STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2701

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2511

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2511, S.D. 1, entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish two permanent full-time equivalent positions within the Office of Language Access to assist state agencies and state-funded agencies in implementing the requirements of Hawaii's language access law.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Hawaii State Judiciary; Office of Language Access; Hawaii Civil Rights Commission; Filipino American Citizens League; Filipina Advocacy Network; Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu; Hawaii TESOL; Hawaii Friends of Civil Rights; Ho'omana Pono, LLC; OCC Legislative Priorities Committee, Democratic Party of Hawai'i; Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii; and five concerned individuals.

Your Committee finds that the Office of Language Access is understaffed and, as a result, has been unable to fully perform its statutorily mandated compliance and technical assistance functions. Accordingly, many state agencies have been unable to implement important aspects of their language access plans, and many individuals limited in English proficiency in Hawaii continue to lack meaningful access to government services, programs, and activities.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure; and

(2) Making technical nonsubstantive changes for purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2511, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2511, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair