MISSOURI SENATE JEFFERSON CITY JERRY T. HOWARD BUSINESS 60 WEST SENATE POST OFFICE P.O. BOX 279 STATE CAPITOL BUILDING RM 428A DEXTER, MO 63841 JEFFERSON CITY, MO 65101 TELEPHONE (314) 524-8778 TELEPHONE (314) 751-3301 January 8, 1992 The Honorable Bill Emerson United States House of Representatives 418 Canon Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Dear Bill: Each of us care about handicapped persons. Their talents, skills and intelligence should never be wasted. We always try to accommodate each person whenever possible. Although good intentions are at the root of the Americans with Disabilities Act, this new law may create disastrous situations for our governments and businesses. Missouri's state government is facing a serious budget crisis. The state cannot continue to support existing programs. The mentally ill, the poor and our children are already suffering because falling revenues have led to painful budget cuts. Many of our schools have pinched pennies for years, while some districts are now confronting bankruptcy. Federal court desegregation decisions have tapped even more money away from our schools across the state, and court challenges exist as to equity of our school formula and the equity of the desegregation order. Mandated changes from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will force the state to spend more in the midst of this terrible financial crisis. Currently the state pays $26 million for buildings rented throughout Missouri. ADA required construction changes will increase the cost of our leases to an estimated $80 million a year. An increase of that proportion would be disastrous. New state owned buildings such as the Truman Building and the Secretary of States newly constructed Information Center will not be in compliance with the latest standards from ADA. Bathrooms, ramps and doors will have to be remodeled. New carpets that meet current standards will have to be ripped out and replaced with 30 pound carpets. Sadly, we have already built or modified existing buildings to comply with current standards. Now ADA will change those standards. To remain within this new federal law the state may have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to reach extraordinary demands. Our Social Services building in Sikeston alone was rebid. An estimated $800,000 in construction and remodeling costs ensued. This increase was caused by moving to 01-01437 Page 2 a new building to meet specifications. Rent on this building has risen from a bid of $6,700 per month to $12,000 per month. Our financially strapped schools, cities and counties will also have to pay for altering conditions to exceed those a disabled person may enjoy in his or her own home. The impact on our businesses, along with the jobs they provide, will be substantial. Major corporations such as General Motors and IBM are laying off employees in huge numbers. Brown Shoe Company has closed two facilities in Southeast Missouri alone. Now, during a deep recession, the federal government is going to demand that any enterprise must spend enormous amounts of money on new construction or face penalties and law suits. Anyone can be fined as much as $100,000 just because a parking space fails to meet minimum ADA size requirements. We should not force businesses to attain standards that are so extraordinary. The ADA will also mean increased exposure to law suits for businesses. Large scale industries may be better prepared to handle the rising costs of liability and legal fees, but the existence of small businesses may be threatened by new vulnerability to litigation. Small business owners will certainly be angry once they learn about the costly alterations and potential liabilities that ADA will create. People have committed themselves to improvements that would help the handicapped. Achieving previous standards has always been a goal of state government and the business community. Millions of dollars have been spent to make our offices, factories and stores accessible to the disabled. Now ADA will erase any value of those previous efforts. One small example is the Missouri state Probation and Parole building in Kennett, Missouri. Five years ago ramps were constructed because of legal requirements. With ADA, those ramps will have to be replaced. The same stability that government should lend to the economicprocess is eliminated. Contracts and rental agreements were designed with long term obligations in mind. Such agreements cannot remain unchanged if major construction changes are mandated. It becomes far more difficult to plan for capital investments and anticipate fixed costs. If ADA has its full impact, who can say what rule changes or new laws might lie ahead. It is completely unreasonable to assume that people can depend on ADA becoming the last word on this issue. Everyone has prepared as though previous laws and regulations would be more lasting. Once again, more money will be bled away to pay for a change today that will be meaningless tomorrow. I have also included information from others about the implications of the ADA with this letter. Page 3 My request is that something be done to phase in the ADA over a long period of time. If this is not possible, the law should be significantly amended so that the practical needs of the entire nation are met, while addressing the needs of the disabled. Without a significant change, Missourians will suffer from greater budget cuts and weakened businesses. Thank you for your efforts to prevent this end. Very truly yours, Jerry T. Howard State Senator District 25 JTH/pc 01-01439