Pennsylvania SR 236: A Resolution designating the month of March 2026 as "Disabilities Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania.

Bill Text

PRINTER'S NO. 1480
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No. 236
Session of
2026
INTRODUCED BY TARTAGLIONE, MALONE, STREET, SCHWANK, KIM,
J. WARD, MARTIN, HUGHES, COMITTA, HAYWOOD, FONTANA, LAUGHLIN,
KANE, PENNYCUICK, CAPPELLETTI, COSTA, HUTCHINSON,
L. WILLIAMS, DUSH, CULVER AND VOGEL, MARCH 2, 2026
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, MARCH 2, 2026
A RESOLUTION
Designating the month of March 2026 as "Disabilities Awareness
Month" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, On October 27, 1955, the Pennsylvania General
Assembly passed the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, which
prohibited discrimination in the areas of employment, housing
and public accommodations on the basis of race, color, familial
status, religious creed, ancestry, handicap or disability, age,
sex and national origin; and
WHEREAS, On September 26, 1973, the Congress of the United
States passed the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which was the
precursor to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act
of 1990, and prohibited the Federal Government, as an employer,
from discriminating against qualified individuals with
disabilities; and
WHEREAS, On July 26, 1990, President George H. W. Bush signed
into law the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which
served as the world's first comprehensive civil rights law for
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individuals with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, nearly 1 in 4 adults, or approximately 61 million
adults, in the United States have a disability and, in this
Commonwealth, approximately 26%, or an estimated 2.7 million
adults, have a disability; and
WHEREAS, According to the World Bank, people with
disabilities are more likely to experience adverse socioeconomic
outcomes, such as less education, poorer health outcomes, lower
levels of employment and higher poverty rates; and
WHEREAS, According to the United States Bureau of Labor
Statistics, only 21.3% of working-age Americans with a
disability are employed, as compared to 65.4% of working-age
Americans without a disability; and
WHEREAS, This disparity presents a quality-of-life issue
since the estimated poverty rate of working-age individuals with
disabilities in this Commonwealth was 28%, as compared to 9.4%
for working-age individuals without a disability; and
WHEREAS, Although the act of fostering awareness about the
issue of this Commonwealth's disabled population is important,
the real objective is to ensure that Pennsylvanians with
disabilities receive the dignity, respect and accommodations
that they deserve; and
WHEREAS, The purpose of this resolution is to recognize the
prevalence of the systemic inequities that exist within our
society pertaining to the treatment of our residents with
disabilities, as well as to acknowledge the many invaluable
efforts that have been made throughout the history of our nation
to institute civil protections for all Americans; therefore be
it
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RESOLVED, That the Senate designate the month of March 2026
as "Disabilities Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That the Senate encourage all Pennsylvanians to
learn about the many unique challenges confronting this
Commonwealth's residents who are disabled and assume the task of
fostering a greater degree of awareness and education regarding
this critically important subject.
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