U.S. Reps. Ken Calvert (R-CA) and Jay Obernolte (R-CA) on April 21 introduced a bipartisan bill that seeks to stop what they say are meritless lawsuits, while strengthening and clarifying Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations for small business owners.
Rep. Calvert sponsored the ACCESS Act of 2026, H.R. 8396, alongside three original cosponsors, including Rep. Obernolte and U.S. Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA), to amend the ADA to promote compliance through education, to clarify the requirements for demand letters, to provide for a notice and cure period before the commencement of a private civil action.
“As a former small business owner, I know that our job creators on Main Street face tremendous challenges to keep the doors open,” Rep. Calvert said. “Congress should be protecting small businesses from serial litigants trying to exploit laws, like the ADA, for personal gain.
“We can protect the disabled, small businesses, and the jobs they create by passing the ACCESS Act and giving owners a reasonable window of time to address any disabled access issues,” he added.
If enacted, H.R. 8396 states that any person aggrieved by a violation of the ADA would provide the owner or operator with a written notice of the violation, specific enough to allow the owner or operator to identify the barrier to their access.
Within 60 days, the owner or operator would be required to provide the aggrieved person with a description outlining improvements that would be made to address the barrier, and then the owner or operator would have 60 days to either fix the issue or make substantial progress towards fixing the issue.
The failure to meet any of these conditions would allow a lawsuit to go forward, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
“Too many small businesses are being targeted by predatory, drive-by lawsuits that do nothing to improve accessibility for the disabled,” said Rep. Obernolte. “This legislation restores common sense by giving business owners the chance to fix legitimate ADA issues before facing costly litigation. More lawsuits won’t solve this problem. Instead we need compliance, education, and real improvements that ensure accessibility for everyone.”
The American Booksellers Association, the Workplace Solutions Association, and the National Bicycle Dealers Association support the proposed bill, which has been referred for consideration to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.