[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5541 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5541
To promote the provision of exercise and fitness equipment that is
accessible to individuals with disabilities.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 18, 2014
Mr. Farr (for himself and Ms. Duckworth) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and
in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote the provision of exercise and fitness equipment that is
accessible to individuals with disabilities.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Exercise and Fitness For All Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Individuals with disabilities can maintain and improve
their health through appropriate physical activity.
(2) In the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans
(referred to as the ``Guidelines''), the Department of Health
and Human Services recommends that individuals with
disabilities, who are able, participate in regular aerobic
activity.
(3) The Guidelines also recommend that adults with
disabilities, who are able, do muscle-strengthening activities
of moderate or high intensity on 2 or more days a week, as
these activities provide additional health benefits.
(4) The Guidelines recommend that when adults with
disabilities are not able to meet the Guidelines, they should
engage in regular physical activity according to their
abilities and avoid inactivity.
(5) Unfortunately, many individuals with disabilities are
unable to engage in the recommended exercise or fitness
activities due to the inaccessibility of exercise or fitness
equipment.
(6) Physical inactivity by adults with disabilities can
lead to increased risk for functional limitations and secondary
health conditions.
(b) Purpose.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to encourage exercise and fitness service providers to
provide accessible exercise and fitness equipment for
individuals with disabilities; and
(2) to provide guidance about the requirements necessary to
ensure that such exercise and fitness equipment is accessible
to, and usable by, individuals with disabilities.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Access board.--The term ``Access Board'' means the
Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
established under section 502 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
(29 U.S.C. 792).
(2) Accessible exercise or fitness equipment.--The term
``accessible exercise or fitness equipment'' means exercise or
fitness equipment that is accessible to, and can be
independently used and operated by, individuals with
disabilities.
(3) Exercise or fitness equipment.--The term ``exercise or
fitness equipment'' means devices such as motorized treadmills,
stair climbers or step machines, stationary bicycles, rowing
machines, weight machines, circuit training equipment,
cardiovascular equipment, strength equipment, or other exercise
or fitness equipment.
(4) Exercise or fitness service provider.--The term
``exercise or fitness service provider'' means a gymnasium,
health spa, health club, college or university facility, or
other similar place of exercise or fitness that--
(A) is considered a public accommodation under
section 301 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 (42 U.S.C. 12181) or is considered a public entity
under section 201 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 12131); and
(B) provides exercise or fitness equipment for the
use of its patrons.
(5) Individual with a disability.--The term ``individual
with a disability'' means any person with a disability as
defined in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102).
(6) Individuals with disabilities.--The term ``individuals
with disabilities'' means more than one individual with a
disability.
SEC. 4. EXERCISE AND FITNESS ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES.
(a) Establishment of Guidelines.--Not later than 18 months after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Access Board shall develop and
publish guidelines for exercise or fitness service providers regarding
the provision of accessible exercise or fitness equipment, including
relevant personnel training.
(b) Contents of Guidelines.--The guidelines described in subsection
(a) shall--
(1) be consistent with the Standard Specification for
Universal Design of Fitness Equipment for Inclusive Use by
Persons with Functional Limitations and Impairments of the
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM F3021-13) (and
any future revisions thereto);
(2) ensure that--
(A) exercise or fitness equipment is accessible to,
and usable by, individuals with disabilities; and
(B) individuals with disabilities have independent
entry to, use of, and exit from the exercise or fitness
equipment, to the maximum extent possible; and
(3) take into consideration the following:
(A) Whether the exercise or fitness service
provider is a new or existing facility.
(B) Whether the exercise or fitness service
provider is staffed or not.
(C) Instruction and additional assistance on the
use of the accessible exercise or fitness equipment
(including specific accessibility features) for
individuals with disabilities.
(D) The size and overall financial resources of the
exercise or fitness service provider.
(E) The availability of closed captioning of video
programming displayed on equipment and televisions
provided by an exercise or fitness service provider.
(c) Review and Amendment.--The Access Board shall periodically
review and, as appropriate, amend the guidelines, and shall issue the
resulting guidelines as revised guidelines.
SEC. 5. TAX CREDIT FOR EXPENDITURES TO PROVIDE ACCESSIBLE EXERCISE OR
FITNESS EQUIPMENT.
(a) In General.--Paragraph (1) of section 44(c) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
(1) by striking ``paid or incurred by an eligible small
business'' and inserting ``paid or incurred--
``(A) by an eligible small business'',
(2) by striking ``section).'' and inserting ``section),
and'', and
(3) by inserting at the end the following:
``(B) by an eligible small business which is an
exercise or fitness service provider for the purpose of
providing for use by individuals with disabilities
accessible exercise or fitness equipment that meets the
guidelines established by the Access Board under
section 4 of the Exercise and Fitness for All Act.
Any term used in subparagraph (B) which is defined in section 3
of the Exercise and Fitness for All Act shall have the meaning
given such term in such section, as in effect on the date of
the enactment of such subparagraph.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to expenses paid or incurred in taxable years beginning after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
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