STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3261

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2573

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2020

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2573, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII BOARD OF REGENTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require the University of Hawaii Board of Regents to:

(1) Begin livestreaming audio and archiving on its website all board of regents and board of regents standing committee meetings;

(2) On September 1, 2020, begin livestreaming video and archiving on its website all board of regents meetings; and

(3) Move expeditiously to ascertain its obligations and best practices that should be implemented in complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act in regard to the accessibility of webcasting and streaming video streaming of board of regents and board of regents standing committee meetings.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the University of Hawai‘i System Office of the Board of Regents.

Your Committee finds that legal opinions vary as to the matter of online media content accessibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Your Committee further finds that the Board of Education has begun to webcast live streaming audio of its meetings; however, the University of Hawaii Board of Regents has not. This measure would require the Board of Regents to record live digital audio and livestream its meetings.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Extending the deadline by which the Board of Regents must record live digital audio of its standing committee meetings to May 1, 2021;

(2) Requiring the Board of Regents to archive and make available to the public digital audio recordings of its standing committee meeting seventy-two hours after adjournment of the meeting;

(3) Extending the deadline by which the Board of Regents must webcast live to September 1, 2021;

(4) Requiring the Board of Regents to archive and make available to the public recorded webcasts of its standing committee meeting seventy-two hours after adjournment of the meeting;

(5) Clarifying that the Board of Regents shall determine its obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act concerning accessibility of webcasting and video streaming of its meetings and bring its actions into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act;

(6) Inserting an effective date of June 18, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

(7) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2573, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2573, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

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KARL RHOADS, Chair