STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2845

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2913

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2913, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ACCESSIBILITY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require a retail establishment with an employee toilet facility to allow a customer suffering from an eligible medical condition to use that restroom during normal business hours, under certain conditions;

(2) Exempt a retail establishment and employees from civil liability in allowing an eligible customer to use an employee toilet facility; and

(3) Establish fines.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawai‘i Civil Rights Commission, Disability and Communication Access Board, and one individual. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Retail Merchants of Hawaii and Hawaii Association for Justice.

Your Committee finds that people who suffer from certain diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn's disease often need urgent and sudden access to a toilet facility. Irritable bowel disease is an invisible disability, but many sufferers feel housebound because of the need to be near a restroom. This measure would allow those individuals more freedom and would not create any additional costs to businesses.

Your Committee notes that a retail establishment's duty of care owed to its employees is negligence. Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by clarifying that a retail establishment shall not be civilly liable for damages arising from any act or omission in allowing a customer that has an eligible medical condition to use an employee toilet facility that is not a public restroom; provided that the act or omission is not negligent.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2913, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2913, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

________________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair