STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1527

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    GOV. MSG. NOS. 500, 501, 502

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred Governor's Message Nos. 500, 501, and 502, submitting for study and consideration the nominations of: 

 

Disability and Communication Access Board

 

G.M. No. 500

BARBARA P. FISCHLOWITZ-LEONG,

for a term to expire 6-30-2013;

 

G.M. No. 501

LYNN K. MURAKAMI-AKATSUKA,

for a term to expire 6-30-2010; and

 

G.M. No. 502

ANTHONY A. RIECKE-GONZALES,

for a term to expire 6-30-2013,

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     Upon review of the statements submitted by the nominees, your Committee finds that the aforementioned nominees will work with compassion and commitment to assist in administering the functions related to disability and communication access for the people of Hawaii.  Your Committee further finds that the nominees have been appointed based on their credentials, integrity, and a desire to make Hawaii better through their participation on the Disability and Communication Access Board to which they have been nominated.

 

     Your Committee received testimony supporting the nomination of each of these individuals from the Disability and Communication Access Board.  Additional testimony in support of the confirmation of Barbara P. Fischlowitz-Leong was submitted by one individual and in support of the nomination of Anthony A. Riecke-Gonzales by one individual.  Additional testimony was submitted by the Department of Health, the Community Children's Council of Hawaii, and three individuals supporting the nomination of Lynn K. Murakami-Akatsuka.

 

     Written testimony presented to the Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

 

     Barbara P. Fischlowitz-Leong is being appointed in the capacity of a professional, who is also a person with a disability.  She is presently the Executive Director of the Assistive Technology Resource Centers of Hawaii, an organization which assists individuals with disabilities in obtaining assistive technology, a position she has held for fifteen years.  Ms. Fischlowitz-Leong also has experience as a planner in the field of developmental disabilities and as the former Executive Director of the Epilepsy Foundation to bring to the Board.  Ms. Fischlowitz-Leong brings to the Board a tremendous amount of professional expertise to complement her personal perspective.

 

     Lynn K. Murakami-Akatsuka is being appointed in her capacity as a family member of a sibling with an intellectual disability.  She has extensive knowledge of the health issues facing individuals with disabilities and has a long career in the health care field.  She presently is with the Department of Health's Developmental Disabilities Division.  She has also worked with the Board as a member of the Interagency Working Group on Emergency Preparedness, which updates and amends existing goals and objectives in the "Interagency Action Plan for the Emergency Preparedness of People with Disabilities and Special Needs."

 

     Anthony A. Riecke-Gonzales is being appointed as a representative from the County of Maui and in his capacity as a professional architect in the State of Hawaii with a private architectural firm.  The Board has responsibility, under section 103‑50, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to review all plans and specifications for the construction of state and county buildings, facilities, and sites to ensure physical access for persons with disabilities.  Mr. Riecke-Gonzales' architectural expertise will be valuable in setting policies, guidelines, and interpretive opinions.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that are attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominees, has found the nominees to be qualified for the positions to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nominations.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

 

 

 

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair