[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3459 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3459

  To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand the credit for 
 expenditures to provide access to disabled individuals, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 18, 2018

 Ms. Duckworth (for herself, Mr. Casey, Ms. Hassan, and Ms. Klobuchar) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                          Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand the credit for 
 expenditures to provide access to disabled individuals, and for other 
                               purposes.

    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 ``Disabled Access Credit Expansion 
Act''.

SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF CREDIT FOR EXPENDITURES TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO 
              DISABLED INDIVIDUALS.

    (a) Increase in Dollar Limitation.--
            (1) In general.--Subsection (a) of section 44 of the 
        Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 
        ``$10,250'' and inserting ``$20,500''.
            (2) Inflation adjustment.--Section 44 of such Code is 
        amended by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f) and 
        by inserting after subsection (d) the following new subsection:
    ``(e) Inflation Adjustment.--
            ``(1) In general.--In the case of any taxable year 
        beginning after 2018, the $20,500 amount in subsection (a) 
        shall be increased by an amount equal to--
                    ``(A) such dollar amount, multiplied by
                    ``(B) the cost of living adjustment determined 
                under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar year in which 
                the taxable year begins, determined by substituting 
                `calendar year 2017' for `calendar year 2016' in 
                subparagraph (A)(ii) thereof.
            ``(2) Rounding.--Any amount determined under paragraph (1) 
        which is not a multiple of $50 shall be rounded to the next 
        lowest multiple of $50.''.
    (b) Increase in Gross Receipts Limitation.--Subparagraph (A) of 
section 44(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 
striking ``$1,000,000'' and inserting ``$2,500,000''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017.

SEC. 3. ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION INVOLVING DISABILITY 
              RIGHTS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Congress does not directly appropriate funds for the 
        ADA Mediation Program of the Disability Rights Section of the 
        Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.
            (2) The Civil Rights Division receives funds for the ADA 
        Mediation Program from the Office of Alternative Dispute 
        Resolution of the Office of Legal Policy of the Department of 
        Justice. The Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution receives 
        appropriations through the appropriations account of the 
        Department of Justice appropriated under the heading ``fees and 
        expenses of witnesses'' under the heading ``Legal Activities'' 
        (referred to in this subsection as the ``FEW appropriations 
        account'').
            (3) The total amount appropriated to the Office of 
        Alternative Dispute Resolution through the FEW appropriations 
        account for fiscal year 2018 is $3,659,544.
            (4) Out of this amount, the Office of Alternative Dispute 
        Resolution funds mediation for all of the litigating units 
        within the Department of Justice.
            (5) The Civil Rights Division requests funding for the ADA 
        Mediation Program on a quarterly basis and is limited in its 
        ability to use funds to increase personnel and provide training 
        concerning the program.
            (6) Voluntary mediation, under section 514 of the Americans 
        with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12212), of disputes 
        between individuals and entities covered by the Americans with 
        Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) requires 
        specific expertise.
            (7) To best serve the disability community, and entities 
        covered by that Act, the ADA Mediation Program should be able 
        to use funds to increase personnel and provide training 
        concerning the program.
    (b) ADA Mediation Program.--
            (1) In general.--The Attorney General shall carry out an 
        ADA Mediation Program (referred to in this section as the 
        ``Program'').
            (2) Duties and authorities.--In carrying out the Program, 
        the Attorney General--
                    (A) shall facilitate voluntary mediation to resolve 
                disputes arising under the Americans with Disabilities 
                Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.);
                    (B) may hire or enter into contracts with personnel 
                for the Program, including increasing the number of 
                such personnel beyond the number of individuals who 
                provided services through the Program on the date of 
                enactment of this section; and
                    (C) provide training for mediators who provide 
                services through the Program.
            (3) Authorization of appropriations.--
                    (A) In general.--There is authorized to be 
                appropriated to the appropriations account of the 
                Department of Justice appropriated under the heading 
                ``fees and expenses of witnesses'' under the heading 
                ``Legal Activities'', to carry out this section, 
                $1,000,000 (in addition to any other amounts 
                appropriated to that account) for fiscal year 2019.
                    (B) Availability of funds.--Funds appropriated 
                under subparagraph (A) may be used to pay for 
                obligations incurred through the Program prior to the 
                date of enactment of this section.

SEC. 4. ADA INFORMATION LINE DATA COLLECTION REPORT.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) As of August 10, 2018, during fiscal year 2018, 
        accessibility specialists have answered approximately 38,135 
        calls to the ADA Information Line.
            (2) The ADA Information Line receives on average 
        approximately 1,000 calls per week, and does not typically 
        collect data about the kinds of calls it receives.
            (3) The ADA Information Line takes calls from a variety of 
        individuals and entities interested in the Americans with 
        Disabilities Act of 1990, including--
                    (A) employers covered by such Act;
                    (B) architects and others who work with such 
                employers;
                    (C) public entities, such as schools and public 
                service providers;
                    (D) individuals with disabilities; and
                    (E) entities that provide public accommodations.
            (4) ADA.gov provides many resources to individuals and 
        entities, public or private, looking for information on such 
        Act.
    (b) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``ADA Information Line'' means the toll-free 
        line operated by the Attorney General to provide information 
        and materials to the public about the requirements of the 
        Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et 
        seq.), including regulations issued under the Act and technical 
        assistance in accordance with section 507 of the Act (42 U.S.C. 
        12206); and
            (2) the term ``disability'', with respect to an individual, 
        has the meaning given such term in section 3 of such Act (42 
        U.S.C. 12102).
    (c) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Attorney General shall submit a report to each committee 
of Congress--
            (1) outlining the kinds of calls the ADA Information Line 
        receives;
            (2) detailing the efforts of the Department of Justice to 
        educate individuals and entities about the existence of the ADA 
        Information Line; and
            (3) providing recommendations on improvements that can be 
        made to provide additional support to individuals with 
        disabilities, and entities covered by the Americans with 
        Disabilities Act of 1990, seeking information on such Act.
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