Gov. Josh Green hosted his final bill signing ceremony Friday, approving 13 measures designed to help people with disabilities, non-English speakers and kupuna.
“We have many kupuna in our state, and many individuals living with life challenges. They are equally powerful in our community when we give everyone a chance,” Green said at the signing. “If you live on the neighbor islands, it’s even harder to get access to services. This is something that I saw first hand as a Big Island legislator.”
Act 253 will expand services for the visually impaired on neighbor islands by establishing a pilot program to provide training and support for things like accessing public transit, braille, technology use, cooking, and other daily living skills.
“Most services for the blind are provided through the state’s Ho‘opono facility here on Oahu and are not readily available to neighbor island residents unable to relocate to Oahu for several months,” said James Gashel of the National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii in testimony supporting the bill. “We should do better by our neighbor island residents.”
For language accessibility, Act 254 will mandate the Department of Education obtain instruction materials in various languages and formats for eligible students.
“If anyone has a disability, any issues with reading, sight or lack of hearing, this provides national standards to all our Department of Education schools to ensure our keiki get the ability and access to education they need,” said Rep. John Mizuno, chair of the House Committee on Human Services during the signing. “The diversity of our people define us. This diversity does not divide us.”
Act 248 also will increase the pay rates for court interpreters in all Hawaii state courts.
“Court interpreters are vital to ensure that fair processes can occur,” said state Sen. Henry Akino, vice chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. “Language access is a necessity considering that nearly 20% of our residents utilize English as a second, or third, or fourth language in their households.”
To assist the elderly, Acts 249, 250 and 252 will all support the state Office on Aging in various ways, while Act 257 will provide $1 million in additional funding to implement an Alzheimer’s disease and dementia-focused public health campaign.
Topics will include the early signs of cognitive impairment, the value of early detection and diagnosis, and the importance of discussing any changes in memory with a health care professional.
The act coincides with recent federal efforts, including the Food and Drug Administration’s decision Thursday to grant full approval to an Alzheimer’s drug for the first time in over 20 years.
“In Hawaii, about 29,000 residents who are 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s, and I know from family experience that it can be extremely challenging,” Green said. “We’re headed for the ‘silver tsunami,’ which is by 2030, we anticipate the average age of our population peaking, and that means there’s other needs we’re going to have.”
Those needs are addressed by Act 256, requiring pharmacies to improve prescription drug label information for the elderly and those who are visually impaired, and Acts 251 and 255, which crack down on unlicensed care homes.
Back in 2020, a woman was fined by the state for operating an illegal adult residential care home out of Ocean View, and in April, another Maui resident was fined $51,200 for operating an illegal care home.
“We’re raising the penalties up to $1,000 any day of an infraction,” Mizuno said, noting the current penalty is $100 a day. “This has been an issue that has been affecting our state for a number of years. We’re coming for you. You will close down.”
Act 245 also will mark October as Disability Awareness month in Hawaii.
“Our efforts also show that we’re not going to be Oahu-centric when it comes to improving services for disabilities,” Mizuno said. “We are taking care of all islands.”
Email Grant Phillips at gphillips@hawaiitribune-herald.com.