STAND. COM. REP. NO.242
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2003
RE: S.B. No. 1367
S.D. 1
Honorable Robert Bunda
President of the Senate
Twenty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2003
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committees on Health and Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 1367 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAII HEALTH SYSTEMS CORPORATION,"
beg leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to require the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation (HHSC) to develop procedures for obtaining verifiable information regarding the criminal history of persons who are employed or seeking employment in any of the HHSC's health facilities.
Testimony in support of this measure was received from the State Attorney General, HHSC, and a Maui County Council member.
This measure is intended to protect patients at HHSC health facilities from possible harm from employees having criminal records. An employee could be terminated or an applicant could not be hired if the person has a conviction for an offense for which incarceration is a sentencing option, and the HHSC finds that the person has not been rehabilitated to warrant the public trust and therefore poses a risk to the health, safety, security, or well being of the HHSC's patients. Due process provisions are included in this measure.
Your Committees are disturbed that this measure includes employed persons who could be terminated under the same circumstances as applicants. While your Committees recognize that law always takes precedence over contract provisions, the concern is that, according to the testimony, public employee unions were not consulted on this measure. Your Committees find that this measure expands the permissible scope of traditional grounds for employee termination and is not covered by the present collective bargaining contract for HHSC employees.
Your Committees have amended this measure by:
(1) Deleting references to current employees and termination;
(2) Adding that the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center may charge a reasonable fee for the checks;
(3) Adding a definition of "criminal history record check" on the recommendation of the Attorney General;
(4) Adding that an applicant must provide a consent to be fingerprinted and for a criminal history record check to be conducted;
(5) Adding language to properly complete the appropriation provisions in Section 2; and
(6) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments.
As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1367, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1367, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs,
|
____________________________ COLLEEN HANABUSA, Chair |
____________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair |