RELATING TO ACT 253, SESSION LAWS OF HAWAII 2023.

SB1419

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

1419

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING
TO ACT 253, SESSION LAWS OF HAWAII 2023
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

����
SECTION 1.
�
Act 253, Session Laws of Hawaii 2023,
established the neighbor islands blind and visually impaired service pilot program
within the department of human services.
�

The goal of Act 253 is to bridge the gaps in services for blind and low vision
residents across the State, particularly focusing on those living on the neighbor
islands.
�
The department's efforts to
implement the Act were delayed until July 2024 as the department's staff were
responding to the needs of staff and residents impacted by the August 2023 Maui
wildfires.

����
Despite
the delays, the department engaged a consultant, posted a survey, and had
several in-person and virtual meetings to gather information from blind and low
vision neighbor island residents to discuss potential training and services
that the pilot program may offer.
�
A
report to the legislature was submitted in December 2024 detailing the
department's efforts, findings, and recommendations that include requests for
two additional temporary full-time equivalent positions within the department
and appropriations to implement the pilot program.

����
The
purposes of this Act are to:

����
(1)
�
Rename the pilot program to replace the
term "visually impaired" with the less stigmatizing term "low
vision," and

����
(2)
�
Clarify the pilot program's
implementation timeframes

����
SECTION
2.
�
Act 253, Session Laws of Hawaii 2023,
section 2, is amended as follows:

����
1.
�
By amending subsections (a) and (b) to read:

����
"
(a)
�
The department
shall establish a neighbor islands blind and [
visually impaired
]
low
vision
service pilot program to provide training and other services to
blind and [
visually impaired
]
low vision
individuals residing on
the neighbor islands.

����
(b)
�
The pilot program shall provide peer-to-peer
outreach, sight loss adjustment, peer counseling support, and mobility training
to program participants, including:

����
(1)
�
Outreach efforts to identify individual
and program needs;

����
(2)
�
Coordination with existing programs to
ensure that existing services are identified and used to the maximum extent
possible;

����
(3)
�
Adjustment services, including
individual and group counseling;

����
(4)
�
Access to and training for use of
telecommunications services to receive current news, weather alerts, and other
vital public information;

����
(5)
�
Awareness development and training for
the use of
technology, including but not limited to
computers, smart
phones, and other communications devices;

����
(6)
�
Daily living, self-care, and home
management skills;

����
(7)
�
Orientation and mobility training;

����
(8)
�
Advocacy training and assistance to
secure needed benefits, services, and individual rights; and

����
(9)
�
Other services, including peer support
needed for program participants to sustain independence and social integration.

The
services provided by the pilot program pursuant to this subsection shall be
provided by volunteers, who shall be recruited, assigned, and supervised by the
department or an entity contracted by the department to organize and implement
the pilot program.
�
All volunteers shall
have the necessary qualifications, be chosen based on experience and training,
and use training methods consistent with the structured discovery approach used
by the new visions program operated by the
Ho
`opono
services for the blind branch within the department's division of vocational
rehabilitation."

����
2.
�
By amending subsections (f) to (h) to read:

����
"(f)
�
The department shall enter into a contract
with a nonprofit organization to recruit, train, and supervise volunteer
service corps members and oversee the pilot program; provided that existing
department personnel may be assigned to fulfill administrative and fiscal
responsibilities of the pilot program.
�
Any
contract entered into pursuant to this subsection shall be exempt from chapters
103D and 103F.
�
Any nonprofit
organization contracted under this subsection shall have:

����
(1)
�
The knowledge, experience, and
qualifications necessary to provide peer support services to program
participants;

����
(2)
�
A management team, consisting of
officers and directors, of whom a majority are blind or [
visually impaired;
]

low vision;
and

����
(3)
�
Membership chapters or organization
subunits located on the neighbor islands that will be served by the pilot
program.

����
(g)
�
The department shall establish a neighbor
islands blind and [
visually impaired
]
low vision
service pilot
program working group composed of neighbor island residents who are blind or [
visually
impaired
]
low vision
to make recommendations regarding the
establishment and implementation of the pilot program.
�
The department, in collaboration with the
working group, shall develop a written implementation plan that includes a
pilot program performance period and program budget, and shall submit the plan,
including any proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty
days prior to the convening of the regular session of [
2024.
]
2025.
�
The working group shall be exempt from the
requirements of part I of chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

����
(h)
�
The department shall submit a report of its
findings and recommendations pertaining to the neighbor islands blind and [
visually
impaired
]
low vision
service pilot program to the legislature no
later than thirty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2029.
�
The report shall include:

����
(1)
�
A record of pilot program activities
and accomplishments;

����
(2)
�
A recommendation on whether to extend
the pilot program; and

����
(3)
�
Any proposed legislation."

����
3.
�
By amending subsections (j) and (k) to read:

����
"(j)
�
The pilot program [
shall begin no later
than January 1, 2024, and
] shall cease to exist on July 30, 2029.

����
(k)
�
For purposes of this section:

����
"Department"
means the department of human services.

����
"Neighbor
island" means a county with a population less than five hundred thousand.

����
"Pilot
program" means the neighbor islands blind and [
visually impaired
]
low
vision
service pilot program established pursuant to this Act.

����
"Program
participant" means a resident of a neighbor island whose mobility or
ability to live independently is substantially limited due to loss of sight and
who is participating in the neighbor islands blind and [
visually impaired
]

low vision
service pilot program.

����
"Special
needs transportation" means transportation provided to program
participants at times or for trips when public transportation is not a
reasonable option."

����
SECTION
3.
�
Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory
material is underscored.

����
SECTION
5.
�
This Act, upon its approval, shall
take effect on July 1, 2025, and shall be repealed on June 30, 2029.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

BY REQUEST

Report Title:

DHS;
Neighbor Islands Blind and Low Vision Service Pilot Program

Description:

Updates
the name of the Neighbor Islands Blind and Visually Impaired Service Pilot
Program established by Act 253, Session Laws of Hawaii 2023, by replacing the
term "visually impaired" with the term "low vision" and
clarifies the pilot program's implementation timeframes.
�
Sunsets 6/30/2029.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.