Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 1122 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to allow the Disability and Communication Access Board to assess applicant fees for sign language interpreter credentialing, and to retain the fees in a special fund to offset the cost of the credentialing/screening.

Your Committee received testimony in favor of this measure from the Disability and Communication Access Board, the Department of Human Services, Kapiolani Community College, the Hawaii Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, and an individual. Your Committee received testimony opposing this measure from the United Public Workers, AFSCME, Local 646, AFL-CIO.

Your Committee finds that there is a critical need for more credentialed sign language/English interpreters in Hawaii. Currently, there are only forty interpreters available to serve the entire State and that number is woefully inadequate. Therefore, establishing a special fund for the testing fees to be collected is necessary. This fund will allow the Disability and Communication Access Board access to the fees and any other moneys collected to support the credentialing process.

Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments to this measure for clarity.

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 is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1122, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1122, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.