CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 161-12

Honolulu, Hawaii

                 , 2012

RE:    S.B. No. 2435

       S.D. 1

       H.D. 1

       C.D. 1

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sirs:

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 2435, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO INFORMATION ACCESS,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

     The purpose of this measure is to:

     (1)  Require the Vocational Rehabilitation and Services for the Blind Division of the Department of Human Services to develop a program that charges and collects a reasonable fee to enable individuals who are not blind, visually-impaired, or print-disabled to access newspapers, magazines, and television listings twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, by means of a touch-tone telephone, the Internet, or by downloading the electronic information to a digital talking book player on MP3 playing device; and

     (2)  Appropriate funds for the Vocational Rehabilitation and Services for the Blind Division to maintain a telephone-based audible information access service.

     Your Committee on Conference finds that it is essential to provide access to the Newsline service to print-disabled clients, including those who are blind, visually impaired, dyslexic, or have learning disabilities.

     Your Committee on Conference also finds that access to the Newsline service is already available for persons on Oahu.  This measure provides funds to the Vocational Rehabilitation and Services for the Blind Division of the Department of Human Services to maintain a telephone-based audible information access service on the neighbor islands.

     Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting the language that required the Vocational Rehabilitation and Services for the Blind Division to develop a program for access to newspapers, or print-disabled to access newspapers, magazines, and television listings by certain individuals;

     (2)  Adding a proviso to the appropriation that the Vocational Rehabilitation and Services for the Blind Division's contract for services be with a Hawaii affiliate of a national organization that meets certain requirements;

     (3)  Inserting an appropriation amount of $80,000; and

     (4)  Changing the effective date from July 1, 2030, to July 1, 2012.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2435, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2435, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

____________________________ JOHN M. MIZUNO, Co-Chair	____________________________ SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair
____________________________ RYAN I. YAMANE, Co-Chair
____________________________ JO JORDAN, Co-Chair