[NFBV-Announce] 2 Urgent Issues - Contact your Senators before August 7!

[Sarah Patnaude]

> From Deepa Goraya
NFBV Co-Legislative Director 
>  
> Hello everyone,
>  
> We have two urgent issues that we need your advocacy on: Sami’s Law and the Safe to Work Act. Info about these issues is below. We need you to contact your Senators before Friday, August 7, as the Senate will be going into recess on the 7th. If you email your senators, please copy Jeff Kaloc at jkaloc at nfb.org. It is recommended that you call or email the Legislative Director in your Senator’s office. There contact info is the following:
>  
> Nick Barbash is the Legislative Director for Senator Tim Kaine. His email is nick_barbash at kaine.senate.gov.
>  
> West Connors is the Legislative Director for Senator Mark Warner. His email Is west_connors at warner.senate.gov.
>  
> Sami’s Law (H.R. 4686): The NFB has endorsed Sami’s law, a bill which mandates certain requirements to make hailing a Uber or Lyft safer for all passengers. This bill requires ride-hailing drivers, like Uber and Lyft, to display front and rear license plates, a scannable quick response or similar code on the windows for riders to verify that they are entering the correct authorized vehicle, and illuminated signs that are visible in both day and night, and are readable from fifty feet. The bill also ensures the safety and security of blind passengers by making sure there is a nonvisual way to verify the authenticity of a ride-hail driver and vehicle. Specifically, the bill provides “a nonvisually accessible alternative... (a personal authentication number) to finding and scanning a QR code sticker; ensuring that the notification from a scanned QR code or correctly input personal authentication number creates a nonvisual ride confirmation; and, ensuring that all aspects of the transportation network company platforms are nonvisually accessible.” (See
> www.nfb.org › files › samis-law-hr-4686-support-letter
> ). The legislation includes a definition of nonvisual and nonvisually accessible for ride-hailing apps and technologies that will allow us to use them privately, independently, and with comparable ease of use. We are working with Representative Chris Smith (New Jersey), who has sponsored this legislation. The bill passed unanimously in the House by voice vote last week and has now been transmitted to the Senate for consideration, and we need to call or email every member of the Senate and urge them to pass Sami’s Law. More info about the bill and its House passage can be found at https://communitynews.org/2020/07/29/samis-law-rideshare-bill-passes-house-of-representatives/.
>  
> SAFE TO WORK Act (S. 4317): This bill is one of the newly proposed COVID-19 relief bills. It contains a section that would eliminate critical protections established in Titles I and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Please contact your senators and urge them to remove this harmful language from S. 4317. Below is a sample email you can send for both Sami’s Law and the Safe to Work Act:
>  
> "Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME], and I am a constituent of [SENATOR NAME]. I live in [CITY, STATE]. The House recently passed H.R. 4686, Sami’s Law. This bill will make it safer for all people, including blind people, to use rideshare companies, and I urge you to vote in favor of this legislation when it is considered in the Senate. Additionally, I would strongly urge you to propose an amendment to strike Section 181(a)(1)(G) and Section 181(b) from S. 4317, the SAFE TO WORK Act. The language currently contained in Section 181 critically weakens the protections for disabled Americans set forth in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Please ensure that the protections of the ADA are maintained by amending this legislation. Thank you.”
>  
> Thank you!
>  
> Deepa Goraya
> NFBV Co-Legislative Director
>  
> Deepinder K. Goraya, Esq.
>  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbv-announce_nfbnet.org/attachments/20200804/f2e3664d/attachment.html>