SR 51: Requesting the Attorney General to conduct a comprehensive review of the Hawaii Revised Statutes to identify provisions in which the term "impaired" or a similar term is used to describe a person with a disability and TO suggest disability-inclusive appropriate amendments.

SENATE RESOLUTION

Requesting the Attorney General to conduct a comprehensive review of the Hawaii Revised Statutes to identify provisions in which the term "impaired" or a similar term is used to describe a person with a disability and TO suggest disability-inclusive appropriate amendments.

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Revised Statutes contain terminology relating to persons with disabilities, and some of these terms have developed negative or pejorative connotations over time; and

WHEREAS, disability advocates increasingly recognize that using certain terms, including the word "impaired" to describe a person with a disability, may suggest that the individual is defective, deficient, or broken, which can perpetuate stigmas; and

WHEREAS, modern disability‑inclusive language standards favor terminology that emphasizes respect, uses person‑first or identity‑affirming wording, and reflects the lived experiences of individuals rather than outdated medicalized labels; and

WHEREAS, Utah enacted similar reforms in 2017 by replacing the statutory uses of "hearing impairment" with "deaf or hard of hearing" and made other disability‑terminology amendments to modernize and destigmatize their state laws; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii laws should also reflect respect, dignity, and a contemporary understanding of disability terminology; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2026, that the Attorney General is requested to conduct a comprehensive review of the Hawaii Revised Statutes to identify provisions in which the term "impaired" or a similar term is used to describe a person with a disability; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Attorney General is requested to recommend amendments that update terminology using wording that does not carry negative connotations, including replacing the terms "hearing impaired" and "vision impaired" with "deaf or hard of hearing" and "low vision," while  considering other appropriate alternatives consistent with disability‑inclusive language practices that do not change the effect of the law or conflict with the Americans with Disabilities Act; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Attorney General is requested to submit a report of any findings and recommendations, including proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2027; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Attorney General, and Chairperson of the Disability and Communication Access Board.

Report Title:

Disability; Attorney General; Impaired; Modernize Language; Hawaii Revised Statutes