Two bills dealing with disability issues were defeated in the final days of the 2009 Utah legislative session.
Clay’s Law, or Senate Bill 43, would have required insurers to offer a plan that included coverage for treatment of autism spectrum disorders. House Bill 370 Substitute would have allowed some of the fines collected for a disabled parking violation to be used for programs for the employment of people with disabilities.
Both were placed in defeated bill files on March 12.
March is Brain Injury Awareness Month, so this is a good time to revisit the supports available to people who have sustained traumatic brain injuries. A featured story by contributors Skylor Pond and Erica Mills shows what the CPD is doing to inform individuals, their families and professionals about TBI.
For more information on traumatic brain injury, visit the websites of the Brain Injury Association of Utah and the Brain Injury Association of America.
Except for mission-critical services, the Center for Persons with Disabilities will close from March 9 through March 13. This is due to budget cuts, which resulted in a campus-wide, mandatory unpaid furlough at Utah State University.
Though the Up To 3 office will be closed, the program will still provide services.
The Bear River Activity and Skills Center facility will be open and fully staffed. The Disability Support Center for Families in Salt Lake City will be open as well.
Enjoy your spring break. The CPD reopens on Monday, March 16.
House Bill 370 would modify provisions relating to violations of parking spaces for people with disabilities. These provisions would “increase the fine for a disabled parking violation [and] provide that a portion of the fines and forfeitures collected … be allocated to the Department of Human Resource Management to administer certain programs for the employment of people with disabilities….” As of February 27, 2009 House Bill 370 was read for the third time in the House and was sent to the Rules Committee.
Its chief sponsor is Steven R. Mascaro of West Jordan, Utah.
This blog has already featured a WebAIM survey that tapped the opinions of 1100 people who use assistive technology to read a computer screen. The survey’s authors gleaned information that will guide their work on web accessibility, after quizzing screen reader users on their habits and preferences.
Some of the survey results surprised the research team. Surprising, too, is the response to their work in the blogosphere. “WebAIM screen reader survey” brings up 194,000 results on Google, and the first five pages turn up more than 25 different blogs that mention the survey’s findings.
This buzz is from corporate, governmental, educational and private sources. Some blog authors were on other continents. Congratulations to the team of researchers, who not only found answers but added to the conversation on web accessibility.
