STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2720

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 1859

       H.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Human Services and Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 1859, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FUNDING FOR PARKING FOR DISABLED PERSONS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to help cover the costs of administering parking placards for persons with disabilities by increasing the annual vehicle registration fee by $1, which will be deposited into the Disability and Communication Access Board Special Fund.

     This measure also statutorily repeals the deposit of application fees for the credentialing of interpreters into the Disability and Communication Access Board Special Fund, and repeals the use of Special Fund moneys to cover the costs of administering the program for their credentialing.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, the Disability and Communication Access Board, the Policy Advisory Board for Elder Affairs, and eleven individuals.  Comments on this measure were submitted by the City and County of Honolulu Division of Motor Vehicle, Licensing and Permits.  Written testimony presented to the Committees may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

     Your Committees find that providing accessible parking to the disabled is an important part of providing services to the community, and with the growing number of aging persons in our population, the need for this service will be steadily increasing. Your Committees also find that a $1 increase in the annual vehicle registration fee is a reasonable and feasible way to continue to pay for this important service.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services and Health that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1859, H.D. 1, and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Human Services and Health,

____________________________ DAVID Y. IGE, Chair

____________________________ SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair