SB2573 SD1

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the board of education has begun to webcast live streaming audio of its meetings. The University of Hawaii board of regents, however, has not instituted a similar practice with respect to its meetings.

The legislature further finds that when the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law in 1990, webcasting and streaming video were not significant aspects of the cultural milieu in the United States. In 2010, a lawsuit was brought against Netflix by the National Association of the Deaf, alleging that Netflix was discriminating against deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers under the Americans with Disabilities Act because not all of their online streaming video had closed captions. The defendant argued that their business practices fell under the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act instead the Americans with Disabilities Act. The court found that these two laws are not mutually exclusive. Compliance with the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act does not necessarily preclude potential legal action based on possible violations of Americans with Disabilities Act. As part of a consent decree, Netflix agreed to caption one hundred per cent of their video beginning in 2014. Because the case was settled by means of a consent decree rather than a judicial ruling there remains room for a difference of legal opinion on the matter of online media content accessibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The purpose of this Act is to require the board of regents to:

(1) Begin livestreaming audio and archiving on its website all board of regents and board of regents standing committee meetings;

(2) On September 1, 2020, begin livestreaming video and archiving on its website all board of regents meetings; and

(3) Move expeditiously to ascertain its obligations and best practices that should be implemented in complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act in regard to the accessibility of webcasting and streaming video streaming of board of regents and board of regents standing committee meetings.

SECTION 2. Section 304A-104, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§304A-104 Regents; appointment; tenure; qualifications; meetings. (a) The affairs of the university shall be under the general management and control of the board of regents. The board shall consist of eleven members who shall be appointed by the governor from lists of qualified candidates presented to the governor by the candidate advisory council, pursuant to section 304A-104.6, and shall be confirmed by the senate; provided that if the list of qualified candidates includes fewer than three candidates at any time during the nomination and confirmation process, the governor may request that the candidate advisory council reopen recruitment for qualified candidates. Members may be removed by the governor. Except as otherwise provided by law, state officers shall be eligible for appointment and membership.

The term of each member shall be five years, except as provided for the initial appointment in section 26-11; provided that the term of the student member shall be two years. Every member may serve beyond the expiration date of the member's term of appointment as a holdover member until the member's successor has been appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate in accordance with article X, section 6 of the Hawaii State Constitution; provided that, notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a holdover member shall not serve as a member of the board beyond the end of the first regular session of the legislature following the expiration of the member's term. Members shall serve no more than two consecutive five-year terms; provided that the members who are initially appointed to terms of two years or less pursuant to section 26-11(a) may be reappointed to two ensuing five-year terms. If a member is to be appointed to a second term of five years, the senate shall consider the question of whether to reconfirm the member at least one hundred twenty days prior to the conclusion of a member's first five-year term; provided that if the senate is not in session within one hundred twenty days prior to the conclusion of the member's first five-year term, the member shall continue to serve until the senate convenes for the next regular session or the next special session for which the senate is authorized to consider the question of reconfirmation.

(b) In determining whether to confirm the governor's nominee to the board of regents, the senate shall consider the combination of abilities, breadth of experiences, and characteristics of the board of regents, as a whole, that will best serve the diverse interests and needs of the students of the university system and assist the university system in achieving its strategic goals and performance indicators. The senate shall consider whether the board reflects the diversity of the student population, the various counties of the State, and a broad representation of higher education-related stakeholders.

(c) At its first meeting after June 30 of each year, the board of regents shall elect a chairperson and one or more vice-chairpersons who shall serve until the adjournment of the first meeting of the board of regents after June 30 of the next year, or thereafter until their successors are elected; provided that the chairperson and vice chairpersons shall not be elected prior to the taking of office of regents whose terms shall begin on July 1 of that year. The board shall appoint a secretary, who shall not be a member of the board. The president of the university shall act as executive officer of the board. A majority of the board of regents shall constitute a quorum to conduct business, and the concurrence of a majority of all the members to which the board of regents is entitled shall be necessary to make any action of the board of regents valid. The board shall meet at least ten times annually and, from time to time, may meet in each of the counties of Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai.

(d) All board of regents standing committee meetings shall be:

(1) Recorded in live digital audio format by May 1, 2020; and

(2) Archived and made available to the public on the board of regents website within hours after adjournment of the meeting;

provided that the board of regents shall determine its accessibility obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and bring its actions into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

(e) All board of regents meetings shall be:

(1) Recorded in live digital video format;

(2) Webcast live by September 1, 2020; and

(3) Archived and made available to the public on the board of regents website within hours after adjournment of the meeting;

[~~(d)~~] (f) The governor shall notify the candidate advisory council for the board of regents of the University of Hawaii in writing within ten days of receiving notification that a member of the board of regents is resigning or has died, or is being removed by the governor.

[~~(e)~~] (g) The members of the board of regents shall serve without pay but shall be entitled to their travel expenses within the State when attending meetings of the board or when actually engaged in business relating to the work of the board."

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2573
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII