H. B. 2870
(By Delegates Leach, Perdue, Susman, Wells and Hall)
[Introduced March 4, 2005; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §5-11A-3 and §5-11A-3a of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend said code by
adding thereto a new section, designated §5-11A-3b, all
relating to defining universal design, providing immunity from
civil damages to a worker, contractor, engineer or architect,
who in good faith provides services or materials, without
remuneration, to build or install basic universal design
features in accordance with applicable building codes and
state and federal laws; providing for a standard form
informational list of basic universal design features to be
provided to a future buyer of any proposed residential housing
in the state.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §5-11A-3 and §5-11A-3a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said code be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §5-11A-3b, all
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 11A. WEST VIRGINIA FAIR HOUSING ACT.
§5-11A-3. Definitions.
As used in this article:
(a) "Commission" means the West Virginia Human Rights
Commission; (b) "Dwelling" means any building, structure or portion
thereof which is occupied as, or designed or intended for occupancy
as, a residence or sleeping place by one or more persons or
families, and any vacant land which is offered for sale or lease
for the construction or location thereon of any such building,
structure or portion thereof;
(c) "Family" includes a single individual;
(d) "Person" includes one or more individuals, corporations,
partnerships, associations, labor organizations, legal
representatives, mutual companies, joint-stock companies, trusts,
unincorporated organizations, trustees, trustees in cases under
Title 11 of the United States Code, receivers and fiduciaries;
(e) "To rent" includes to lease, to sublease, to let and
otherwise to grant for a consideration the right to occupy premises
not owned by the occupant;
(f) "Discriminatory housing practice" means an act that is unlawful under section five, six, seven or nineteen of this
article;
(g) "Handicap" means, with respect to a person:
(1) A physical or mental impairment which substantially limits
one or more of such person's major life activities;
(2) A record of having such an impairment; or
(3) Being regarded as having such an impairment, but such term
does not include current, illegal use of or addiction to a
controlled substance, as defined in Section 102 of the Controlled
Substances Act, Title 21, United States Code, Section 802;
(h) "Aggrieved person" includes any person who:
(1) Claims to have been injured by a discriminatory housing
practice; or
(2) Believes that such person will be injured by a
discriminatory housing practice that is about to occur;
(i) "Complainant" means the person, including the Commission,
who files a complaint under section eleven of this article;
(j) "Familial status" means:
(1) One or more individuals who have not attained the age of
eighteen years being domiciled with:
(A) A parent or another person having legal custody of such
individual or individuals; or
(B) The designee of such parent or other person having such custody with the written permission of such parent or other person;
or
(2) Any person who is pregnant or is in the process of
securing legal custody of any individual who has not attained the
age of eighteen years;
(k) "Conciliation" means the attempted resolution of issues
raised by a complaint or by the investigation of such complaint
through informal negotiations involving the aggrieved person, the
respondent and the Commission;
(l) "Conciliation agreement" means a written agreement setting
forth the resolution of the issues in conciliation;
(m) "Respondent" means:
(1) The person or other entity accused in a complaint of an
unfair housing practice; and
(2) Any other person or entity identified in the course of
investigation and notified as required with respect to respondents
so identified under subsection (a), section eleven of this article;
and
(n) The term "rooming house" means a house or building where
there are one or more bedrooms which the proprietor can spare for
the purpose of giving lodgings to such persons as he chooses to
receive;
and
(o) The term "basic universal design" means the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the
greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or
specialized design.
§5-11A-3a. Volunteer services or materials to build or install
universal design features; workers, contractors,
engineers, architects; immunity from civil liability.
Any person, including a worker, contractor, engineer or
architect, who in good faith provides services or materials,
without remuneration, to build or install
handicap accessible basic
universal design features as set forth in section
five three-b of
this article, may not be liable for any civil damages as the result
of any act or omission in providing such services or materials:
Provided, That the
basic universal
design accessible feature or
features shall be built or constructed in accordance with
applicable state and federal laws and applicable building codes.
§5-11A-3b. Informational list of basic universal design
features; penalties.
(a) Ninety days after the Commission certifies and makes
available to the general public the standard form informational
list of basic universal design features pursuant to this section,
a seller or builder of any proposed residential housing in the
state shall provide to the buyer an informational list of basic
universal design features that would make the home entrance, interior routes of travel, the kitchen and the bathroom(s)
universally accessible. Basic universal design features are to
include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) At least one no-step entrance into the dwelling;
(2) All doors on the entry-level floor, including bathrooms,
to have a minimum of thirty-six inches;
(3) At least one accessible bathroom on the entry-level floor
with ample maneuvering space;
(4) Kitchen, general living space and one room capable of
conversion into a bedroom, all with ample maneuvering space, on
entry-level floor;
(5) Any other external or internal feature requested at a
reasonable time by the buyer and agreed to by the seller.
(b) If a buyer is interested in a specific informational
feature on the list established by subsection (a) of this section,
the seller or builder upon request of the buyer shall indicate
whether the feature is standard, limited, optional, or not
available, and if available shall further indicate the cost of such
feature to the buyer.
(c) The standard form informational list of basic universal
design features shall be certified and made available for
reproduction by the Commission, in accordance with the provisions
of subsection (a) of this section, based upon mutual recommendation of the American Institute of Architects/West Virginia, the Home
Builders Association of West Virginia, and the West Virginia Center
for Excellence in Disabilities.
(d) Any willful violation hereunder by a builder or seller of
residential housing shall be punishable by a civil penalty of that
person's required attendance at a one day training course on
accessible design and construction conducted by or under the
supervision of the Commission.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide immunity from
civil damages to a worker, contractor, engineer or architect, who
in good faith provides services or materials, without remuneration,
to build or install certain basic universal design accessibility
features in accordance with applicable building codes and state and
federal laws; and to establish a standard form informational list
of basic universal design accessibility features to be provided to
a future buyer of any proposed residential housing in the state.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
§§5-11A-3b is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.
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