b'LEGISLATIVE REPORTLEGISLATIVE State Disability LawsCan Go Beyond Federal ADAED WELCH // PVA LEGISLATIVE DIRECTORT he federal Americans with Disabilitiesnumerouschallengestothepassengervesselmandates.PVAvesseloperatorsperiodically Act (ADA) applies to U.S.-flagged pas- operator, but for the most part, PVA vesselconsult with PVA staff and the PVA Legal Ho-senger vessels of all types. It presentsmembers have been able to comply with itstline about their obligations under the ADA.PVAmemberswhooperatevesselsinsome states and cities must also be knowledgeable about disability rights laws of those jurisdic-tions. These states and cities are perfectly with-in their rights to enact their own statutes. The federal ADA does not preempt them.Members who operate vessels in some states and cities must also be knowledgeable about disability rights laws of those jurisdictions. It is surprising to some, but nonetheless true, that the American with Disabilities Act does not permit the payment of monetary damages to a successful plaintiff. A court can provide in-junctive relief to a winning suitor, ordering the defendant to correct or cease the discriminato-ry action. The court also has the discretion of allowing the prevailing plaintiff to collect rea-sonable attorneys fees. But neither compensa-tory or punitive damages are permitted under the federal ADA in a private lawsuit.This is not the case with certain state or local laws. Not all states have their own disability rights laws. But of those that do, several enable a successful plaintiff to receive monetary dam-ages for an accessibility violation.Stateswiththeirowndisabilityrightslaws includeCalifornia,NewYork,andOregon.New York City has two separate laws that ad-dress accessibility of passenger vessels.In California, the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Civ-il Code Section 51) and the California Disabled PersonsAct(CivilCodeSections54-55.32) enable a plaintiff in a disability act case to seek FOGHORN 28'