ADA 25 Years – Passing the Torch
Show Summary
ADA 25th Year Anniversary
And
Passing the Torch
Our guests were:
Jennifer McPhail
Community organizer
ADAPT
Phone 512-442-0252
www.ADAPTofTexas.org
Dennis Borel, Executive Director
CTD/Coaltion of Texans with Disabilities
Phone 512/478-3366
www.txdisabilities.org
We discussed the progress people with disabilities have made since the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) was passed 25 years ago, on July 26, 1990. Jennifer McPhail who just returned from Washington, D.C. where she met with leaders regarding the ADA, shares her experience. We discuss the need for vigilance siting the Civil Rights Summit, April of 2014, which originally excluded people with disabilities, and that we still can’t find accessible hotel rooms.
We also discussed passing the torch. This past year we elected a new city council in Austin. We have a new Legislature. Texas also has a new governor, Greg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair. We talked about issues discussed this last legislative session including same sex marriage and open carry. However, according to Dennis Borel, the major issues in Texas are health, education, transportation, and water. This past Legislature also cut taxes, which is bad. During the next economic downturn the Legislature will make cuts in services rather than increase taxes. The good things that came out of the legislature are the ABLE program, and keeping Independent Living in Health and Human services, guardianship reform, and the Gila Monster bill which promotes biomedicine, and MAMMA – Mothers Advocating Medical Marijuana for Autism. We didn’t get attendant pay raise to $10 dollars an hour, we did get a 14 cent raise to 8 dollars an hour.