STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3327

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 2488

H.D. 2

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was referred H.B. No. 2488, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DISABILITY AND COMMUNICATION ACCESS BOARD,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require the Disability and Communication Access Board to study the health care communication needs of patients who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind; and

(2) Require a report to the Legislature.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the State Health Planning and Development Agency, State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Disability and Communication Access Board, Hawaii Disability Rights Center, Aloha Independent Living Hawaii, and four individuals.

Your Committee finds that the State faces a growing number of hard-of-hearing residents amid its aging population with tens of thousands already affected statewide. Your Committee further finds that patients who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind often encounter significant communication challenges in health care settings, leading to misunderstandings about treatment plans, delayed care, and even safety risks during transitions between facilities. The study proposed by this measure will help identify communication needs, evaluate current practices, and provide recommendations to improve guidance for health care providers to ensure effective communication for patients who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting language to require the study by the Disability and Communication Access Board to include instructions for patients who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind on how to file a grievance; 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 Health and Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2488, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2488, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health and Human Services,

________________________________

JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair