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THE SENATE |
S.C.R. NO. |
23 |
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TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
REQUESTING INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS TO PROVIDE FREE INTERNET SERVICES TO INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.
WHEREAS, individuals with disabilities have much to gain from being able to access the Internet: social networking sites and e-mail can provide relief from social isolation; the latest news and research information are instantly available; internet entrepreneurship can provide opportunities to work from home; the motor-disabled can use speech-recognition technology to write e-mail, pay bills, or perform work-related tasks; blind individuals, for whom it used to take months or even years for information to be made available in braille or on audio tape, can now access news stories, government reports, and consumer information at the same time that it becomes available to the sighted population; and
WHEREAS, the British newspaper, The Register, reported in 2000 that "the true promise of the Internet is precisely that of service to the disabled"; and
WHEREAS, the Center for an Accessible Society has noted that new computer technologies hold tremendous promise for individuals with disabilities, but that the so-called "digital revolution" has left the vast majority of people with disabilities behind; and
WHEREAS, a survey carried out in 2000 for the United States National Organization on Disability found that forty-eight per cent of individuals with disabilities stated that going online significantly increased their quality of life, compared with twenty-seven per cent of non-disabled people; and
WHEREAS, in 2000, former President Bill Clinton sponsored various initiatives for disabled individuals in partnership with corporate leaders, stating that, "If we want to keep the rest of the economy growing, we have to make information technology more accessible [which means that] people with disabilities have to be able to enter the 21st Century work force -- not only for your own benefit, but for the rest of America."; and
WHEREAS, there are new, untapped markets among individuals with disabilities in Hawaii for internet services to be used as social and vocationally rehabilitative tools that could provide new entrepreneurial opportunities for the State and enhance the overall quality of life for residents with disabilities; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the House of Representatives concurring, that internet service providers in Hawaii are requested to offer free internet services to individuals with disabilities; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of Hawaiian Telcom; Senior Vice President of Customer Contact Centers and Wholesale Markets, the President of Oceanic Time Warner Cable, the Executive Vice President of EarthLink, and the President of LavaNet.
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OFFERED BY: |
_____________________________ |
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Disabled services; Internet Service