By: Hall, Eckhardt  S.C.R. No. 48
         (In the Senate - Filed April 28, 2023; May 4, 2023, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Administration;
  May 16, 2023, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 7,
  Nays 0; May 16, 2023, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
 
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 
  WHEREAS, Justin Dart Jr. made a lasting, positive difference
  in the lives of countless Americans through his work to empower
  people with disabilities; and
         WHEREAS, Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1930, Justin Dart
  contracted polio in 1948; he found his purpose after beating a grim
  prognosis of imminent death; his legs paralyzed, he relied on a
  wheelchair for mobility and gained a deep understanding of the
  challenges faced by others as well; after graduating from the
  University of Houston, where he earned both a bachelor's degree and
  a master's degree in history, he embarked on a business career; and
         WHEREAS, After working with Tupperware Japan, Mr. Dart
  settled in Texas in 1974, and six years later, he was named to the
  Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities; he served as its
  inaugural chair, and in 1981, he was also appointed vice chair of
  the National Council on Disabilities by President Ronald Reagan;
  the council drafted a policy to end centuries of discrimination,
  laying the groundwork for the Americans with Disabilities Act; at
  the end of the decade, as chair of the Congressional Task Force on
  the Rights and Empowerment of Americans with Disabilities, Mr. Dart
  helped craft the language of the ADA; he then barnstormed across the
  country to galvanize support for the legislation, visiting each
  state five times and addressing crowds in his trademark cowboy hat
  and boots; President George H. W. Bush signed the ADA into law on
  July 26, 1990; and
         WHEREAS, Along the way, Mr. Dart further served as
  commissioner of the Education Department's Rehabilitation Service
  Administration, as chair of the president's Committee on Employment
  of People with Disabilities, as president-elect of the National
  Rehabilitation Association, and as a member of the National Council
  on Disability; in 1998, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of
  Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor; he died on June 22,
  2002, at the age of 71; and
         WHEREAS, Often called one of the fathers of the ADA, Justin
  Dart was widely known for his rallying cry, "Lead On!"; his
  visionary activism effected transformative change for people with
  disabilities, and it would be most fitting to name the new transit
  amenity center at 207 W. 14th Street in the Capitol Complex the
  "Lead On! Transit Amenity" in his honor; now, therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas
  hereby direct the Texas Facilities Commission to name the new
  transit amenity center at 207 W. 14th Street in the Capitol Complex
  the "Lead On! Transit Amenity" in honor of Justin Dart; and, be it
  further
         RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward an official
  copy of this resolution to the chair and executive director of the
  Texas Facilities Commission.
 
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