STAND. COM. REP. NO. 65
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2001
RE: S.B. No. 168
S.D. 1
Honorable Robert Bunda
President of the Senate
Twenty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2001
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 168 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FAMILY CHILD CARE,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to:
(1) Make general amendments to the family child care home law;
(2) Set a limit of $1 million on liability insurance for a provider;
(3) Allow the townhome board to limit the number of units providing care to 3% of the units within the project;
(4) Require that conditions to limit care be reasonable health and safety requirements; and
(5) Remove the repeal date.
Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Department of Human Services, Good Beginnings Alliance, and a private child care provider. Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by a private child care provider. Comments were submitted by the Disability and Communication Access Board, Hawaii Council of Associations of Apartment Owners, and a private child care provider.
Your Committee finds that child care providers in this State are greatly needed. Thus, extending the current law to include renters, may accommodate a person of lower income and assist in expanding the supply of child care within the community. Your Committee also understands that modifications to the premises may be required when a child care provider cares for a person with a disability. Your Committee feels that those modifications should be made by the provider and not the townhome or apartment association. Your Committee also wants to understand the impact this law has had since it became effective in 1999, and to asses, if any, problems that have arisen by allowing child care providers to operate in a townhouse. Thus, instead of repealing the sunset date, your Committee feels that extending the law two years would be more prudent as it will allow the Legislative Reference Bureau time to study and report back to the legislature.
Your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Clarifying that family child care providers are to assume responsibility for any modifications to the premise to comply with the Equal Opportunity for Individuals with Disabilities Act;
(2) Deleting new language regarding conditions necessary for health and safety as unnecessary;
(3) Requiring the Legislative Reference Bureau to conduct a study on the problems that have occurred by allowing child care operations in townhouse, condominium, and planned community projects; and
(4) Extending the sunset date of this Act by two years.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health and Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 168, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 168,
S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committees on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health and Human Services,
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____________________________ DAVID MATSUURA, Chair |
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