Report Title:

Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities

Description:

Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by the counties and by entities receiving state or county financial assistance to provide services on behalf of the State or counties.

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

862

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO 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.

The purpose of this Act is to ensure that individuals with disabilities have access to state and county government services, programs, and activities. This includes services, programs, and activities provided by or on behalf of the State or counties by private entities receiving state or county financial assistance.

Public entities shall 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 reaffirms that to deny a qualified individual with a disability access to a state or county program, service, or activity because of their disability is discrimination under the law.

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

"§368—1.5 [Programs] State and county services, programs, and activities receiving state or county financial assistance. (a) No [otherwise] qualified individual with a disability in the State shall, [solely] by reason of [his or her] the individual's disability, be excluded from [the] participation in, be denied the benefits [of], services, programs, or activities of, or be subjected to discrimination by [state agencies,] a public entity, or [under] by any service, program, or activity 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 major life activities, [having] a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment.

"Public entity" means any state or county government, any department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of the State or any county.

"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 activities provided.

[(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) Pursuant to section 368—3(9) and chapter 91, the civil rights commission shall adopt rules to carry out this section."

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.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________