STAND. COM. REP. NO. 530

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1496

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Health and Human Services and Labor and Technology, to which was referred S.B. No. 1496 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CIVIL RIGHTS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Establish that it is an unlawful discriminatory practice for places of public accommodation to deny a person with a disability full and equal enjoyment of information related to their services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations using information and communication technology intended for use by the general public as applicants, participants, customers, clients, or visitors; and

(2) Establish exceptions.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaiʻi State Council on Developmental Disabilities, State Health Planning and Development Agency, National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii, Deaf and Blind Task Force, Hawaii Disability Rights Center, and ten individuals.

Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services and one individual.

Your Committees find that the information age is changing how providers of public accommodations communicate with customers and the public, including the use of technologies such as websites and applications on smartphones and other mobile devices to take reservations, view menus, place orders, make sales, and provide product information. Your Committees further find that existing state and federal laws that prohibit discrimination in public accommodations based on disability should better assist providers of public accommodations and persons with disabilities by affirming and clarifying requirements for electronic access. This measure ensures that individuals with disabilities in the State have equal access to digital information and services, aligning with the State's collective commitment to equity, inclusion, and civil rights.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of December 31, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Human Services and Labor and Technology that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1496, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1496, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

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

________________________________ HENRY J.C. AQUINO, Chair

________________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair