Esta ley enmienda la Ley Núm. 44 de 2 de julio de 1985 para ampliar la definición de "Institución Pública y Privada" e incluir la obligación de que todas las agencias, oficinas, cuerpos, corporaciones y edificios públicos cuenten con señalización en Braille para personas con discapacidad visual. También establece la necesidad de reorganizar programas e instalaciones para hacerlos accesibles, siguiendo las guías ADAAG y UFAS, y designa al Oficial Investigador de Personas con Discapacidad para realizar inspecciones y brindar asesoramiento.
(Approved September 7, 2004)
To amend subsection
(c) of Section 1 and subsection
(a) of Section 8 of Act No. 44 of July 2, 1985, as amended, in order to broaden the meaning of the term "Public and Private Institution," and to provide that all public agencies, offices, bodies, corporations, and buildings shall bear signs written in Braille for the benefit of visually impaired individuals.
Society has evolved with the technological developments that arise every day. Technology offers various mechanisms so that visually impaired individuals may communicate among themselves. A real concern exists among these persons regarding their ability to go to different places without other people's assistance. In most cases, these individuals do not have close relatives to accompany them to carry out their personal activities.
Among the resources that may be implemented in government agencies is tactile signage written in Braille System. It is a system for tactile reading and writing. The system is known as "Basic Signs of Spanish Writing." Through this system, citizens may manage on their own in a competitive world such as ours, thus offering visually impaired individuals the availability and free access to public and private institutions. This is important, because the implementation of these access mechanisms allows blind or partially blind citizens to move independently, thus achieving full
social integration, in order to be able to assume their rights and meet their responsibilities
This Legislature deems it necessary to adopt this measure that shall expedite these citizens access to public and private institutions, through their identification by means of tactile signage written in Braille System.
Section 1.- Subsection
(c) of Section 1 (sic) of Act No. 44 of July 2, 1985, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 2.- For the purposes of this Act, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(a) ... ...
(c) "Public and Private Institution" - shall mean any association, society, federation, institute, entity, or natural or juridical person, including all public agencies, offices, bodies, corporations, and buildings, that carry out, offer or render any service, program, or activity, whether or not it receives any financial contribution or funds from the Government of Puerto Rico, or any employer covered under the provisions of Section 9 of this Act, regardless of whether or not it receives Commonwealth financial resources."
Section 3.-(sic) Subsection
(a) of Section 8 of Act No. 44 of July 2, 1985, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 4.- Reorganization of Programs and Facilities (sic)
(a) Public or private institutions must commence and carry out, in the measure which their financial resources and facilities allow, a reorganization and restructuring of their programs and facilities so that they are totally accessible to persons
with physical, mental or sensory disabilities. For such purposes, the Disabled Persons Investigating Official may request that they submit a plan on the methods needed to achieve said access, which shall include measures such as: redesign of equipment, scheduling of classes or activities in accessible buildings, designating assistants to persons with disabilities, remodeling of existing facilities or construction of new ones, including the identification, through tactile signs written in Braille System in Spanish level I, which shall be located at the main entrance of buildings that house associations, societies, federations, institutes, entities, natural or juridical persons, including all public agencies, offices, bodies, corporations, buildings, and facilities that carry out, offer or render any service, program, or activity, to which persons with disabilities resort.
The sign shall follow all specifications contained in the guidelines known as American with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines, known by its acronym ADAAG for the removal of architectural barriers in its Sections 4.30.4 to 4.30.6, which establish the measurement, height and size of letters, etc., and the Uniform Federal Architectural Standards (UFAS.) In the selection of methods to make their program accessible to persons with disabilities, public or private institutions shall give priority to those methods or measures that allow the implementation thereof in an integrated, easy and efficient manner.
Section 5.- The Persons with Disabilities Investigating Official shall conduct random inspections at least twice every year of the facilities he/she deems convenient in any associations, societies, federations, institutes, or
entities, and of any natural or juridical persons, including all public agencies, offices, bodies, corporations, buildings, and facilities that carry out, offer or render any service, program, or activity, whether or not it receives any financial contribution or funds from the Government of Puerto Rico, or of any employer covered under the provisions of Section 9 of this Act, whether or not said employer receives Commonwealth financial resources.
Section 6.- In order to disclose the scope of this Act, the Persons with Disabilities Investigating Official, together with the Secretary of State, shall issue agreements directed to the achievement of these purposes. Likewise, the Investigating Official shall provide advice to the secretaries, chiefs or directors of the entities mentioned hereinabove, to oversee full compliance thereof.
The Persons with Disabilities Investigating Official, through written communication, shall instruct the secretaries, chiefs or directors of the entities mentioned hereinabove, on the need to provide training to their security personnel, as well as to receptionists, on how to identify, treat, and direct persons with sensory disabilities to the dependencies they need to visit.
Section 7.- (sic) This Act shall take effect one hundred and eighty (180) days after its approval, for the sole purpose of having the entities mentioned hereinabove enforce the provisions promulgated herein.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 251 (S.B. 2402) of the $7^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to amend subsection
(c) of Section 1 and subsection
(a) of Section 8 of Act No. 44 of July 2, 1985, as amended, in order to broaden the meaning of the term "Public and Private Institution," and to provide that all public agencies, offices, bodies, corporations, and buildings shall bear signs written in Braille for the benefit of visually impaired individuals, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $25^{ ext {th }}$ of October of 2006.
Francisco J. Domenech Director