STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1317

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.R. No. 5

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Human Services and Government Operations, to which was referred S.R. No. 5 entitled:

"SENATE RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE DISABILITY AND COMMUNICATION ACCESS BOARD, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE OFFICE OF ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGY SERVICES, TO CONVENE A WORKING GROUP ON ACCESSIBLE GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Disability and Communication Access Board in collaboration with the Office of Enterprise Technology Services to convene a working group on accessible government documents.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawai‘i Civil Rights Commission, Office of Enterprise Technology Services, Disability and Communication Access Board, National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii, and nine individuals. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Office of Information Practices.

Your Committees find that an accessible document is a document created to be as easily readable by a sighted reader as a low-vision or non-sighted reader. However, public agencies that are required to provide accessible documents do not always have staff that understand how to make the information accessible. Your Committees also find that the increasing use of technology to communicate can also present complications and challenges, such as the various state agency websites that post public meeting notices, agendas, and attached resource documents that may not necessarily all be in accessible formats, especially when attachments are scanned copies. This measure requests that a work group be convened to address these issues; however amendments are needed in light of testimony your Committees received.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Requesting that the National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii replace the Disability and Communication Access Board, as co-chair of the proposed working group;

(2) Adding a representative of the Disability and Communication Access Board to the proposed list of working group members;

(3) Amending its title in accordance with its amended purpose; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services and Government Operations that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.R. No. 5, as amended herein, and recommend its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.R. No. 5, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Human Services and Government Operations,

________________________________ SHARON MORIWAKI, Chair

________________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair