STAND. COM. REP. NO.  652

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2013

RE:   H.B. No. 266

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 266, H.D. 1, entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to enhance language access in Hawaii for those individuals whose primary language is not English.  Specifically, this bill:

     (1)  Requires the Office of Language Access, in collaboration with other state agencies, to implement a Multilingual Website Pilot Project to improve language access to information provided online for limited English proficient persons seeking information about government and government-funded services in the State of Hawaii;

     (2)  Requires the Executive Director of the Office of Language Access to administer a Statewide Language Access Resource Center to address the interpretation and translation needs of the state; and

     (3)  Provides appropriations for the Statewide Language Access Resource Center and the Multilingual Website Pilot Project. 

The Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice, Catholic Charities Hawaii, Congress of Visayan Organizations, Office of Language Access Advisory Council, and several concerned individuals testified in support of this bill.  The Office of Language Access, Office of Information Management and Technology, and Hawaii Interpreter Action Network provided comments.  

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 266, H.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

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

____________________________

SYLVIA LUKE, Chair