STAND. COM. REP. NO. 609
Honolulu, Hawaii
S.D. 2
President of the Senate
Twenty-Fourth State Legislature
State of Hawaii
Madam:
Your Committee on Human Services and Public Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 426, S.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to facilitate interpreter services for the deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind.
Specifically, this measure makes an appropriation for a statewide interpreter referral service for public and private agencies and for persons who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf‑blind.
The Alii Interpreting Service, LLC; Disability and Communication Access Board; Hawaii Center for Independent Living; Hawaii Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf; Hawaii Services on Deafness, and eight individuals submitted testimony support of this measure. The Department of Human Services submitted testimony in support of the intent of this measure.
Your Committee finds that there are approximately six thousand deaf people statewide who use American Sign Language as their preferred method of communication. State agencies are often asked to provide a sign language interpreter in order to make public services accessible to deaf, hard-of-hearing, and deaf‑blind individuals. Since 1990, the number of requests for sign language interpreters has increased significantly and the provision of this service needs to be coordinated for both public and private agencies.
The Vocational Rehabilitation and Services for the Blind Division of the Department of Human Services has not had an increase in the annual appropriation for the interpreter referral program in over twenty years. The lack of funding has forced the Department of Human Services to limit the provision of services to state agencies on July 1, 2001.
This measure will provide the additional funds necessary to maintain interpreter referral services for both public and private agencies in order to achieve appropriate communication access for all citizens who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind.
Your Committee amended the appropriation made in this measure from $82,500 for fiscal year 2007-2008, and $27,500 for fiscal year 2008-2009, to $125,000, for each year of the 2007-2009 fiscal biennium. Your Committee further amended this measure to correct a typographical error.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services and Public Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 426, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 426, S.D. 2.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services and Public Housing,
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SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair |
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