TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Jeff Van Drew (D-Cape May) and Senator Sandra Bolden Cunningham (D-Hudson) that would help homeowners expedite the construction of wheelchair ramps was approved 5-0 today by the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee.
The bill (S-2401) would require a construction official to issue a permit within three business days of receiving an application for the installation of a wheelchair ramp on residential real property.
“Whether through accident or illness, families sometimes find themselves needing to add a wheelchair ramp to provide access to their home,” Senator Van Drew said. “Given everything else they must deal with when faced with such an unforeseen circumstance, they should not also be burdened with a long wait for the appropriate construction permits that would allow them to make their home wheelchair-accessible. This bill will make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“This is a quality-of-life issue,” Sen. Cunningham said. “Someone who needs a wheelchair ramp for access to their own home, or who needs to provide that access for a family member, is usually not in a situation where they can afford to wait for months or even weeks for permission to build one. We would cut that waiting time for a construction permit down to a matter of just a few days.”
The bill now moves to the full Senate for consideration.