearing loss.
    12    (b)  "Area  of  public  assembly  or service" shall mean a building or
    13  structure, or space within a building or structure,  that  is  regularly
    14  open  for  public  gatherings, including an auditorium, theater, meeting
    15  room or hall, courtroom, community center, amphitheater, library,  phar-
    16  macy counter, information desk at a medical facility, a waiting area for
    17  a  medical  office,  bank  teller area, car rental business, restaurant,
    18  bar, or other food or beverage  counter  service  location,  coat  check
    19  area,  grocery  store  check-out  area,  ticket payment location, or any
    20  other room used in any similar capacity which are so designated  by  the
    21  appropriate building and fire code.
    22    §  2. The state fire prevention and building code council shall update
    23  and amend any applicable building  and  fire  codes  to  carry  out  the
    24  provisions of section 53 of the public buildings law.
    25    §  3.  This  act  shall  take  effect seven months after it shall have
    26  become a law.