THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	1419
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		H.D. 2

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO ACT 253, SESSION LAWS OF HAWAII 2023.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Act 253, Session Laws of Hawaii 2023 (Act 253), established the neighbor islands blind and visually impaired service pilot program within the department of human services. The goal of Act 253 is to bridge the gaps in services for blind and low vision residents across the State, particularly focusing on those living on the neighbor islands. The department's efforts to implement Act 253 were delayed until July 2024, as the department's staff were responding to the needs of staff and residents impacted by the August 2023 Maui wildfires.

Despite the delays, the department of human services engaged a consultant, posted a survey, and had several in-person and virtual meetings to gather information from blind and low vision neighbor island residents to discuss potential training and services that the pilot program may offer. A report to the legislature was submitted in December 2024 detailing the department's efforts, findings, and recommendations, including requests for two additional temporary full-time equivalent positions within the department and appropriations to implement the pilot program.

The purpose of this Act is to:

(1) Rename the pilot program by replacing the term "visually impaired" with the less stigmatizing term "low vision"; and

(2) Clarify the pilot program's implementation timeframes.

SECTION 2. Act 253, Session Laws of Hawaii 2023, is amended as follows:

1. By amending section 1 to read:

"SECTION 1. The legislature finds that thousands of Hawaii residents have visual disabilities that hamper daily living and may lead to isolation, limited productivity, loss of independence, and lack of social integration. The department of human services estimates that there are twelve thousand Hawaii residents who are blind or [have a significant visual impairment,] low vision, many of whom live on Oahu where access to opportunities and services are better organized and readily available compared to the neighbor islands.

The legislature further finds that state and local support services for blind or [visually impaired] low vision individuals, including training, adjustment to blindness services, and transportation services, are provided through economies of scale, and therefore tend to benefit residents in populated areas as compared to those in sparsely populated areas. As such, approximately two thousand neighbor island residents who are blind or [visually impaired] low vision are left with the choice of either moving to Oahu or living without the opportunity to have full and integrated lives in their existing communities.

Accordingly, the legislature finds that there is a need for a supplemental service program that provides additional support services to blind and [visually impaired] low vision individuals residing on neighbor islands.

The purpose of this Act is to:

(1) Require the department of human services to:

(A) Establish a neighbor islands blind and [visually impaired] low vision service pilot program that supplements existing statewide services by providing training and other services to neighbor island residents who are blind or [visually impaired;] low vision;

(B) Establish a neighbor islands blind and [visually impaired] low vision service pilot program working group to develop a pilot program implementation plan and submit the plan to the legislature before the regular session of 2024; and

(C) Submit a report on the neighbor islands blind and [visually impaired] low vision service pilot program to the legislature prior to the regular session of 2029; and

(2) Appropriate funds for the establishment and operation of the neighbor islands blind and [visually impaired] low vision service pilot program and working group."

2. By amending subsections (a) and (b) in section 2 to read:

"(a) The department shall establish a neighbor islands blind and [visually impaired] low vision service pilot program to provide training and other services to blind and [visually impaired] low vision individuals residing on the neighbor islands.

(b) The pilot program shall provide peer-to-peer outreach, sight loss adjustment, peer counseling support, and mobility training to program participants, including:

(1) Outreach efforts to identify individual and program needs;

(2) Coordination with existing programs to ensure that existing services are identified and used to the maximum extent possible;

(3) Adjustment services, including individual and group counseling;

(4) Access to and training for use of telecommunications services to receive current news, weather alerts, and other vital public information;

(5) Awareness development and training for the use of technology, including but not limited to computers, smart phones, and other communications devices;

(6) Daily living, self-care, and home management skills;

(7) Orientation and mobility training;

(8) Advocacy training and assistance to secure needed benefits, services, and individual rights; and

(9) Other services, including peer support needed for program participants to sustain independence and social integration.

The services provided by the pilot program pursuant to this subsection shall be provided by volunteers, who shall be recruited, assigned, and supervised by the department or an entity contracted by the department to organize and implement the pilot program. All volunteers shall have the necessary qualifications, be chosen based on experience and training, and use training methods consistent with the structured discovery approach used by the new visions program operated by the Ho‘opono services for the blind branch within the department's division of vocational rehabilitation."

3. By amending subsections (f) to (h) in section 2 to read:

"(f) The department shall enter into a contract with a nonprofit organization to recruit, train, and supervise volunteer service corps members and oversee the pilot program; provided that existing department personnel may be assigned to fulfill administrative and fiscal responsibilities of the pilot program. Any contract entered into pursuant to this subsection shall be exempt from chapters 103D and 103F. Any nonprofit organization contracted under this subsection shall have:

(1) The knowledge, experience, and qualifications necessary to provide peer support services to program participants;

(2) A management team, consisting of officers and directors, of whom a majority are blind or [visually impaired;] low vision; and

(3) Membership chapters or organization subunits located on the neighbor islands that will be served by the pilot program.

(g) The department shall establish a neighbor islands blind and [visually impaired] low vision service pilot program working group composed of neighbor island residents who are blind or [visually impaired] low vision to make recommendations regarding the establishment and implementation of the pilot program. The department, in collaboration with the working group, shall develop a written implementation plan that includes a pilot program performance period and program budget, and shall submit the plan, including any proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of [2024.] 2026. The working group shall be exempt from the requirements of part I of chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

(h) The department shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations pertaining to the neighbor islands blind and [visually impaired] low vision service pilot program to the legislature no later than thirty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2029. The report shall include:

(1) A record of pilot program activities and accomplishments;

(2) A recommendation on whether to extend the pilot program; and

(3) Any proposed legislation."

4. By amending subsections (j) and (k) in section 2 to read:

"(j) The pilot program [shall begin no later than January 1, 2024, and] shall cease to exist on July 30, 2029.

(k) For purposes of this section:

"Department" means the department of human services.

"Neighbor island" means a county with a population less than five hundred thousand.

"Pilot program" means the neighbor islands blind and [visually impaired] low vision service pilot program established pursuant to this Act.

"Program participant" means a resident of a neighbor island whose mobility or ability to live independently is substantially limited due to loss of sight and who is participating in the neighbor islands blind and [visually impaired] low vision service pilot program.

"Special needs transportation" means transportation provided to program participants at times or for trips when public transportation is not a reasonable option."

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000, and shall be repealed on June 30, 2029.

Report Title:

DHS; Neighbor Islands Blind and Low Vision Service Pilot Program

Description:

Updates the name of the Neighbor Islands Blind and Visually Impaired Service Pilot Program established by Act 253, SLH 2023, by replacing the term "visually impaired" with the term "low vision" and clarifies the pilot program's implementation timeframes. Sunsets 6/30/2029. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.