,,ii #aahth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #cgdi ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,february #g1 #bjbd,mr4 ,casey 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,mrs4 ,gillibrand1 ,mr4 ,padilla1 ,mr4 ,welch1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,mr4 ,sanders1 ,mr4 ,brown1 ,mr4 ,fetterman1 ,ms4 ,hirono1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,ms4 ,duckworth1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 and ,mr4 ,whitehouse7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to support local governments for jurisdictions that elect or appoint a person with a disability in providing the accommodations needed for the elected or appointed official to carry out their official work duties1 and to build the capacity of local governments to have consistent and adequate funding for accommodations4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,accessibility and ,inclusion to ,diversify ,local ,government ,leadership ,act or the ,,aid ,local ,government ,leadership ,act4 #b4 ,findings and purposes 7a7 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention estimates approximately #a in #d adults in the ,united ,states has a disability4 7#b7 ,data from the ,bureau of ,labor ,statistics indicates that the labor force participation rate of people with disabilities is consistently half of that of people without disabilities4 7#c7 ,the ,national ,council on ,independent ,living reports that people with disabilities are underrepresented in elected offices4 7#d7 ,local governments are required1 under the ,americans with ,disabilities ,act of #aiij1 to provide reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform official work duties4 7b7 ,purposes ,the purposes of this ,act are-- 7#a7 to support local governments for jurisdictions that elect or appoint a person with a disability1 in providing the accommodations needed for the local elected or appointed official to carry out the official's official work duties1 to enable the governments to meet the requirement described in subsection 7a77#d72 and 7#b7 to build the capacity of local governments1 who otherwise do not have adequate funding to provide the accommodations1 to have adequate and consistent funding to provide the accommodations for such officials4 #c4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,assistive technology ,the term assistive technology means technology designed to be utilized in an assistive technology device or assistive technology service4 7#b7 ,assistive technology device2 assistive technology service ,the terms assistive technology device and assistive technology service have the meanings given the terms in section #c of the ,assistive ,technology ,act of #aiih 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #cjjb74 7#c7 ,disability ,the term disability has the meaning given the term in section #c of the ,americans with ,disabilities ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #abajb74 7#d7 ,indian tribe ,the term ,indian tribe has the meaning given the term in section #d of the ,indian ,self-,determination and ,education ,assistance ,act 7#be ,u4,s4,c4 #ecjd74 7#e7 ,local appointed official ,the term local1 used with respect to an appointed official1 means an individual who-- 7,a7 is appointed to a position on an advisory committee that makes recommendations to local government2 and 7,b7 is not paid for the individual's work in the position4 7#f7 ,local elected official ,the term local1 used with respect to an elected official1 means an official who is elected for a position1 from a village1 town1 county1 or other municipality that is not national or statewide1 via an election authorized by a local election board4 7#g7 ,local government ,the term local government means the government of any village1 town1 city1 county1 or other municipality that is not national or statewide4 7#h7 ,reasonable accommodation ,the term reasonable accommodation has the meaning given the term in section #aja of the ,americans with ,disabilities ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #abaaa74 7#i7 ,rural ,the term rural1 used with respect to an area1 means an area classified as a rural commuting area under the ,rural-,urban ,commuting ,area ,codes developed by the ,secretary of ,agriculture and the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services4 7#aj7 ,secretary ,except as otherwise specified1 the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,labor1 acting through the ,assistant ,secretary for ,disability ,employment ,policy4 7#aa7 ,state ,the term ,state means any of the #ej ,states1 the ,district of ,columbia1 the ,commonwealth of ,puerto ,rico1 ,guam1 ,american ,samoa1 the ,united ,states ,virgin ,islands1 and the ,commonwealth of the ,northern ,marianas4 7#ab7 ,work duties ,the term work duties means the essential functions of an employment position4 #d4 ,community grant program 7a7 ,in general ,from the amounts appropriated to carry out this ,act1 the ,secretary shall award grants to eligible entities in any ,state or associated with any ,indian tribe in order to provide1 to local elected or appointed officials who have disabilities1 reasonable accommodations needed to enable the officials to carry out their official work duties1 which accommodations may include-- 7#a7 physical adaptations of office space and other spaces used for public events2 7#b7 specialized software2 7#c7 communication supports1 including sign language interpreters2 7#d7 provision of transportation services for an official work event 7excluding transportation for commuting72 and 7#e7 other assistive technology devices and assistive technology services needed to carry out official work duties4 7b7 ,awards 7#a7 ,process ,during a fiscal year1 the ,secretary shall award the grants on a first-come1 first-served basis until the funds appropriated under this section for that year are exhausted4 ,if funds appropriated under this section are not exhausted for a fiscal year1 the ,secretary may use the funds to award such grants during a subsequent fiscal year4 7#b7 ,amounts ,the ,secretary shall award such a grant in an amount of not less than #c1jjj and not more than #ej1jjj1 per year of the grant period4 7c7 ,grant period ,the ,secretary shall award such a grant for a period equal to-- 7#a7 the number of years the local elected or appointed official involved will be in office during the official's first term2 and 7#b7 #b years4 7d7 ,eligible entities ,to be eligible to receive a grant under this section1 an entity shall be a local government-- 7#a7 that has a local elected or appointed official who has a disability and needs a reasonable accommodation to carry out the official's official work duties2 and 7#b7 for a jurisdiction that-- 7,a7 is in a rural area2 7,b7 has a population of less than #aj1jjj2 or 7,c7 has a population of #aj1jjj to less than #bjj1jjj1 and a poverty rate of #ah percent or greater1 according to the most recent data available from the ,bureau of the ,census4 7e7 ,application and selection 7#a7 ,application ,to be eligible to receive a grant under this section1 an entity shall submit an application to the ,secretary1 in accordance with a process prescribed by the ,secretary1 that shall include1 at a minimum-- 7,a7 a description of-- 7i7 the position1 including the official work duties of the position1 held by the local elected or appointed official involved2 7ii7 the needed reasonable accommodations for the local elected or appointed official2 and 7iii7 a budget to cover those accommodations2 and 7,b7 assurances that the eligible entity will-- 7i7 use the grant funds only for reasonable accommodations needed for the local elected or appointed official involved to carry out their official work duties2 7ii7 provide1 for each fiscal year1 non-,federal matching funds equal to not less than #be percent of the amount provided through the grant for that fiscal year2 7iii7 use the non-,federal matching funds to fund a reasonable accommodations funding account2 7iv7 continue the funding of that account for at least #d years after the end of the grant period1 maintaining a balance in the account equal to the total amount of non-,federal matching funds provided by the entity during the grant period2 7v7 use the account solely for the purposes of assisting local elected and appointed officials who have disabilities1 by providing reasonable accommodations needed to carry out their official work duties2 and 7vi7 submit annual reports on the grant activities as required by the ,secretary4 7#b7 ,selection process ,the ,secretary shall award grants in accordance with a process prescribed by the ,secretary4 7f7 ,allowable use ,an eligible entity that receives a grant under this ,act may use the grant funds for reasonable accommodations needed to enable a local elected or appointed official who has a disability to carry out the official work duties of the local elected or appointed official4 ,the reasonable accommodations may include the physical adaptations1 specialized software1 communication supports1 and devices and services1 described in subsection 7a74 7g7 ,annual report 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall annually prepare a report regarding the impact of the grant program carried out under this section1 which report shall include-- 7,a7 the number of applications received under the program2 7,b7 the number of eligible entities that received a grant2 7,c7 a description of the communities receiving the grant funding1 such as-- 7i7 information on whether the communities are-- 7,i7 rural areas or jurisdictions described in subsection 7d77#b72 or 7,,ii7 other types of communities2 7ii7 race and ethnicity data for the communities2 7iii7 information on the percentage of the population of the communities that is living in poverty2 and 7iv7 related community demographics2 7,d7 a description of the types of positions held by the local elected or appointed officials supported2 and 7,e7 a description of the types of adaptations1 services1 assistive technology1 technology1 communication services1 and other reasonable accommodations funded through the grants in order for the local elected or appointed officials to carry out their official responsibilities4 7#b7 ,information added after second year ,beginning with the third year of the program and for each subsequent year1 in addition to the information specified in paragraph 7#a71 the report shall include-- 7,a7 the total amount of funds eligible entities receiving the grants invested in reasonable accommodations funding accounts2 and 7,b7 aggregate data on the age1 sex1 gender identity1 race and ethnicity1 and disability of the local elected or appointed officials the grant program is supporting4 7#c7 ,submission ,the ,secretary shall annually submit the report prepared under this subsection to-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions of the ,senate2 7,b7 the ,committee on ,education and the ,workforce of the ,house of ,representatives2 and 7,c7 the ,special ,committee on ,aging of the ,senate4 7h7 ,administration ,from the amounts made available under subsection 7i7 for a fiscal year1 the ,secretary may reserve and use not more than #a percent for administration of the grant program carried out under this section4 7i7 ,authorization of appropriations 7#a7 ,in general ,there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this ,act1 #e1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjbe through #bjca4 7#b7 ,availability ,funds appropriated under paragraph 7#a7 shall remain available until expended4