STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2502

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2482

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Government Operations, to which was referred S.B. No. 2482 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TELECOMMUNICATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require the Comptroller to identify state office buildings that can provide equitable telecommunication access to allow certain residents, including residents with disabilities, to participate remotely in legislative hearings and to submit a report to the Legislature.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Disability and Communication Access Board.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Accounting and General Services and Hawaii State Public Library System.

Your Committee finds that providing access for residents to participate in the state legislative process is a basic right of citizenship in the State and should continue to be a priority. Currently, this basic right faces challenges with the rising costs of airfare, gas, and lodging. This measure provides equitable access to the legislative process by identifying potential locations or state offices on neighbor islands and in rural Oahu where citizens, including the full spectrum of persons with disabilities, can participate in the legislative process through remote utilization, thereby reducing the financial burden of legislative participation and ensuring the crucial improvement of the functionality of and engagement in the democratic process. While libraries have the ability to perform this function, there are many places in the State where libraries are inaccessible; therefore it is important to outfit more state buildings with broadband infrastructure to expand these services and in so doing, increase broadband equity.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of January 1, 2112, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) 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 Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2482, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2482, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Government Operations,

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ANGUS L.K. MCKELVEY, Chair