STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 392

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.B. No. 516

H.D. 2

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Judiciary and Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 516, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EMERGENCY HEALTH POWERS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to enhance the Department of Health's (DOH) emergency response capabilities by:

(1) Allowing DOH to maintain an emergency response stockpile to prepare for or respond to a CBRNE (use of chemicals, biological agents, radioactive materials, nuclear devices, or explosives to kill or sicken people, animals, or plants) event or other public health emergency;

(2) Exempting DOH from certain laws and rules relating to the dispensing, labeling, prescribing, or storage of the emergency response stockpile in preparing for or responding to a CBRNE event or other public health emergency; and

(3) Providing DOH and its officers, employees, agents, and volunteers, and DOH's contractors except in cases of wilful misconduct, immunity from civil liability resulting from the death of or injury to persons or property damage caused by responses to a CBRNE event or other public health emergency.

DOH testified in support of this bill.

Your Committees find that while enhancements to DOH's ability to respond to CBRNE events would serve the public's health and safety, there are concerns over the scope of DOH powers and immunity this measure affords that merit further discussion.

Accordingly, your Committees have amended this bill by:

(1) Removing provisions allowing DOH and its associated individuals and contractors immunity from civil liability resulting from the death of or injury to persons or property damage caused by responses to a CBRNE event or other public health emergency;

(2) Limiting the application of this measure to CBRNE events, by eliminating references to "other public health emergencies"; and

(3) Adding a defective date to facilitate further discussion.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Consumer Protection & Commerce that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 516, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it be referred to the Committee on Finance, in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 516, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Judiciary and Consumer Protection & Commerce,

____________________________ KENNETH HIRAKI, Chair		____________________________ SYLVIA LUKE, Chair