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Policy UpdatesNew!
Disability
ADA Restoration Act (H.R. 3195)
The bill, introduced by Representative Steny Hoyer (joined by 181 cosponsors) on July 26, 2007, amends the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Key provisions are as follows:
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Requires that a determination of whether an individual has a disability shall not consider the impact of any mitigating measures or whether any manifestations of an impairment are episodic, in remission, or latent. “Mitigating measures” includes anything used to eliminate, mitigate, or compensate for the effect of an impairment including medications, personal aids and devices, reasonable accommodations, and auxiliary aids or services.
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Specifies that any action taken by a covered entity because of an individual’s use of a mitigating measure or because of a side effect or other consequence of use of a measure shall be considered actions taken on the basis of a disability under the ADA.
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Amends a number of definitions. Physical impairment means any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more body systems. Mental impairment is defined as any mental or psychological disorder such as mental retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, or any specific learning disability. “Regarded as having a physical or mental impairment” is defined as “perceived or treated as having a physical or mental impairment whether or not the individual has an impairment.”
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Mandates that the provisions of the Act must be broadly construed to ensure that it achieves its purpose of providing a comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability.
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Orders the Attorney General to promulgate regulations and guidance in alternate accessible formats that implement the provisions of the Act. The EEOC and the Secretary of Transportation are then required to issue “appropriate implementing directives” based on the regulations and guidance issued by the Attorney General.
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Removes from the original definition of disability in the ADA the requirement that a physical or mental impairment “substantially limits one or more of the major life activities” of an individual.
Upon introduction, the bill was referred for consideration to the following committees: Education and Labor, Judiciary, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Energy and Commerce.
Click here to view/download the bill text.
Firearms
NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007
On June 13, the House passed H.R. 2640, the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007, which proposes to implement changes to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). As currently written, the Act would allow grantee States receiving a National Criminal History Improvement (NCHIP) Grant to be eligible to receive a maximum two-year waiver of the 10 percent matching requirement, and provides six new NICS-related purpose areas for implementation of NCHIP.
To qualify for the match waiver, a grantee State would have to make electronically available to the Attorney General all records relevant to a determination of whether a person is disqualified from possessing or receiving a firearm under 18 U.S.C. Sec. (g) or (n) or applicable State law, regardless of the age of the record. Grantee states would have to certify that at least 90 percent of these records have been made electronically available, and would have to update, correct, modify, or remove a record upon being made aware that it does not apply or no longer applies. The Act would also provide for work between the Department of Justice and States, local law enforcement, and the mental health community to establish regulations and protocols to ensure that the privacy of any information provided is maintained.
In order to qualify for funds, a grantee State must, among other things, establish a relief from disabilities program that allows a person prohibited from possessing or purchasing a firearm due to 18 U.S.C. Sec. 922(g)(4) [adjudicated as a "mental defective" or committed to a mental institution] to apply to the State for relief from the firearm disability, and that the relief shall be granted if the circumstances regarding the firearm disability and the person's record and reputation are such that the person would not be likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety and that the granting of the relief would not be contrary to the public interest.
The bill was received by the Senate on June 14 and was referred to the Judiciary Committee.
Click here to view/download the bill text.
New!
Firearms and Mental Illness: State and Territorial Code Provisions
In the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, the Center has created a matrix that contains all state and U.S. territorial statutory provisions addressing firearms and mental illness. The matrix was created primarily for use by domestic violence coalitions, local programs, and others who represent or work with survivors of domestic violence and their children who are looking for firearm prohibition laws that might apply to an abuser who has a mental illness.
Click here to view/download the matrix.
New!
Mental Health Parity
Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007 (H.R. 1424)
The bill, as introduced in March 2007, would outlaw limits on mental health and substance abuse treatment limits. If passed, it would also prohibit the imposition of financial requirements on group health plan benefits that are not imposed on medical and surgical benefits. The bill provides for the study of the effect of the bill on a number of factors including the cost of health insurance, access to health insurance, the quality of health care, and state and local mental health and substance abuse treatment spending. An amended version of the bill was approved by the House Education and Labor Committee on July 18. The bill must now be approved by the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Ways and Means Committee.
Domestic Violence and Suicide
The Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence recently released an extensive report on domestic violence homicide in Washington State. Entitled If I Had One More Day: Findings and Recommendations from the Washington State Domestic Violence Fatality Review, this extensive report includes a chapter on suicide and domestic violence as well as recommendations to prevent domestic violence and improve existing programs and practices.
Mental Illness Among Prison and Jail Inmates
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