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News / Press Release

Americans with Disabilities Act Anniversary

Press Release

July 2, 2013

For Immediate Release

July 26 marks the 23rd anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA. The ADA extends to individuals who have disabilities the right to equal access and opportunity in the areas of employment, transportation, public services, and telecommunications. Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa initially sponsored the ADA in Congress, and President George H. W. Bush signed it into law on July 26, 1990. Implementation began in 1992, and in 2009 Congress passed some important updates and clarifications to the original law.

Job applicants with disabilities can now expect the same consideration as applicants without disabilities as long as they are “otherwise qualified,” meaning they meet education and experience requirements and can perform all of the essential functions of a job with or without “reasonable accommodations.” Those are modifications made to a job or job site that remove access barriers, such as building a wheelchair ramp at a job site.

When it comes to getting to work, or just around town, people who have disabilities can, under ADA, expect equal access to public transportation. Buses and trains have been redesigned to allow for mobility device access, and drivers and automated systems now announce stops and offer other similar features to make navigation accessible.

If the destination is a public place, individuals with disabilities can now expect to be able to access independently buildings and the products and services they contain. Extra wide doorways, ramps, Braille markings on doors and elevators, and restrooms with assistive structure are all tangible benefits of the ADA.

For those who have communication access needs such as hearing or speech impairments, the ADA significantly expands the scope of telecommunications technology to include the ready availability of teletypewriters (TTYs), telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDDs) and other relay networks to facilitate communication.

The overall purpose of the ADA is to level the proverbial playing field so that people who have disabilities can gain access to basic aspects of life that people without disabilities gain easily: employment, transportation, commerce, and communication. For more information about the ADA, please visit www.ada.gov or contact the Brazos Valley Center for Independent Living, www.bvcil.org.

Social Security 2013 Increases

Press Release
Tuesday, October 16, 2012 Press Office
For Immediate Release 410-965-8904
press.office@ssa.gov

Social Security Announces 1.7 Percent Benefit Increase for 2013

(Printer friendly version)

Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for nearly 62 million Americans will increase 1.7 percent in 2013, the Social Security Administration announced today.

The 1.7 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits that more than 56 million Social Security beneficiaries receive in January 2013. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 31, 2012.

Some other changes that take effect in January of each year are based on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $113,700 from $110,100. Of the estimated 163 million workers who will pay Social Security taxes in 2013, nearly 10 million will pay higher taxes as a result of the increase in the taxable maximum.

Information about Medicare changes for 2013, when announced, will be available at www.Medicare.gov. For some beneficiaries, their Social Security increase may be partially or completely offset by increases in Medicare premiums.

The Social Security Act provides for how the COLA is calculated. To read more, please visit www.socialsecurity.gov/cola.

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Hays County & Parking Mobility

Hays County Commissioners Court Takes First Step to Enable Volunteers to Report Handicap Parking Space Violators

Hays County Courthouse, San Marcos, TX – The Hays County Commissioners Court Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Austin nonprofit Access Empowerment to deter unlawful use of parking spaces reserved for persons with disabilities.

“Unfortunately, too many people don’t understand how dangerous it is for a person with disabilities to navigate through a parking lot and that medically compromised individuals may suffer life-threatening reactions to heat and cold within just a few minutes,” said County Judge Bert Cobb, M.D. “Accessible parking spaces are designated for these persons for a reason and I feel certain that if they had a choice, people who hold permits for those spaces would prefer not to have to use them.”

According to Access Empowerment, some 18 percent of the population with accessible parking permits share less than 4 percent of spaces set aside for them, and in inclement weather and peak shopping times up to 75 percent of those spaces are taken by persons parking illegally. On any given day, up to 25 percent of those spaces are used by those not entitled.

Under the MOU, Access Empowerment would train community volunteers to use their personal smart phones to share information about vehicles parked illegally in spaces reserved for persons with disabilities. Once trained, the volunteers who see such violations would send photos of the illegally parked vehicles via encryption software to Access Empowerment for verification. If it is verified that the owner of the vehicle was not permitted to park in the space, he or she would pay a fine of up to $500 or request a trial. First-time offenders could opt to attend an education course similar to defensive driving.

“Our main goal is to educate the public about the safety issues persons with disabilities face when they are denied the parking spaces reserved for them, which impacts their safety and their access to goods and services,” said Mack Marsh, Project Director for Access Empowerment. “Our hope is that eventually there will not be a need for this type of program.”

There will be no upfront cost to the County for the program, which would be funded through a percentage of the fines collected from those who illegally park in handicap spaces. According to Access Empowerment, Hays County is expected to be the first county to implement the program, which has been in development for several years. The Texas Transportation Code authorizes the use of volunteers to report illegal parking in handicap spaces.

“We’ve had interest in the program nationwide and internationally,” Marsh said. “We’re pleased that a Texas county will be the first to implement our program, which will assist our wounded veterans, elderly, medically frail and persons with disabilities and give them the consideration they deserve.”

A launch date for the program is several months away while Hays County works with Access Empowerment to develop program policies.

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