Bill Text: HI HCR113 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced

Hawaii House Concurrent Resolution 113 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Requesting The Disability And Communication Access Board, In Collaboration With The Office Of Enterprise Technology Services, To Convene A Working Group On Accessible Government Documents.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 21-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-11 - Referred to HSH/LAB, FIN, referral sheet 40 [HCR113 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2020-HCR113-Introduced.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	113
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

requesting the disability and communication access board, in collaboration with the office of enterprise technology services, to convene a working group on accessible government documents.

WHEREAS, an accessible document is a document created to be as easily readable by a sighted reader as a low-vision or non‑sighted reader; and

WHEREAS, accessible documents allow individuals who use screen readers to navigate through the document, utilize the properties to move from one part of a document to another, hear descriptions of photographs and images from image tags, and have equal access to the information; and

WHEREAS, public agencies that are required to provide accessible documents do not always have staff that understand how to make the information accessible; and

WHEREAS, the increasing use of technology to communicate can also present complications and challenges, such as the various state agency websites that post public meeting notices, agendas, and attached resource documents that may not necessarily all be in accessible formats, especially when attachments are scanned copies; and

WHEREAS, the State's Disability and Communication Access Board serves as the public advocate of persons with disabilities by providing advice and recommendations on matters relating to access, with an emphasis on state and county legislative matters and administrative rules, policies, and procedures, and also provides technical assistance and guidance to state and county entities to meet state, federal, and county requirements for access for persons with disabilities; and

WHEREAS, the State's Office of Enterprise Technology Services, headed by the Chief Information Officer, is charged with organizing, managing, and overseeing statewide information technology governance, including establishing, coordinating, and managing a program to provide a means for public access to public information and developing and operating an information network; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2020, the Senate concurring, that the Disability and Communication Access Board, in collaboration with the Office on Enterprise Technology Services, is requested to convene a working group on accessible government documents; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group:

(1) Research other states' laws and use technologies to provide government documents, including documents provided by private entities under contract with the State, in accessible formats;

(2) Evaluate and recommend strategies to improve the provision of government documents, including documents provided by private entities under contract with the State, in accessible formats, including identifying means for effective and efficient oversight; and

(3) Make recommendations to the Legislature about how to further the policy of providing accessible government documents; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a representative of the Disability and Communication Access Board and representative of the Office of Enterprise Technology Services are requested to serve as co-chairs of the working group and invite one representative from each of the following entities to serve as working group members:

(1) The Center on Disability Studies at the University of Hawai�i at Mānoa;

(2) The Office of the Lieutenant Governor;

(3) The Department of Accounting and General Services;

(4) The Information Technology and Systems Department at the Judiciary;

(5) The Department of the Attorney General;

(6) The Office of the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives;

(7) The Office of Information Practices;

(8) The Civil Rights Commission;

(9) The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of the Department of Health;

(10) An advocacy group for blind persons;

(11) An advocacy group for deaf persons; and

(12) Other interested individuals; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Disability and Communication Access Board is requested to submit a report on behalf of the working group of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than forty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2021; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the working group serve without compensation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller, Director of Health, Chair of the Disability and Communication Access Board, Chief Information Officer, Administrative Director of the Courts, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives, Director of the Center on Disability Studies, Director of the Office of Information Practices, Executive Director of the Civil Rights Commission, President of the National Federation for the Blind � Hawaii Chapter, and President of the Aloha State Association of the Deaf.