STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2408
Honolulu, Hawaii
S.D. 1
President of the Senate
Thirty-First State Legislature
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committees on Human Services and Labor, Culture and the Arts, to which was referred S.B. No. 2875 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 ensure that Employment First is effectively implemented in hiring and all programs and services administered or funded by the State and 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 State Council on Developmental Disabilities and Hawaii Disability Rights Center. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services.
Your Committees find that over the past few years, the State has been removing various barriers for individuals with disabilities to enter the workforce, including the enactment of Act 155, Session Laws of Hawaii 2019, which enabled individuals receiving Medicaid to earn up to a livable wage without losing their Medicaid services; and Act 55, Session Laws of Hawaii 2021, which ended the discriminatory practice of paying subminimum wages to individuals with disabilities. This measure will further expand employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities, thereby enabling them to further integrate into their communities.
Your Committees note the testimony of the Department of Human Services stating that it will require time, additional resources, and clarification from the Department of Human Resources Development to implement this measure.
Your Committees also note the testimony of the State Council on Developmental Disabilities requesting that the definition of Employment First be clarified in a manner consistent with the intent of nationally adopted Employment First practices.
Your
Committees have amended this measure by:
(1) Clarifying
the definition of "Employment First" to ensure that it is
consistent with the intent of nationally adopted Employment First practices;
(2) Clarifying
the definition of a "person with a disability" to conform to the
definition used in the employment context;
(3) Inserting an effective date of December 31,
2050, to encourage further
discussion; 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 Labor, Culture and the Arts that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2875, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2875, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Human Services and Labor, Culture and the Arts,
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________________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair |
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________________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair |
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