STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2321

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 2934
                                        




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Judiciary and Health and Human Services,
to which was referred S.B. No. 2934 entitled:

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CORRECTIONAL HEALTH CARE,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to enable the State to recruit
qualified personnel to provide for the health care needs of
inmates in correctional facilities and to maintain health
standards within correctional facilities at a level consistent
with that found in a community.

     To achieve this goal, this bill creates a correctional
health care program within the Department of Public Safety and
exempts the new administrator position from the requirements of
civil service laws.  Physicians in the program are also exempted
from the civil service laws.  The exemptions are granted in order
to attract qualified personnel who demand greater compensation
than permitted under civil service laws.

     Your Committees find that physicians providing health care
in correctional facilities are faced with unique challenges that
are absent in a normal community setting.  In order to be able to
recruit a health care program administrator and physicians who
have the expertise to serve in a correctional health care system,
compensation greater than that provided by the civil service
scale is necessary.  Your Committees believe that this bill, by
creating permanent exempt positions, will accomplish this goal.

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2321
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     Your Committees received testimony in strong support of this
bill from the Department of Public Safety and the Hawaii Medical
Association.  The Department testified that funding is not an
issue and that it anticipates future cost savings due to a
decreased number of out-of-facility referrals to offset the
increase in physician salaries.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your
Committees on Judiciary and Health and Human Services that are
attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the
intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2934 and recommend that it pass
Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and
Means.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committees on Judiciary and
                                   Health and Human Services,



____________________________       ______________________________
SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair        AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
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