Bill Text: HI SR67 | 2018 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Urging The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency To Work With The Federal Communications Commission, The Federal Emergency Management Agency, And The National Weather Service To Make Necessary Updates To Ensure That Textual And Audible Information From The Emergency Alert System Are Matched And Synchronized During Television Broadcasts.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-04-04 - Report and Resolution Adopted, as amended (SD 1). [SR67 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2018-SR67-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.R. NO. |
67 |
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TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE RESOLUTION
URGING THE HAWAII EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY TO WORK WITH THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION, THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, AND THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TO MAKE NECESSARY UPDATES TO ENSURE THAT TEXTUAL AND AUDIBLE INFORMATION FROM THE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM ARE MATCHED AND SYNCHRONIZED DURING TELEVISION BROADCASTS.
WHEREAS, in times of national, state, and local emergencies, it is important for members of the public to have timely and often life-saving information; and
WHEREAS, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service work in conjunction to implement the Emergency Alert System at the federal level; and
WHEREAS, the Emergency Alert System is a national public warning system that requires broadcasters, cable television systems, wireless cable systems, satellite digital audio radio service providers, and direct broadcast satellite providers to provide the communications capability to the President to address the American public during a national emergency; and
WHEREAS, the Emergency Alert System may also be used by state and local authorities to deliver important emergency information targeted to specific areas; and
WHEREAS, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency will be able to assist and has authority on a state and local level to work with the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the National Weather Service to ensure information broadcast from the Emergency Alert System on local television stations is accessible to people with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, due to deafness, hearing loss, or other reasons, many members of the public are not always able to hear information from the Emergency Alert System and therefore need to receive that information in a textual form; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of information matching and synchronization is to ensure all populations in the public, including people with disabilities, persons who are blind, deaf, or hard of hearing, or people with cognitive disabilities, all receive the same accurate information about disasters that may impact them; and
WHEREAS, it is important that the textual information broadcast on television from the Emergency Alert System match and be synchronized with the broadcast audible information, which includes more details than the textual information; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2018, that the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the National Weather Service are urged to make necessary updates to ensure that textual and audible information from the Emergency Alert System are matched and synchronized during television broadcasts; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency is requested to work with the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the National Weather Service to update and deliver accessible emergency information for all, including persons who are blind, deaf, or hard of hearing, or people with cognitive disabilities, and to deliver matched and synchronized information during television broadcasts; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Federal Communications Commission, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Director of the National Weather Service, Governor of Hawaii, and Adjutant General of the State of Hawaii.
Emergency Alert System; Television; Text; Audio
