STAND. COM. REP. NO. 41-00

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 2000

                                 RE: H.B. No. 2160
                                     H.D. 1




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No.
2160 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY
     TRUST FUND,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to fund services for traumatic
brain injury victims.

     Specifically, this bill creates a traumatic brain injury
trust fund and a traumatic brain injury trust fund commission to
disburse moneys from the trust fund to applicants for care and
rehabilitative services for traumatic brain injury victims.  The
commission is empowered to adopt rules to govern applicant
eligibility, manner of applying and review, criteria for award of
disbursements, conditions for the use of awards, and limits on
amounts of disbursements.  The commission must also maintain
records of commission expenditures and disbursements from the
trust fund.  It may also hire staff exempt from the civil
service, provided that the commission is to utilize existing
state resources and staff of the departments of human services,
education, and health, to the greatest extent practicable.

     The bill also authorizes the existing traumatic brain injury
advisory board to advise the commission as well.  For purposes of
clarity of codification, section 321-28, Hawaii Revised Statutes,

 
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creating the advisory board is repealed and the same advisory
board and functions are codified in the new chapter added by this
bill to the Hawaii Revised Statutes.

     Moneys from the trust fund are to be used to provide care
and rehabilitative services to residents of the State who have
survived a traumatic brain or spinal cord injury.  The bill also
assesses fines, for deposit into the trust fund, of ten per cent
of the original fines for traffic code violations and operation
of motor vehicles violations.

     Your Committee finds that services for victims of traumatic
brain injury are needed in Hawaii and a dedicated trust fund is
necessary to support the provision of these services.

     Upon careful consideration, your Committee has amended this
bill by:

     (1)  Elaborating on the purpose of the bill to include
          programs to educate the public about prevention of
          traumatic brain injuries, public health consequences of
          traumatic brain injuries, and services needed to treat
          and rehabilitate people who are victims of traumatic
          brain injuries; programs to train and educate
          professionals involved with individuals with traumatic
          brain injuries; and programs to fund research,
          evaluation, and advocacy activities to identify cost-
          effective strategies to meet the needs of traumatic
          brain injury survivors and their families that reduce
          the outlay of federal and state dollars under Medicaid;

     (2)  Removing the definitions of "authority" and "trust
          fund" and adding the definitions of "board" and
          "traumatic brain injury";

     (3)  Deleting the commission and sections that govern its
          meetings and powers and duties;

     (4)  Deleting the repeal of the traumatic brain injury
          advisory board (section 321-28, Hawaii Revised
          Statutes) and instead amending section 321-28, HRS, to
          make the advisory board a substantive board by giving
          it jurisdiction and control over the traumatic brain
          injury trust fund and requiring it to maintain records
          of the trust fund, provide the Legislature with an
          annual accounting of the trust fund's activities, and

 
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          to adopt relevant rules.  The structure of the board is
          left intact;

     (5)  Amending the trust fund to allow disbursements for the
          following:

          (a)  Programs to educate the public about:

               (i)  Prevention of traumatic brain injuries;

              (ii)  Public health consequences of traumatic brain
                    injuries; and

             (iii)  Services needed to treat and rehabilitate
                    people who are victims of traumatic brain
                    injuries;

          (b)  Programs to train and educate professionals
               involved with individuals with traumatic brain
               injuries;

          (c)  Programs to fund research, evaluation, and
               advocacy activities to identify cost-effective
               strategies to meet the needs of traumatic brain
               injury survivors and their families; and

          (d)  Necessary administrative expenses; and

     (6)  Amending sections 286-151.5, 286-157.3, 286-261, 291-4,
          291-4.3, 291-4.4, and 291C-102, Hawaii Revised
          Statutes, relating to speeding tickets and DUI and
          related convictions, to impose a $5 surcharge to any
          other penalties imposed by these sections, to be
          deposited into the traumatic brain injury trust fund.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No.
2160, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2160, H.D. 1, and
be referred to the Committee on Finance.


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



                                   ______________________________
                                   ALEXANDER C. SANTIAGO, Chair

 
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