STAND. COM. REP. NO. 320

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1230

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 Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 1230 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO STATEWIDE HEALTH PLANNING,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to provide flexibility to deploy statewide language access programs and resources.

Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the County of Hawai‘i Department of Research and Development, Hawai‘i Friends of Civil Rights, Catholic Charities Hawai‘i, and four individuals. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Health, Department of Human Services, Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Office of Language Access, Language Access Advisory Council, and Hawai‘i Coalition for Immigrant Rights.

Your Committees find that the Governor's executive biennium budget proposed the elimination of the Office of Language Access (OLA) within the Department of Health. Your Committees recognize the State's dire financial situation caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. This measure aims to provide flexibility to the State by making OLA optional instead of mandatory.

Your Committees also heard testimony from multiple stakeholders emphasizing the importance of OLA. Therefore, your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting the amendments that proposed making OLA optional instead of mandatory;

(2) Amending the measure to allow either the Department of Health or the Executive Director of OLA to carry out OLA's duties; and

(3) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Human Services that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1230, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1230, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

________________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair

________________________________ JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair