STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1690

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2009

RE:   S.B. No. 1183

      S.D. 2

      H.D. 2

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 1183, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to increase employment protections for persons with disabilities by requiring the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission (HCRC) to adopt administrative rules to conform state law to recently amended federal law that strengthens protections against disability discrimination in employment.

     The HCRC supported this bill.  The State Council on Developmental Disabilities and Disability and Communication Access Board supported the intent of this measure.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

     (1)  Codifying the requirement that HCRC adopt rules defining or amending certain operative terms to conform state protections against disability discrimination in employment to federal law;

     (2)  Requiring HCRC, within one year from the effective date of any federal statutory revision to a relevant definition, to adopt, amend, or repeal rules to reflect any amendments to state statutes that were required to conform to the federal statutory revisions; and

     (3)  Changing the effective date to January 1, 2046, to encourage further discussion; and

     (4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1183, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1183, S.D. 2, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

____________________________

JON RIKI KARAMATSU, Chair