Legislature(2005 - 2006)SENATE FINANCE 532
04/22/2006 09:00 AM Senate FINANCE
Audio | Topic |
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Start | |
SB305 | |
HB357 | |
HB394 | |
HB400 | |
HB408 | |
SB305 | |
Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+= | SB 305 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | HB 357 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | HB 394 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | HB 400 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | HB 408 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | TELECONFERENCED |
CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 357(FIN) "An Act updating the terminology in statutes for persons with disabilities; and providing for an effective date." [NOTE: The introduction of this bill was not recorded due to an audio malfunction. Recording resumed at 11:32:06 AM.] This was the first hearing for this bill in the Senate Finance Committee. REPRESENTATIVE PEGGY WILSON, the bill's sponsor, informed the Committee that her staff intern, Aaron Danielson, would be explaining the bill. 11:32:17 AM AARON DANIELSON, Staff to Representative Wilson, testified that this legislation pertained to statutory references to disabilities. Changes to these references are proposed at the request of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education. This bill would replace "handicapped" with "person or peoples with disabilities" where it appears in Alaska statute. Mr. Danielson told of the changes in terminology in recent years resulting from the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. States have been making coinciding statutory changes to comply with the Act. Mr. Danielson defined a handicap as "an environmental limitation". For example, a person confined to a wheelchair who is confronted with a stair would be handicapped by the stair. That person is not handicapped, but rather is a person with a disability. The disabled persons' "community" has strong feelings on this matter. 11:34:00 AM Co-Chair Green asked if this bill contained language pertaining to signage to indicate handicap facilities. Mr. Danielson answered that it does not contain such language. Representative Bill Stoltze had expressed concerns on this issue when the bill was heard in the House Finance Committee. Co-Chair Green had understood that statutory reference changes had been made at the time she served on the Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education. She concluded that this legislation pertained to a different section of law than the earlier effort. 11:34:39 AM Senator Bunde, noting the zero fiscal note accompanying this legislation, ascertained that language on signage would be revised at the time normal replacements were made. 11:35:16 AM KEVIN GADSEY, Southeast Alaska Independent Living, testified that the organization participates in advocacy efforts for persons with disabilities. "Handicapped" is a word considered as an annoyance or a slur. This language change is important. He told of changes underway to signage at private businesses. 11:37:10 AM PAULA SCAVERA, Special Assistant, Office of the Commissioner, Department of Labor and Workforce Development, testified that this bill would change statutory language governing the Department of Health and Social Services, the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, the Department of Education and Early Development, the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, the Department of Law, the Department of Administration and the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Ms. Scavera gave a history of the word "handicap", which originated in Great Britain and was used to reference war veterans legally permitted to beg in public. Today, people with disabilities are not treated as "beggars". 11:38:29 AM Co-Chair Wilken offered a motion to report the bill from Committee with individual recommendations, accompanying fiscal notes and accompanying Letter of Intent. Without objection CS HB 357(FIN) was MOVED from Committee with zero fiscal notes #1 from the Department of Health and Social Services and #2 from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and a Letter of Intent by the House Finance Committee. 11:39:21 AM
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