Bill Text: HI HCR164 | 2018 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Urging The State Of Hawaii To Review And Update Its Telecommunication Devices And Access For The Deaf, Individuals With Hearing Disabilities, And Individuals With Speech Disabilities And To Conduct A Study On The Feasibility Of Installing Hearing Loop Technology In The State Capitol.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 22-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-03-28 - Report adopted. referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Souki excused (1). [HCR164 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2018-HCR164-Amended.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	164
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

URGING THE STATE OF HAWAI‘I TO REVIEW AND UPDATE ITS TELECOMMUNICATION DEVICES AND ACCESS FOR THE DEAF, INDIVIDUALS WITH HEARING DISABILITIES, AND INDIVIDUALS WITH SPEECH DISABILITIES AND TO CONDUCT A STUDY ON THE FEASIBILITY OF INSTALLING HEARING LOOP TECHNOLOGY IN THE STATE CAPITOL.

 

 

     WHEREAS, individuals who are deaf or who have a hearing or speech disability must often utilize technology and technology-based services and equipment to effectively communicate with others; and

 

     WHEREAS, telecommunications relay services are telephone transmission services that provide an individual who has a hearing or speech disability with the ability to engage in communication by wire or radio with a hearing individual in a manner that is functionally equivalent to the ability of an individual who does not have a hearing or speech disability to communicate using wire or radio voice communication services; and

 

     WHEREAS, telecommunications relay services have traditionally meant text-to-voice teletypewriter (TTY)-based services; and

 

     WHEREAS, new internet-based technology is now readily available; and

 

     WHEREAS, many text-to-voice teletypewriter users have switched to other means of communication; and

 

     WHEREAS, a hearing loop, also known as an audio-induction loop, is a wire that circles a room and electromagnetically transmits sound to a compatible hearing aid or cochlear implant, allowing the user to clearly hear the sounds transmitted by the sound system; and

 

     WHEREAS, hearing loop technology installed in the Arizona and Rhode Island state capitols and across Europe has been used with success by individuals who are deaf or have a hearing disability; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State of Arizona installed hearing loop technology in eight hearing rooms, the Senate and House of Representatives galleries, and the chamber floors of the Arizona State Capitol at a cost of $250,000; and

 

     WHEREAS, the position of the National Association of the Deaf is that it is imperative to periodically update laws and regulations to incorporate new and emerging telecommunications equipment and services to ensure continued accessibility and usability; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to data from the United States Census Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics, there are approximately one hundred ten thousand residents in the State who are deaf or have a hearing or speech disability; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Public Utilities Commission has a responsibility to implement intrastate telecommunications relay services for individuals who are deaf or have a hearing or speech disability; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State has established the Office of Enterprise Technology Services headed by the Chief Information Officer who is charged with organizing, managing, and overseeing information technology governance in the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Disability and Communication Access Board serves as a public advocate for persons with disabilities by providing advice and recommendations with regard to legislation, rules, policies, procedures, and plans relating to persons with disabilities and their civil rights or service needs; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2018, the Senate concurring, that the Office of Enterprise Technology Services, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission and the Disability and Communication Access Board, is requested to review existing and emerging telecommunications equipment, services, and policies to ensure continued accessibility and usability for individuals who are deaf or who have a hearing or speech disability, and identify any areas where accessibility and usability can be improved; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Office of Enterprise Technology Services, in consultation with the Disability and Communication Access Board, is requested to study the feasibility of installing hearing loop technology in the State Capitol; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study include:

 

     (1)  The costs, including electrical upgrades, if needed, of installing hearing loop technology in the chambers, auditorium, and all or some of the hearing rooms of the State Capitol; and

 

     (2)  An installation schedule for the hearing loop technology; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Office of Enterprise Technology Services, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission and the Disability and Communication Access Board, is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2019; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Chief Information Officer, Chair of the Public Utilities Commission, Director of Health, and Chair of the Disability and Communication Access Board.

Report Title: 

Deaf and Blind Task Force; Text-to-Voice Teletypewriter Technology