HONOLULU — Gov. Josh Green, alongside Sen. Henry Aquino and Rep. John Mizuno, signed five bills on Friday aimed at improving the well-being of seniors and improving programs for the blind or visually impaired.

“We want to make sure that we continuously provide extra protection for people and access to services … The reason we're here is to help people. If we're not doing that, we shouldn't be here,” said Green during the signing ceremony, which took place in the Ceremonial Room at the Hawaii State Capitol. 

House Bill 870

This bill requires the Department of Human Services to start a blind and visually impaired service pilot program on the neighbor islands. It will provide training and other services to neighbor island residents who are blind or visually impaired. 

“If you live on the neighbor islands, it's even harder to get access to services,” said Green. 

Mizuno also praised the effort to improve services for disabilities on the neighbor islands. “Our efforts also show that we're not going to be Oahu-centric when it comes to improving services for disabilities; we are taking care of all islands," said Mizuno.

House Bill 388

This legislation adopts the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard, which will require the Department of Education to obtain braille materials. 

“This provides national standards to all our Department of Education schools to ensure our keiki get the ability and access to the education they need despite their disability,” said Mizuno.  

House Bill 218

This bill requires certain pharmacies to provide accessible prescription drug information to individuals who are visually impaired or have difficulty reading prescription labels. 

Green said patients take only about 50% of prescription drugs that are prescribed. “It is hard enough to get people to take their pills. I can tell you that,” said Green. “So maybe we ought to be able to read what pills were supposed to take. I think that was a pretty straightforward bill, but very smart.” 

Senate Bill 1378

With the enactment of this bill, referral or transfer of older adults to unlicensed care homes will be prohibited.

Mizuno said unlicensed care homes have been plaguing the state for years. He said illegal care homes charge sizable sums to care for older adults, but don’t pay taxes, have insurance or oversight from the Department of Health. 

“This calls a stop to all that. No more referrals to illegal care homes … We're raising the penalties up to $1,000 for any day of an infraction. So any of those illegal care homes, if you're watching this, we're coming for you, you will close down. It's about consumer protection. It's about caring for our kupuna,” said Mizuno. 

House Bill 278

This legislation appropriates funds for the Executive Office on Aging to create a public health campaign about dementia. 

Green said his father is currently caring for his stepmom who has a memory-impairment condition, and he has seen firsthand the challenges his father faces as a caretaker. “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,” said Green. 

Aquino praised the last two aforementioned bills for protecting seniors in Hawaii. “Our kupuna are such a huge part of our community and protecting and ensuring their well being is paramount,” said Aquino. “Thank you to our subject matter chairs in both the House and Senate and colleagues for pushing a litany of bills aimed towards supporting our components throughout our state from educating our residents on Alzheimer's to providing necessary resources to our state office on aging and protecting our residents from unlicensed care homes.”

Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her at michelle.brodervandyke@charter.com.