Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 461 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to appropriate funds to the counties to administer the parking permit program for persons with disabilities.

The Disability and Communication Access Board, the City and County of Honolulu, the County of Hawaii, the Honolulu Police Department, and the Advocates for Consumer Rights all supported testimony in support of the measure.

Your Committee understands that there are many people in the State of Hawaii with disabled parking permits. Currently, these permits, in the form of id cards, placards, and license plates, are issued by the counties through an application process which encumbers administrative and overhead costs. However, the Federal Courts have ruled that charging disabled persons for these permits is illegal. Thus, the counties cannot recoup their losses and must absorb the expenses even though the State is statutorily mandated to administer this program.

Therefore, your Committee has agreed to pass this measure in order to allow the counties to recover some of their costs related to the issuance of these permits.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 461 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Finance.