T.

6-27-97
JUL 11 1997

The Honorable Dianne Feinstein

United States Senate
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-0504

Dear Senator Feinstein:

I am responding to your letter requesting information on the

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) on behalf of your
constituent, XXX . Your letter was referred to
the Department of Justice by the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission. Please excuse the delay in responding.

Specifically, XXX requests information regarding

the ADA's requirements for access to public golf courses.
Although the ADA requirements do not currently include specific
accessibility standards for new construction or alterations of
the unique aspects of a golf course, other facilities like
restrooms, locker rooms, and restaurants must comply with the ADA
accessibility standards.

In addition, both title II and title III of the ADA require

that covered entities "make reasonable modifications in policies,
practices, or procedures," when necessary to avoid discrimination
on the basis of disability, unless it can show "that making the
modifications would fundamentally alter the nature" of the
service or activity. 28 C.F.R. SS 35.130 (b) (7), 36.302 (a).
Where a golf course does not provide nor allow golf carts or
where the course provides or allows golf carts on the site but
not in designated areas, the course may be required to modify its
policies in order to allow people with disabilities to
participate fully. For your convenience, I have enclosed a copy
of the regulations implementing titles II and III.

If XXX has any questions or needs additional

information regarding the requirements of the ADA, he may contact
the Department's ADA information line at 800-514-0301 (voice) or
800-514-0383 (TDD). Members of the Disability Rights Section
staff are available to answer questions on the information line
from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Eastern time, on Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, and Friday. On Thursday, the information line is
staffed from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
cc: Records, Chrono, Wodatch, Mercado, McDowney, FOIA
h:\hmercado\myfiles\drsletters\congressionals\boxer for XXX .wpd

-2-

I hope this information is useful to you in responding to

your constituent.

Sincerely,

Isabelle Katz Pinzler

Acting Assistant Attorney General
Civil Rights Division

Enclosures

Author: XXX
Date: 4/12/97 20:25
Priority: Normal
TO: senator at Fein-Int
Subject: Re: Information on ADA legislation
------------------------- Message Contents-------------------------------
Dear Senator Feinstein,
We are having a little problem at our local golf course in Twain Harte,
CA.
Our members are getting up in age and their is talk of having golf
carts on our little course. What it boils down to - We would like to
know: What does ADA legislation have to say about allowing golf carts
on public courses. Would it be possible that you could send me any
information on the bill that relates to golf courses? It would be
sincerely appreciated.
If the info would be adequate for e-mail, great. If not, snail
mail would have to do. We are having a board meeting this coming
Wednesday, April 16, 1997, and it would be great to have some info by
then. Thanks for your consideration.

Your Constituent, (and a Democrat)

XXX
Twain Harte, CA XXX
XXX