STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3469

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    GOV. MSG. NOS. 663, 664, 665, 666, 667, 668, 669, 670, 671

 

 

 

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred Governor's Message Nos. 663, 664, 665, 666, 667, 668, 669, 670, and 671, submitting for study and consideration the nominations of: 

 

Disability and Communication Access Board

 

G.M. No. 663

ED CHEVY,

for a term to expire 6-30-2015;

 

G.M. No. 664

DOROTHY FIFE,

for a term to expire 6-30-2015;

 

G.M. No. 665

ROBIN INABA,

for a term to expire 6-30-2015;

 

G.M. No. 666

ANN CHINEN ITO,

for a term to expire 6-30-2014;

 

G.M. No. 667

LANCE KANESHIRO,

for a term to expire 6-30-2015;

 

G.M. No. 668

TAMAR LANI,

for a term to expire 6-30-2015;

 

G.M. No. 669

GLENN NAKAMURA,

for a term to expire 6-30-2014;

 

G.M. No. 670

MICHAEL OKAMOTO,

for a term to expire 6-30-2014; and

 

G.M. No. 671

LAWRENCE SCADDEN,

for a term to expire 6-30-2014,

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     Your Committee has reviewed the personal histories, resumes, and statements submitted by the nominees and finds Ed Chevy, Dorothy Fife, Robin Inaba, Ann Chinen Ito, Lance Kaneshiro, Tamar Lani, Glenn Nakamura, Michael Okamoto, and Lawrence Scadden to possess the requisite qualifications to be nominated to the Disability and Communication Access Board.

 

ED CHEVY

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Ed Chevy from the Disability and Communication Access Board and one individual.

 

     Mr. Chevy has been an extremely active member of the deaf community for years.  His community work includes past and present membership on several boards, including Hawaii Services on Deafness, Aloha State Association of the Deaf, and a prior term on the Disability and Communication Access Board.  Mr. Chevy is also a member of a deaf rock band known as Beethoven's Nightmare, and is an active educator, speaker, and advocate at various venues.  Mr. Chevy uses American Sign Language, has contributed to the Disability and Communication Access Board's ability to test sign language interpreters, and will continue to bring valuable and experienced insight to the board.

 

DOROTHY FIFE

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Dorothy Fife from the Disability and Communication Access Board. 

 

     Ms. Fife is currently a manager at the City and County of Honolulu's Work Hawaii program and was a former administrator at the YWCA.  She has nearly twenty years of experience in administration and has much to share with regard to her professional expertise regarding employment, particularly employment for individuals with disabilities.  Ms. Fife currently represents the blind and visually impaired community on the Disability and Communication Access Board.

 

ROBIN INABA

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Robin Inaba from the Disability and Communication Access Board.

 

     Ms. Inaba is a licensed architect and has been involved in the design and construction of health care, resort, food service, retail, and office facilities that have required compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.  Ms. Inaba represents the island of Hawaii, is an avid proponent of accessible design, and has attended all of the Disability and Communication Access Board's design-related conferences and trainings.  She has served as an interim appointee to the board and participated consistently and enthusiastically on the board's Standing Committee on Facility Access based on her experiences in all aspects of the design and construction of the built environment.

 

ANN CHINEN ITO

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Ann Chinen Ito from the Disability and Communication Access Board, Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped, and four individuals.

 

     Ms. Ito is the Director of the KOKUA Program, which provides services to facilitate students with disabilities at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.  In 1996, she received the Willard Wilson Distinguished Service Award for her perseverance and success in building the KOKUA Program from a student volunteer activity to an integral facet of the university's structure based on respect for the individual.  Ms. Ito is currently a holdover member on the board and represents individuals who are blind or have low vision.

 

LANCE KANESHIRO

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Lance Kaneshiro from the Disability and Communication Access Board.

 

     Mr. Kaneshiro is a licensed architect who is also the Chair of the Standing Committee on Facility Access for the Disability and Communication Access Board.  His architectural expertise has been extremely valuable in policy decisions, setting guidelines, interpretive options, and recommendations on key issues, including the new State Building Code.

 

TAMAR LANI

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Tamar Lani from the Disability and Communication Access Board and one individual.

 

     Ms. Lani is a nationally certified sign language interpreter with fifteen years of professional experience, including ownership of a video relay service and video relay interpreting service for deaf and hard-of-hearing consumers.  The latter professional experience will be especially useful as the board will be reviewing the many new rules relating to technology and communication access.  Ms. Lani has served for a year as an interim appointee and is married to a deaf consumer.  There are currently no interpreters, captioners, or interpreter educators serving on the advisory board, and Ms. Lani offers a perspective that is not otherwise represented by the present appointees.

 

GLENN NAKAMURA

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Glenn Nakamura from the Disability and Communication Access Board.

 

     Mr. Nakamura has over thirty years of experience in management, including positions as a store manager, operations manager, and human resources director, which have frequently brought him into contact with civil rights laws.  Further, as an individual who has a disability and as a user of accessible parking spaces, Mr. Nakamura has been a strong advocate for appropriate parking stall design.  Mr. Nakamura has been an interim appointee since 2011 and a very active member of the Standing Committee on Parking.

 

MICHAEL OKAMOTO

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Michael Okamoto from the Disability and Communication Access Board, Next Design LLC, and one individual.

 

     Mr. Okamoto is a licensed architect and has nineteen years of experience.  Throughout his career, accessibility has always been an integral part of all his design projects.  Mr. Okamoto has served as an interim appointee on the Disability and Communication Access Board and has been very active in matters related to facility access.  His experience working on residential, commercial, health care, educational, and other types of new and renovated facilities has made him intimately familiar with the Americans with Disabilities Act's Standards for Accessible Design.

 

LAWRENCE SCADDEN

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Lawrence Scadden from the Disability and Communication Access Board and six individuals. 

 

     As a retired research scientist and administrator, Dr. Scadden remains one of the nation's foremost resources regarding technology for persons with disabilities.  He has worked at many prestigious facilities, including the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, United States Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Electronic Industries Foundation, and National Science Foundation, all of which has provided him with a preeminent breadth of knowledge.  Blind since age five, Dr. Scadden represents consumers who are blind or have low vision and also represents the island of Hawaii.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that are attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominees, has found the nominees to be qualified for the positions to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nominations.

 

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

 

 

 

____________________________

JOSH GREEN, M.D., Chair