[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5541 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5541

  To promote the provision of exercise and fitness equipment that is 
              accessible to individuals with disabilities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 18, 2014

Mr. Farr (for himself and Ms. Duckworth) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and 
  in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To promote the provision of exercise and fitness equipment that is 
              accessible to individuals with disabilities.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Exercise and Fitness For All Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Individuals with disabilities can maintain and improve 
        their health through appropriate physical activity.
            (2) In the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans 
        (referred to as the ``Guidelines''), the Department of Health 
        and Human Services recommends that individuals with 
        disabilities, who are able, participate in regular aerobic 
        activity.
            (3) The Guidelines also recommend that adults with 
        disabilities, who are able, do muscle-strengthening activities 
        of moderate or high intensity on 2 or more days a week, as 
        these activities provide additional health benefits.
            (4) The Guidelines recommend that when adults with 
        disabilities are not able to meet the Guidelines, they should 
        engage in regular physical activity according to their 
        abilities and avoid inactivity.
            (5) Unfortunately, many individuals with disabilities are 
        unable to engage in the recommended exercise or fitness 
        activities due to the inaccessibility of exercise or fitness 
        equipment.
            (6) Physical inactivity by adults with disabilities can 
        lead to increased risk for functional limitations and secondary 
        health conditions.
    (b) Purpose.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to encourage exercise and fitness service providers to 
        provide accessible exercise and fitness equipment for 
        individuals with disabilities; and
            (2) to provide guidance about the requirements necessary to 
        ensure that such exercise and fitness equipment is accessible 
        to, and usable by, individuals with disabilities.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Access board.--The term ``Access Board'' means the 
        Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board 
        established under section 502 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 
        (29 U.S.C. 792).
            (2) Accessible exercise or fitness equipment.--The term 
        ``accessible exercise or fitness equipment'' means exercise or 
        fitness equipment that is accessible to, and can be 
        independently used and operated by, individuals with 
        disabilities.
            (3) Exercise or fitness equipment.--The term ``exercise or 
        fitness equipment'' means devices such as motorized treadmills, 
        stair climbers or step machines, stationary bicycles, rowing 
        machines, weight machines, circuit training equipment, 
        cardiovascular equipment, strength equipment, or other exercise 
        or fitness equipment.
            (4) Exercise or fitness service provider.--The term 
        ``exercise or fitness service provider'' means a gymnasium, 
        health spa, health club, college or university facility, or 
        other similar place of exercise or fitness that--
                    (A) is considered a public accommodation under 
                section 301 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 
                1990 (42 U.S.C. 12181) or is considered a public entity 
                under section 201 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 12131); and
                    (B) provides exercise or fitness equipment for the 
                use of its patrons.
            (5) Individual with a disability.--The term ``individual 
        with a disability'' means any person with a disability as 
        defined in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 
        1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102).
            (6) Individuals with disabilities.--The term ``individuals 
        with disabilities'' means more than one individual with a 
        disability.

SEC. 4. EXERCISE AND FITNESS ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES.

    (a) Establishment of Guidelines.--Not later than 18 months after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Access Board shall develop and 
publish guidelines for exercise or fitness service providers regarding 
the provision of accessible exercise or fitness equipment, including 
relevant personnel training.
    (b) Contents of Guidelines.--The guidelines described in subsection 
(a) shall--
            (1) be consistent with the Standard Specification for 
        Universal Design of Fitness Equipment for Inclusive Use by 
        Persons with Functional Limitations and Impairments of the 
        American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM F3021-13) (and 
        any future revisions thereto);
            (2) ensure that--
                    (A) exercise or fitness equipment is accessible to, 
                and usable by, individuals with disabilities; and
                    (B) individuals with disabilities have independent 
                entry to, use of, and exit from the exercise or fitness 
                equipment, to the maximum extent possible; and
            (3) take into consideration the following:
                    (A) Whether the exercise or fitness service 
                provider is a new or existing facility.
                    (B) Whether the exercise or fitness service 
                provider is staffed or not.
                    (C) Instruction and additional assistance on the 
                use of the accessible exercise or fitness equipment 
                (including specific accessibility features) for 
                individuals with disabilities.
                    (D) The size and overall financial resources of the 
                exercise or fitness service provider.
                    (E) The availability of closed captioning of video 
                programming displayed on equipment and televisions 
                provided by an exercise or fitness service provider.
    (c) Review and Amendment.--The Access Board shall periodically 
review and, as appropriate, amend the guidelines, and shall issue the 
resulting guidelines as revised guidelines.

SEC. 5. TAX CREDIT FOR EXPENDITURES TO PROVIDE ACCESSIBLE EXERCISE OR 
              FITNESS EQUIPMENT.

    (a) In General.--Paragraph (1) of section 44(c) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
            (1) by striking ``paid or incurred by an eligible small 
        business'' and inserting ``paid or incurred--
                    ``(A) by an eligible small business'',
            (2) by striking ``section).'' and inserting ``section), 
        and'', and
            (3) by inserting at the end the following:
                    ``(B) by an eligible small business which is an 
                exercise or fitness service provider for the purpose of 
                providing for use by individuals with disabilities 
                accessible exercise or fitness equipment that meets the 
                guidelines established by the Access Board under 
                section 4 of the Exercise and Fitness for All Act.
        Any term used in subparagraph (B) which is defined in section 3 
        of the Exercise and Fitness for All Act shall have the meaning 
        given such term in such section, as in effect on the date of 
        the enactment of such subparagraph.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to expenses paid or incurred in taxable years beginning after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.
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