Statewide Independent Living Council Monthly Meeting

Meeting Documents

• SILC Minutes 4.2.26 [DRAFT] for Statewide Independent Living Council Monthly Meeting

  Draft minutes of the April 2, 2026 monthly meeting (9:03-10:55 AM, hybrid at Hub Coworking Honolulu and Zoom), with quorum established and the February 5 minutes approved. Highlights include a guest presentation by Dr. Meghan Miller, new Director of the UH Center on Disability Studies, on CDS priorities (autism early detection, the 3-year autism evaluation waitlist, workforce development, and Hawaii ranking 48th of 50 in competitive integrated employment); committee reports on the mini-survey and larger community needs survey feeding the next SPIL; legislative advocacy on the APS bill, HB 1894 (Braille) and SB 2558 (website accessibility); and a Treasurer's report showing a balance of $200,912 (available $200,263). Other business covered neighbor-island outreach, reconstitution of the Honolulu Mayor's Committee on Disabilities, sending up to four members each to the NCIL (July, DC) and APRIL (October, Niagara Falls) conferences, draft committee charters, and the June 4 quarterly meeting planned for Hawaii Island.

• DRAFT SILC Mini Survey for Statewide Independent Living Council Monthly Meeting

  A short draft 'Independent Living Mini Survey' designed for tabling events and intended to take under two minutes to complete. It asks respondents who they are answering for (self with a disability, family/caregiver, advocate, or provider), which needed services they are not getting (rights, emergencies, benefits, social connection, work, school, housing, transportation), why services are lacking, how hard it is to get help, which island they live on, and optional contact information. The instrument is exploratory and meant to gather community-needs data to inform the next State Plan for Independent Living.

• Hawaii SILC OIP Response for Statewide Independent Living Council Monthly Meeting

  An April 21, 2026 letter from SILC Chair Patrick Gartside to the Office of Information Practices responding to a Sunshine Law complaint appeal (S APPEAL 26-38). SILC argues it IS a 'board' subject to the Sunshine Law under HRS Section 92-2, walking through all five statutory criteria and grounding its status in Executive Orders 11-18 (2011) and 22-06 (2022) plus contract DHS-25-VR-0017, which explicitly requires Chapter 92 compliance. The letter distinguishes a cited 2008 OIP determination as no longer controlling because SILC was not designated by executive order until 2011, and encloses EO 11-18, EO 22-06, relevant contract pages, and the amended bylaws.

• SILC Advocacy Committee Charter for Statewide Independent Living Council Monthly Meeting

  Standing-committee charter (last revised March 2026) for the Advocacy Committee, which monitors and influences disability-related policy at local, state, and federal levels. It authorizes the committee to track legislation, recommend legislative priorities, prepare testimony and position papers with Council approval, run advocacy trainings, and build coalitions with groups like the DD Council, HDRC, and CILs. It specifies composition (a Chair plus at least two members and the non-voting Executive Director), at-least-quarterly meetings (more often during the legislative session), reporting duties, and annual review.

• SILC Data Survey Committee Charter for Statewide Independent Living Council Monthly Meeting

  Charter (last revised March 2026) for the Data (Survey) Committee, responsible for designing, administering, and analyzing surveys, including the Community Needs Assessment, to inform SPIL development and measure the IL Network's effectiveness. Its scope covers accessible survey design, data analysis and reporting, coordination with the SPIL Committee, monitoring of disability demographics across islands, and protecting respondent confidentiality. It sets out composition (Chair, two-plus members, non-voting Executive Director, with research/evaluation expertise and possible CDS academic partners encouraged), quarterly-or-more meetings, reporting, and annual review.

• SILC Emergency Preparedness and Response Committee Charter for Statewide Independent Living Council Monthly Meeting

  Charter (last revised April 2026) establishing the Emergency Preparedness and Response Committee to ensure people with disabilities are included across all phases of emergency management given Hawaii's hazards (hurricanes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, flooding, wildfires, earthquakes). It authorizes monitoring of plans for ADA/Rehabilitation Act/PKEMRA compliance, relationship-building with HI-EMA, county civil defense, Red Cross and FEMA Region IX, accessible alerts, and post-disaster needs assessment, and permits emergency meetings on 24 hours' notice. It explicitly aligns with SPIL Goals #4 (equal access to community resources during disasters) and #2 (systems change for inclusive communities).

• SILC Engagement (Membership) Committee Charter for Statewide Independent Living Council Monthly Meeting

  Charter (last revised March 2026) for the Engagement (Membership) Committee, which recruits, vets, and orients new Council members and fosters ongoing engagement while ensuring the Council's composition meets Rehabilitation Act/WIOA requirements (including a majority of voting members being individuals with disabilities not employed by a state agency or CIL). It also serves as the Nominations Committee for officer elections, tracks member terms and vacancies, coordinates new-member orientation, and handles the annual attendance review and removal recommendations under Bylaws Section 2.4. Standard composition, quarterly-plus meetings, reporting, and annual review provisions are included.

• SILC Executive Committee Charter for Statewide Independent Living Council Monthly Meeting

  Charter (last revised March 2026) for the Executive Committee, which acts as the governing body between full Council meetings, provides strategic oversight, supervises and evaluates the Executive Director, recommends the annual budget, coordinates all standing committees, and may approve emergency expenditures up to a Council-set threshold (subject to ratification by the full Council). Its membership comprises the Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and a Member At Large, with the Executive Director as a non-voting ex officio. It meets at least monthly, decides by majority vote with a quorum, may not exercise powers reserved to the full Council, and is reviewed annually.

• SILC Finance Committee Charter for Statewide Independent Living Council Monthly Meeting

  Charter (last revised March 2026) for the Finance Committee, which provides fiscal oversight, develops and recommends the annual budget, monitors revenue and expenditures, reviews monthly/quarterly financial statements, ensures compliance with ACL and Title VII Part B requirements, reviews the IRS Form 990 before filing, and reviews the SILC Resource Plan. The Treasurer serves as Committee Chair alongside at least two appointed members and the non-voting Executive Director, with finance/accounting expertise encouraged. It meets at least quarterly (more during budget and audit periods), reports at each Council meeting, and is reviewed annually.

• SILC Policies and Procedures Committee Charter for Statewide Independent Living Council Monthly Meeting

  Charter (last revised March 2026) for the Policies and Procedures Committee, responsible for developing, reviewing, and maintaining the SILC's governance documents, including the Bylaws and Policies and Procedures Manual. It maintains the seven federally required policies (Conflict of Interest, Financial Management, Accessibility, Communications, Dispute Resolution, Code of Conduct, and Member Recruitment and Selection), recommends Bylaws amendments under Article 7, ensures compliance with the Rehabilitation Act/WIOA and ACL standards, and conducts an annual policy review. Standard composition, quarterly-plus meetings, reporting, and annual-review terms apply.

• SILC SPIL Committee Charter for Statewide Independent Living Council Monthly Meeting

  Charter (last revised March 2026) for the State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL) Committee, which leads the development, drafting, amendment, monitoring, and evaluation of the three-year SPIL in coordination with CIL directors and the Designated State Entity (Division of Vocational Rehabilitation). It coordinates community needs assessments and public-input processes, reviews progress reports against SPIL indicators, recommends amendments to the full Council for ACL submission, and collaborates with the Data/Survey Committee. Composition notably requires at least one CIL representative in addition to the Chair, two-plus members, and the non-voting Executive Director, with quarterly-plus meetings and annual review.

• SILC Transportation Committee Charter for Statewide Independent Living Council Monthly Meeting

  Charter (last revised March 2026) for the Transportation Committee, which targets accessible and reliable transportation as a major barrier to independent living, with particular attention to neighbor-island and rural communities. It is authorized to identify and prioritize transportation barriers, evaluate paratransit/public transit/ride-sharing options, recommend policy positions, collaborate with transit agencies and the Department of Transportation, monitor relevant legislation and funding, and coordinate with the Advocacy Committee. Standard composition, quarterly-plus meetings, reporting, and annual-review provisions are included.

• Extension of Compliance Dates for Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability; Accessibility of Web Information and Services of State and Local Government Entities for Statewide Independent Living Council Monthly Meeting

  A Department of Justice Interim Final Rule (28 CFR Part 35, RIN 1190-AA82, published in the Federal Register Vol. 91 No. 75, April 20, 2026) extending by one year the ADA Title II web and mobile app accessibility compliance dates set in the 2024 final rule. Entities with populations of 50,000 or more now have until April 26, 2027 (from April 24, 2026), and smaller entities and special district governments until April 26, 2028 (from April 26, 2027). DOJ justifies the delay by citing resource and staffing constraints raised by state/local governments, school districts and higher-education associations, the limits of generative AI in remediating content (especially STEM) at scale, and litigation-risk concerns tied to the rule's dynamic WCAG 2.1 reference links; written public comments are due by June 22, 2026. (The PDF also begins with an unrelated IRS enrolled-agent exam fee rule that precedes the DOJ rule in the same Federal Register issue.)

• SILC Meeting Agenda 5-7-2026 for Statewide Independent Living Council Monthly Meeting

  The agenda and public-participation notice for the May 7, 2026 monthly meeting (9:00-11:00 AM, hybrid in the 1050 Queen St board room and via Zoom). Beyond standard items (call to order, roll call, IL philosophy, approval of agenda and April 2 minutes, and SILC/committee/Treasurer reports), the action-oriented New Business includes votes on adopting the committee charters and the SILC mini-survey, discussion of the DOJ request for comments on the ADA web-accessibility compliance extension, an update on the OIP Sunshine Law determination, the June quarterly meeting, SRC collaboration, and national conference representation (NCIL and APRIL). It also details accessibility accommodations, written/oral testimony procedures, and Zoom meeting rules.