STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2076

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2050

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Human Services and Public Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 2050 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE NUMBER OF BLIND, DEAF, AND DEAF-BLIND PERSONS IN THE STATE OF HAWAII,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds for a survey of the number of blind, deaf, and deaf-blind persons in the State of Hawaii.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by Hui O Na Makamaka Friends of the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped and one private citizen.  Oral testimony in support was provided by the Disability and Communication Access Board.

     Your Committee finds that the blind and deaf community in Hawaii is made up of contributing members of society and that more must be done to bridge existing communication gaps effectively.  Your Committee further finds that it is necessary to know whether adequate services are available to assist the blind and deaf community in Hawaii. 

     Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Expanding the survey to include comprehensive demographic data broken down by county as well as island, an evaluation of available services, and a needs assessment;

     (2)  Allowing the Department of Human Services to contract with the University of Hawaii to carry out the survey;

     (3)  Requiring that the survey be conducted in collaboration with the Department of Health and with the assistance of the Disability and Communication Access Board;

     (4)  Adding definitions for "deaf" and "blind"; and

     (5)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and style.

     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. 2050, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2050, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services and Public Housing,

____________________________

SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair