2020 Georgia Code
Title 30 - Handicapped Persons
Chapter 3 - Access to and Use of Public Facilities by Persons With Disabilities
- § 30-3-1. Purpose and Intent of Chapter
- § 30-3-2. Definitions
- § 30-3-3. Applicable Standards and Specifications; Granting of Exemptions
- § 30-3-3.1. Redesignated
- § 30-3-4. Covered Multifamily Dwellings; Building Entrance on Accessible Route Required; Applicable Standards and Specifications
- § 30-3-4.1. Redesignated
- § 30-3-5. Specific Amenities Required to Be Provided
- § 30-3-6. Parking Lot Spaces
- § 30-3-7. Administration and Enforcement of Chapter
- § 30-3-8. Penalty
- § 30-3-9. Effectiveness of Chapter in Relation to Federal Law
- Department of Transportation aid for transportation services for elderly and disabled persons, § 49-2-13.1.
Editor's notes.- Ga. L. 1981, p. 1469, set forth a resolution as to enactment, adoption, and promulgation of ordinances and resolutions by political subdivisions "with a view towards making it as easy as possible for handicapped persons to live in a manner similar to other citizens of this state with particular emphasis on residences for handicapped citizens."
Ga. L. 1984, p. 1255, § 1, effective July 1, 1984, repealed the Code sections formerly codified at this chapter and enacted the current chapter. The former chapter consisted of §§ 30-3-1 through30-3-19 and was based on Ga. L. 1972, p. 750, §§ 1, 2, and 5 through 22; Ga. L. 1977, p. 552, §§ 1, 2, and 4 through 6; Ga. L. 1981, p. 1779, § 10; and Ga. L. 1982, p. 3, § 30.
Law reviews.- For note, "Breaking the Binary: Desegregation of Bathrooms," see 36 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 381 (2020).
OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Waiver of standards.
- Standards may be waived by the appropriate authority upon a showing of impracticality or lack of necessity. 1984 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 84-61.
Extent of accessibility in buildings.- Every floor or every room of every building subject to O.C.G.A. Title 30, Ch. 3 must be accessible to the handicapped, provided that the floor or room in question is used by the public or might be a place of employment for an elderly or handicapped citizen. 1984 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 84-61.
Bathroom accessibility.- If on every floor made accessible to the handicapped, one bathroom is made accessible to the handicapped, all other bathrooms on that floor must also be made accessible to the handicapped, unless the requirement is waived. 1984 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 84-61.
Elevators.- An elevator is not required in all buildings subject to O.C.G.A. Title 30, Ch. 3 which are two stories or more in height, although as a practical matter the requirement of handicap accessibility will often have to be met by the installation of elevators. 1984 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 84-61.
Hospital rooms.
- The "temporary lodging unit" exemption in former O.C.G.A. § 30-3-2(5) (see now O.C.G.A. § 30-2-5(8)) could properly be relied upon by a private hospital, although care should be taken to ensure that a patient was placed in a disabled access room or ward if the patient or his or her visitors were disabled. 1984 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 84-61.
Jail cells.- Although the "temporary lodging unit exemption" by its terms does not apply to government funded facilities, including jails and hospitals, a jail cell is not "used by the public" and so does not fall within the general terms of O.C.G.A. Title 30, Ch. 3. 1984 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 84-61.
Places of worship are not exempt from the requirements of O.C.G.A. Title 30, Chapter 3. 1995 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 95-20.
RESEARCH REFERENCES
ALR.
- Validity and construction of state statutes requiring construction of handicapped access facilities in buildings open to public, 82 A.L.R.4th 121.
