STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2900

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 2226

       H.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 2226, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE OFFICE OF LANGUAGE ACCESS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds for three full-time equivalent permanent positions within the Office of Language Access.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Language Access; Office of Language Access Advisory Council; American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai‘i; Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness Research and Training; Hawai‘i Coalition for Immigrant Rights; Filipino American Citizens League; Hawai‘i Friends of Civil Rights; National Federation of Filipino American Associations, Region 12; Nursing Advocates and Mentors, Inc.; Hawaii Filipino Lawyers Association; Catholic Charities Hawai‘i; and five individuals.

     Your Committee finds that the Office of Language Access is charged with providing oversight, central coordination, and technical assistance to state and state-funded agencies in their implementation of language access compliance, which is a civil right under federal and state law.  While the Office of Language Access was initially able to provide much needed services and guidance to agencies as the agencies worked toward compliance with federal and state law, a reduction in staff has made it difficult for the Office of Language Access to provide adequate technical assistance and compliance monitoring that meet agencies' needs.

     Your Committee further finds that in the last few years, there has been an increase in legal action and compliance monitoring from civil rights divisions of various federal agencies.  Because there have been instances where state departments and county agencies have been subject to legal action for lack of compliance, your Committee finds that the services of the Office of Language Access in assisting state and state-funded agencies in understanding and meeting certain civil rights obligations to provide language access are critical in avoiding costly penalties and expenses or the loss of federal funding.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2226, H.D. 2, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committees on Judiciary and Labor and Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health,

________________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair