Expands the protection against discrimination by the State against a person with disabilities and expands the coverage to include counties.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. The State of Hawaii believes in equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self—sufficiency for individuals with disabilities. The purpose of this Act is to strengthen current state law, in order to assure individuals with disabilities equal access to state and county government services, programs, and activities. This includes services, programs, and activities provided by or on behalf of the State or counties by private entities.

Public entities shall operate their programs, services, or activities so that, when viewed in their entirety, they are readily accessible to and useable by individuals with disabilities. The legislature confirms that to deny a qualified individual with a disability access to a state or county program, service, or activity is discrimination under the law. SECTION 2. Section 368-1.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§368—1.5 [Programs] State and county services, programs, and activities receiving state or county financial assistance. (a) No [otherwise] qualified individual in the State [shall], [solely] by reason of [his or her] disability, shall be excluded from [the] participation in, be denied the benefits [of], services, programs, or activities of, or be subjected to discrimination by any state [agencies,] or county agency, or [under] by any service, program or activity receiving state or county financial assistance.

For an individual with a disability to enjoy equal access to and participate in a public program, service, or activity, the public entity may need to:

The public entity may not impose a surcharge on a particular individual with a disability or any group of individuals with disabilities to cover the cost of measures, such as the provision of auxiliary aids, barrier removal, and reasonable modification to policies, practices or procedures that are required to provide that individual or group with the nondiscriminatory treatment required.

(b) As used in this section[, the term]:

["disability"] "Disability" means the state of having a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, having a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment.

"Public entity" means any department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of the State or any county.

"Qualified individual with a disability" means an individual with a disability who meets the essential eligibility requirements of the program, service, or activity offered by the public entity. The "essential eligibility requirements" depend on the type of service or activity involved.

[(c) As used in this section, "state"] "State or county financial assistance" means grants, purchase—of-service contracts, or any other arrangement by which the State or county provides or otherwise makes available assistance in the form of funds to an entity for the purpose of rendering services on behalf of the State or county. It does not include procurement contracts, state insurance or guaranty contracts, licenses, tax credits, or loan guarantees to private businesses of general concern that do not render services on behalf of the State or county.

(c) Pursuant to section 368—3(9) and chapter 91, the civil rights commission shall adopt rules to carry out this section."

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.