Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1647, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds to provide individuals who are blind or visually impaired with telephonic access to time-sensitive information.

Specifically, this bill allows the universal service program to provide toll-free telephonic access to time-sensitive information for blind or visually impaired individuals and to allow the universal service fund to pay for such access. Finally, the bill appropriates general funds for fiscal year 2003-2004 and fiscal year 2004-2005 to provide this access.

Your Committee finds that, since 2000, eligible blind and disabled Oahu residents have been able to access the National Federation of the Blind-Newsline telephonic reading service at no cost. The Newsline service uses high-speed computers and telecommunications technology to electronically scan and "read" the daily newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and other types of time-sensitive reading materials, upon demand. States are charged a flat monthly fee, ranging from $43,000 to $65,000, regardless of the number of users accessing the service.

Start-up funding was provided through private grants. Subsequently, federal funding was received under the Library Services and Technology Act for a one-year demonstration project, allowing the expansion of the Newsline program to the neighbor islands. However, federal funding will terminate on or about March 2003.

Your Committee has amended this bill by changing the appropriation amounts to blank amounts for the purpose of promoting further discussion. Your Committee also amended this bill to change subsection "(e)" to "(f)" on page 8, line 5, to remain internally consistent with amendments made to section 269-42, Hawaii Revised Statutes. Finally, your Committee corrected the spelling of utilities on section 4, page 8, line 17.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1647, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1647, S.D. 2.