my name is zachary nathan. i am a president of the rewachand -- richmond district. i will be discussing the following six topics. what is a casp, casp inspections, benefits of a casp instea -- inspection, results of a local surf break, and the status of the -- a local survey, and status. what is a casp? the california did our men -- division of the state architect trained experts in disability requirements known as certified access specialists. most are building inspectors, architects, contractors, engineers, and people with extensive background in access issues. they must meet minimum qualifications. they must pass a multiple choice test about codes and standards, access issues, planned -- plan review, and fill the shoes. they have to pay fees and there is a continuing education requirements. so that we keep abreast of what is happening in the field of disabled access. there is 430 casps in california but not all do access service. -- a casp survey of a public accommodation will result in one of two conclusions. either casp inspected or a casp determination pending

also, zachary nathan. and the attorney. special thanks to a number of business owners. i know that scott is here, representing a number of small businesses, but also season and ruspa for taking time away from their businesses to help shape this hearing. i wanted to ask it supervisor and president david chiu wanted to make opening remarks? supervisor chiu: thank you. first of all, i wanted to thank you for your work on this. this has been a problem city- wide. ever since i served on the small business commission, i have actually gotten to know some of our small business advocates. jason and others, because of their leadership on this issue over the years. we know that in recent years, small-business owners have seen an enormous increase in ada- related lawsuits. thousands of them in california. in san francisco, our office of small business and my office, we identified hundreds of businesses that have been sued in our city, including businesses that have had to shut their doors down. i want to perch -- first mention that i know that's supervisor mar as a great lineup of