Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, to which was referred H.R. No. 127 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this resolution is to request that the Departments of Health (DOH) and Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), establish a task force to examine state regulation of death care providers. The task force is to include representatives of DOH, DCCA, the Executive Office on Aging, and other affected state agencies, and representatives of the death care services industry, including the Hawaii Funeral Director's Association and the Hawaii Allied Memorial Council.

DCCA offered comments, including amendments that would acknowledge the accomplishments of the task force established by H.C.R. No. 53, H.D. 1, 2002 (HCR 53).

Your Committee finds that it is necessary to afford sufficient protections for consumers of death care services and their surviving family members, and to preserve the public trust with respect to the provision of these services. Your Committee further finds that the task force established by DOH and DCCA under HCR 53 was able to address, but was unable to complete the review and evaluation of death care services issues raised by HCR 53. In addition, DCCA and DOH have committed to continuing

efforts to thoroughly address these issues. Your Committee finds that this resolution presents a reasonable approach toward continuing these efforts.

Your Committee has amended this resolution to remove issues already addressed by the HCR 53 task force, and by:

1. Changing its title to refer to "death care services" rather than "death services;"
2. Deleting the request for evaluation of current laws, rules, and policy relating to providers of death care services;
3. Deleting the request for examination of applicable model laws relating to death care services; and

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.R. No. 127, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.R. No. 127, H.D. 1.