STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3909

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1787

H.D. 2

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 1787, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Establish "Employment First", defined as the competitive employment and full inclusion of persons with a disability in an integrated setting as a first and preferred option for employment services--as a policy of the State and counties;

(2) Require state and county agencies to implement this policy in hiring practices and all programs and services administered or funded by the State or counties; and

(3) Require the Department of Human Services to apply Employment First principles to Medicaid home and community-based services programs.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Executive Office on Aging, Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Disability and Communication Access Board, and one individual. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services.

Your Committees find that per the United States Department of Labor, the workforce participation rate for individuals with disabilities is about one-third of that of people without disabilities. The low employment rate for people has been increasingly recognized as a serious societal issue, with over thirteen million adults of working age in the United States receiving disability benefits from Social Security. Yet, it has been continuously shown that with assistance, accommodations, and encouragement, many more people with disabilities can work successfully in the community. Employment First is based on the framework that provides persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities gainful employment, fair wages and benefits, and the dignity that arises from an integrated and competitive employment. This measure will establish Employment First in the State, which will help eliminate the many barriers to employment for persons with disabilities, including workplace barriers.

Your Committees have amended this measure by 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 Judiciary and Ways and Means that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1787, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1787, H.D. 2, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means,

________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair

________________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair