STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3542

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.C.R. No. 67

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Judiciary and Labor and Tourism and Government Operations, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 67 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING THE LEGISLATURE TO DECLARE SEPTEMBER AS LANGUAGE ACCESS MONTH,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is designate September 2008 as Language Access Month to raise awareness of the language access laws and the provision of equal access to state and state-funded government services.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Language Access, Filipino American Citizens League, Filipino-American Historical Society of Hawaii, Filipino Coalition for Solidarity, Hawaii Interpreter Action Network, National Federation of Filipino American Associations, Nursing Advocates & Mentors, Inc., Oahu Filipino Community Council, Philippine Nurses Association-Hawaii, and United Filipino Council of Hawaii.

     According to the 2000 Census, 290,000 of Hawaii's 1,200,000 people, or approximately twenty-four per cent of the population, speak a language other than English at home, including over 250,000 persons who speak an Asian or Pacific Island language.  For this portion of Hawaii’s population for whom English is not their primary language and who have identified themselves as having limited English proficiency ("LEP"), language is a barrier that often prohibits them from fully participating in the community and undermines their efforts to become self-sufficient and productive.

     In 2006, the Legislature recognized and acknowledged that language is a barrier for LEP individuals living in Hawaii and enacted Hawaii's language access law.  As a result of Hawaii’s language access law, the Office of Language Access was established to promote equal access and full participation for persons with limited English proficiency through oversight, coordination, and technical assistance to state and state-funded entities and by reviewing and monitoring language access plans.  The Office of Language Access indicated in testimony that the feasibility study can be funded from existing resources.

     Your Committees have amended this measure on the recommendation of the Office of Language Access to request a feasibility study by the Office on establishing a statewide centralized language access resource center and a report to the 2009 Legislature. Accordingly, the title of this measure was also amended.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Labor and Tourism and Government Operations that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 67, as amended herein, and recommend its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 67, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Judiciary and Labor and Tourism and Government Operations,

____________________________ CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair

____________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair