STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3091

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.C.R. No. 163
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was
referred S.C.R. No. 163 entitled:

     "SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE GOVERNOR TO
     CONVENE A TASK FORCE TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A
     COMPREHENSIVE STATEWIDE PLAN FOR PLACING QUALIFIED PERSONS
     WITH DISABILITIES IN THE MOST INTEGRATED SETTING POSSIBLE
     AND TO KEEP WAITING LISTS THAT MOVE AT A REASONABLE PACE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to request the Governor to
convene a task force to develop and implement a comprehensive
statewide plan to address the issue of the State's compliance
with the integration mandate of Title II of the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA).

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure
from the Department of Human Services, Department of Health,
State Planning Council on Developmental Disabilities, Executive
Office on Aging, Disability and Communication Access Board, Arc
in Hawaii, and Healthcare Association of Hawaii.  Testimony in
opposition was received from the Attorney General.

     The ADA has been interpreted by the United States Supreme
Court to apply to the mentally retarded and mentally ill who are
confined in state-run institutions, despite the fact that their
treatment professional had determined that they could be
appropriately served in a community setting.  A similar case was
recently decided in Hawaii in the United States District Court in

 
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Makin, Mullen, et. al. v. Cayetano, in which Judge David Ezra
held that the integration mandate of the ADA applied to persons
at risk of institutionalization (although not yet living in
institutions), and that the State must have a comprehensive plan
to move persons off the wait lists for community services at a
reasonable pace.

     This measure is intended to facilitate and expedite the
Makin decision.  Your Committee believes that a task force
comprised of a broad sector of public and community service
agencies is necessary to achieve compliance with Makin.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Requesting the Governor to develop and implement a
          comprehensive statewide plan for placing qualified
          persons with disabilities in the most integrated
          setting possible and to keep waiting lists that move at
          a reasonable pace, and changing the title accordingly;

     (2)  Clarifying that many people with disabilities
          throughout history and throughout the country have been
          been institutionalized;

     (3)  Requiring that the organizations listed in the measure
          be integral participants in the development of the
          plan;

     (4)  Deleting the paragraphs referencing Title II, the
          dilemma faced by persons with disabilities in choosing
          where to live, and the Makin case; and

     (5)  Deleting the requirement that the task force include
          representatives of the Department of Health, Department
          of Human Services, and Housing and Community
          Development Corporation of Hawaii and instead adding
          them to the list of participants.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Health and Human Services that is attached to this
report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of
S.C.R. No. 163, as amended herein, and recommends that it be
referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, in the form attached
hereto as S.C.R. No. 163, S.D. 1.


 
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                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Health and Human
                                   Services,



                                   ______________________________
                                   SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair

 
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