STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1900

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1009

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 1009, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MOVIE THEATERS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require a movie theater to provide at least two showings per week per movie offered with open movie captioning;

(2) Remove the option for a movie theater to provide lightweight eyewear to fulfill the open movie captioning requirement; and

(3) Make the open captioning requirement permanent by repealing the sunset date of Act 39, Session Laws of Hawaii 2015.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Language Access; State Council on Developmental Disabilities; Hawai‘i Civil Rights Commission; Hawai‘i State Commission on the Status of Women; Pono Hawai‘i Initiative; Comprehensive Service Center; Hawaii Interpreting Services; Filipinos for Affirmative Action; Isle Interpret, LLC; O‘ahu County Democrats Legislative Priorities Committee; and twenty-six individuals.

Your Committee finds that open movie captioning provides a display of text on a screen or other visual display that provides additional or interpretive information of what is being presented, which is particularly helpful for the deaf, deaf-blind, hard of hearing, limited English proficient persons, and English-language learners. Your Committee further finds that this measure will help ensure that members of the aforementioned communities will have full, equal, and nondiscriminatory access to and the opportunity to enjoy motion pictures.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1009, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

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

________________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair