Owen Bastille

Dear Honorable Chair and Committee Members, My name is Owen Bastille. I am a member of the public and a resident of Dover, NH. I am writing to urge you to Support HB1593, which HB 1593 would put the protections of Section 504, the federal law that prohibits disability discrimination in schools, healthcare, housing, employment, and public services, into New Hampshire state law. That means if the federal government cannot or will not enforce these rights, New Hampshire still can. As someone diagnosed with multiple learning and developmental disabilities as a child, I am well aware how much I have directly benefited from the protections Section 504 provided. My life trajectory and adult life would have been intensely limited without that support. Without access to the protections from Section 504 I would not: • Have been able to attend college nor obtain my bachelor’s (I had a 504 plan all 5+ years) • Be able to even entertain getting a master’s without support (some professors already violate this law but many more will if there are no legal repercussions) • Get the reasonable accommodations I need to perform my current jobs effectively • Have access to employment programs like NH Voc Rehab that are vital for career advancement • Be able to advocate for my needs when going through the job application process without risking automatic rejection And many others I did not listed here. The point is disabilities do not just affect one aspect of our lives so when you take away our rights to pursue discrimination you are taking away our access to a full and free life. The federal government has already threatened to or has outright dismantled programs that actively support the disability community. The administration has proven that they do not share our belief that the disability community has the right to live a full independent life with the same access to education, healthcare, housing, employment, and public services as everyone else. Having these rights enshrined by BOTH state and federal law will give myself and others in NH’s disability community the confidence to advocate for our needs without worry of retaliation or denial based on prior assumptions! Please vote “YES” on HB1593 and help secure the disability community’s rights to a full life in NH! This bill is not about politics. It is about making sure that our rights are protected no matter what happens at the federal level. Sincerely, Owen Bastille