Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2085, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to provide mental illness and drug and alcohol abuse treatment benefits for children under the age of nineteen of public employees.

Specifically, this bill requires the State to provide mental illness and drug and alcohol dependence treatment benefits for children of public employees identical to the benefits provided to adults under chapter 431M, Hawaii Revised Statutes, with certain exceptions. Treatment benefits are not to be provided for children already receiving treatment by the State in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or Section 504 of Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Your Committee finds that minors are not receiving health care coverage benefits in parity with adults. During the important developmental stages of their lives, minors should receive the mental health and substance abuse treatments they need. This measure affords minors with the necessary health insurance coverage to ensure that they can receive such treatments.

Your Committee has made, for the purpose of clarity and style, several technical nonsubstantive amendments, including deletion of the word "serious" in the definition of "serious mental illness" in section 1 (page 2, line 7) and section 2 (page 3, line 11) to conform to the definition of "mental illness" in section 431M-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to which the definition is referenced.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2085, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2085, S.D. 2.