Report Title:

Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities

Description:

Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in services, programs, and activities provided by the counties, or by private entities on behalf of the State or counties. (HB411 HD1)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

411

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO THE PROHIBITION OF DISCRIMINATION BY PUBLIC ENTITIES AGAINST INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.

 

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

SECTION 1. The State of Hawaii believes in equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self—sufficiency for individuals with disabilities.

Public entities must operate their programs, services, or activities so that, when viewed in their entirety, they are readily accessible to and useable by individuals with disabilities. The legislature affirms that to deny a qualified individual with a disability the opportunity to participate in or benefit from a state or county program, service, or activity, solely on the basis of their disability, is unlawful discrimination.

The purpose of this Act is to ensure that individuals with disabilities have access to state and county government services, programs, and activities, including those provided on behalf of the State or counties by private entities under state or county contracts or grants.

SECTION 2. Section 368-1.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§368-1.5 [Programs] Services, programs, and activities receiving state or county financial assistance. (a) No [otherwise] qualified individual [in the State] with a disability shall, [solely] by reason of [his or her] such disability, be excluded from [the] participation in[,] or be denied the benefits of[, or be subjected to discrimination by state agencies, or under any] the services, programs, or [activity receiving state financial assistance.] activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity. This section applies to all services, programs, and activities provided or made available by public entities, or by entities receiving State or county financial assistance.

(b) As used in this section[, the term "disability"]: "Disability" means [the state of having] a physical or mental impairment [which] that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities, having a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment.

"Public entity" means any state or local government and any department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of a state or local government.

"Qualified individual with a disability" means an individual with a disability who, with or without reasonable modifications to rules, policies, or practices, the removal of architectural, communication, or transportation barriers, or the provision of auxiliary aids and services, meets the essential eligibility requirements for the receipt of services or the participation in programs or activities provided by a public entity.

[(c) As used in this section, "state] "State or county financial assistance" means grants, purchase-of-service contracts, or any other arrangement by which the State or county provides or otherwise makes available assistance in the form of funds to an entity for the purpose of rendering services on behalf of the State[.] or county. It does not include procurement contracts, state insurance or guaranty contracts, licenses, tax credits, or loan guarantees to private businesses of general concern that do not render services on behalf of the State[.] or county.

(c) The civil rights commission shall adopt rules to carry out this section, in accordance with section 368-3(9) and chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes."

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

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2004.