2007 Hawaii Legislative Session | Go Back | Home

2007 Hawaii Legislative Session
Disability-Related Bills
(as of May 30, 2007)

The current Legislativesession ended on May 3, 2007. Disability-related bills and resolutions that survived the Legislativesession are listed below by the subject matter categories.  The list includes the bill number,title and brief description.  Forbill status or to review text of specific bills or resolutions, visit theCapitol web site at <www.capitol.hawaii.gov>,select the “Bill Status” link and type in the bill number with no space betweenthe letters and the numbers (e.g., hb150).

A few of the bills listeddied, but money was included in the budget, HB 500, HD1, SD1, CD1.  Once the Legislature passes a bill, itis transmitted or enrolled to the Governor for signature.  If the Governor has signed the bill,the act number is noted after the title of the bill.  Once resolutions are adopted, certified copies aretransmitted to the agencies or individuals noted in the measure.  For more information about any of thebills listed, contact Debbie Jackson at the DCAB office at (808) 586-8121v/tty.

a.   Parking for Persons withDisabilities

• HB 277, HD1,SD2– Relating to Fees for Windshield Placards for Persons withDisabilities (Act 77).  Anymonies collected by the counties for temporary and replacement placards arerequired to be returned to the State general fund.  Effective date is July 1, 2007.

b.   Non-discrimination AgainstPersons with Disabilities/Civil Rights

• SR 7 - Requestingthe Office of Elections to Study the Feasibility of Conducting All Elections byMail.
• SR 137 –Requesting the Governor of the State of Hawaii to Convene a Task Force toReview Policies for State Funded Programs and Services on the Use of Restraintsand Seclusion on Adults and Children in Institutional and NoninstitutionalSettings.
• HCR 140, HD1/HR 113,HD1 – Requesting the Department of Human Services to Collect Data andReport Statistics Related to Cases of Abuse of Vulnerable Adults.
• HR 49, HD1 –Requesting the Healthcare Association of Hawaii to Examine the Problems ofPatients in Acute Care Hospitals Waitlisted for Long-term Care and to ProposeSolutions.
• HR 151 –Requesting the Governor to Establish the Office of Language Access.

c.   Education

• HB 15, HD2, SD2, CD1– Relating to Education  Establishesthe Felix stipend program special fund into which shall be deposited moniesreceived as repayment from students who have breached their contractualagreements under this program. Appropriates funds from the special fund toprovide tuition assistance to students for the Felix consent decree recruitmentand retention program, or any successor programs, and related costs.
• HB 531, HD3, SD2,CD1 – Relating to Children. Establishes a Hawaii 3-5 transition task force and provides a mechanismto study the feasibility of expanding Hawaii’s early intervention section tocontinue services for children 3 to 5 years of age.  Requires the DOH to convene the task force.  Requires the University of Hawaii’sCenter on Disability Studies to serve as the Advisory Committee facilitator andto provide the necessary research, as well as conduct the needs assessment forthe feasibility study.  Task forcewill cease to exist upon the end of the 2008 Legislature.  Includes an appropriation.
• SCR 17 –Urging the Department of Education to Study the Educational Implications of theSpecial Needs of Preschool Age Children with Developmental Disabilities.
• SCR 57, HD1 –Requesting the United States Congress to Propose Amendments to the No ChildLeft Behind Act of 2001.

d.   Community-Based Services forPersons with Disabilities - Non-Appropriation

• SB 53 –Relating to Marriage and Family Therapists (Act 38).  Includes marriage and family therapyamong the mental illness and alcohol and drug dependence benefits requiredwithin the hospital and medical coverage offered under accident and sicknessinsurance policies and similar insurance products.
• SB 820, SD1 –Relating to Developmental Disabilities (Act 40).  Extends the repeal date of HRS 333F-2 (individualchoice/self sufficiency) from June 30, 2008 to June 30, 2009.
• HB 833, HD2, SD2,CD1 – Relating to Employment. Exempts recipients of social service payments from the scope ofemployment related laws; defines "recipients of social service payments"as it relates to Chapters 383, 386, 392, and 393, Hawaii Revised Statutes.Requires the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to report on thefinancial impact and consequences of the employment exclusions for serviceproviders who provide Medicaid home and community-based services for personswith developmental disabilities and mental retardation.
• HB 1007 –Relating to Family Self-Sufficiency (Act 30).  Provides that the Department of Human Services shall notconsider monies in Escrow Accounts established under the federal Housing andUrban Development Family Self-Sufficiency Program when determining eligibilityfor assistance or other benefits under Chapter 346, Hawaii Revised Statutes.
• HCR 187, HD1 –Requesting the Legislative Reference Bureau to Study Respite Care Policies andPrograms in Other States and the Executive Office on Aging to Conduct anInventory of Respite Care Services in Hawaii.
• HCR 188, HD2 –Requesting the Legislative Reference Bureau to Study Other States’ AdultProtective Services and Compare them to Hawaii’s Adult Protective Services.
• SR 57, SD1 –Establishing a Special Mental Health Task Force to Study Whether Hawaii ShouldProvide a Continuum of Mental Health Care for Incarcerated Persons.
• SR 125, SD1 –Requesting the Department of Health to Conduct a Study of Adult ResidentialCare Homes.
• SR 138, SD1 –Requesting the Governor of the State of Hawaii to Convene a Task Force toReview Policies of Restraints and Seclusion on Adults and Children inInstitutional and Noninstitutional Settings.

5. Community-Based Services for Persons with Disabilities – Appropriation

• SB 426, SD2 –Relating to Human Services. Appropriates funds to the Department of Human Services to hire staff,upgrade computer system, develop a web site, and operating expenses for aninterpreter referral service for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, anddeaf-blind. [Bill died, but money was placed in HB 500, HD1, SD1, CD1.]
• SB 914, SD2, HD1,CD1 – Relating to Mental Health Issues of Committed Persons.  Appropriates funds to the Department ofPublic Safety to improve mental health services for persons committed to Hawaiiprisons.  Requires two reports tothe Legislature.
• SB 1916, SD2, HD3,CD1 – Relating to Caregivers.  Strengthens support of family caregivers by, among otherthings: extending the joint legislative committee on family caregiving;requiring the joint legislative committee on caregiving to conduct acomprehensive assessment of care recipients' needs and the needs of theirfamily caregivers; requiring the executive office on aging to perform acomprehensive assessment of grandparents raising grandchildren in Hawaii; andappropriating funds to expand services of the kapuna care program, and continuethe development of the Aging and Disability Resource Center project.
• HB 206, HD1/SB 815,SD1 – Relating to Developmental Disabilities.  Appropriates funds for a coordinatorand operating expenses to support a statewide self-advocacy network forindividuals with developmental disabilities.  [Bills died, but money was placed in HB 500, HD1, SD1, CD1.]
• HB 208, HD1, SD1– Relating to Developmental Disabilities.  Makes an appropriation to fund operations of developmentaldisabilities domiciliary homes and apartment complexes for persons withdevelopmental disabilities. [Bills died, but money was placed in HB 500, HD1,SD1, CD1.]
• HB 928, HD1, SD2,CD2 – Relating to Social Services.  Exempts certain escrow accounts from the financial asseteligibility requirement for public assistance.  Increases state supplemental payments for certaindomiciliary care.  Appropriatesfunds for homeownership programs.

 

f.    Long Term Care, Medicaid,QUEST

• SB 1004, SD2, HD2,CD1 – Relating to Psychologists. Authorizes prescriptive authorityfor qualified psychologists who practice at a federally qualified healthcenter.
• SB 1182, SD2, HD1,CD1 – Relating to Needs Allowance (Act 96).  Establishes a needs allowance for residents of care homesand long-term care facilities.

• SR 57 –Establishing a Special Mental Health Task Force to Study Whether Hawaii ShouldProvide a Continuum of Mental Health Care for Incarcerated Persons.
• SR 98, SD1 –Requesting the Department of Human Services to Report to the LegislatureRegarding What Impact  a Cash andCounseling Program Would have on Medicaid and Adult Services Program.
• HR 114 –Urging the United States Congress to Support Legislation Authorizing theSecretary of Health and Human Services to Negotiate Lower Drug Prices on Behalfof Medicare Beneficiaries.

g.   InjuryPrevention

• SB 1191, SD2, HD1,CD1 – Relating to Pedestrian Safety.  Appropriates funds for pedestrian safety improvements by theState and counties.
• HB 375, HD1, SD2,CD1 – Relating to Pedestrian Right of Way.  Clarifies a driver’s duty to stop for a pedestrian in acrosswalk.  Imposes fines fordrivers and pedestrians who fail to comply with the crosswalk law based on thenumber of previous infractions of the same offense.
• SCR 30/SR 12 - Requestingthe State Department of Transportation and the Department of TransportationServices of the City and County of Honolulu to Cooperate and Coordinate Effortsto Harmonize Walk Signal Lights with the Pedestrian’s Right of Way in CrosswalkLaw.
• SR 143 –Requesting the Departments of Health and Human Services to Collaborate andApply for a Federal Traumatic Brain Injury Waiver.
• HR 110 –Requesting a Study of State and County Intersections to Determine WhetherTraffic Signals Provide Sufficient Time for Elderly Pedestrians to Cross theStreet.

h.   Building Codes/Design

• SB 795, SD2, HD1,CD1– Relating to the Building Code (Act 82).  Requires the Department of Accountingand General Services to establish a state building code that includes hurricaneresistive standards.

i.    Emergency Preparedness

• SB 798, SD3, HD2– Relating to Disaster Relief (Act 89).  Extends for one year the lapse date of emergency disasterrelief appropriations made by Act 118, State Legislature of Hawaii 2006.
• SB 1402, SD1, HD1,CD1 – Relating to the Loss Mitigation Grant Fund (Act 80). Appropriatesfunds out of the loss mitigation grant fund to provide grants for windresistive devices. Includes residential safe rooms in the definition of"wind resistive devices" under the fund. Makes safe rooms eligiblefor grants.
• HB 1345, HD2, SD3,CD1 – Making Emergency Appropriation for Natural Disasters (Act 78).  Makes emergency appropriations of$900,000 in general funds to Department of Defense for FY 2006-2007, to coveroperational expenses associated with the October 15, 2006, Kiholo Bayearthquake disaster recovery efforts in the Counties of Hawaii, Maui, Kauai,and the City and County of Honolulu. Makes emergency appropriations of$24,000,000 from the emergency and budget reserve fund to cover the 25%non-federal cost share for earthquake disaster recovery projects made eligibleunder the Federal Emergency Management Agency public assistance program, foremergency watershed protection projects under the Natural ResourcesConservation Service, upgrading state and county warning systems, repairing andimproving irrigation water systems and repairing public school facilities,hospitals, and healthcare facilities; provided that any reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall be returnedto the emergency and budget reserve fund. Funds will also be used forstructural and non-structural earthquake mitigation projects.
• SR 34 – Urgingthe Civil Defense Division of the State Department of Defense to Designate aLead Staff to Address the Needs of Individuals with Disabilities and SpecialHealth Needs.
• HR 223, HD1 –Requesting the Civil Defense Division of the Department of Defense, inCooperation with the Department of Health, to Begin Necessary Preparations toEstablish a Mobile Emergency Hospital Unit in Hawaii.