Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 791 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to allow the Department of Health to license special treatment facilities and therapeutic living programs, and place clean and sober homes under the purview of the counties and not the Department of Health.

The Office of the Lieutenant Governor, the Department of Health, the Salvation Army Family Treatment Services, and one individual submitted testimony in support of this measure.

Your Committee finds that there is a need to ensure a continuum of health care settings for individuals requiring therapeutic or rehabilitative services and care which would include persons recovering from substance abuse. As the Department of Health noted in its testimony, clean and sober homes do not provide rehabilitative or therapeutic care or services, but do provide housing for persons recovering from substance abuse. Therefore, clean and sober homes do not require oversight from the Department of Health and should be under the purview of the counties.

Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this measure by amending the county zoning statute to include a definition of "drug rehabilitation home"; deleting the words "from a more restrictive treatment setting" from the definition of "therapeutic living programs"; by making section 5 effective on December 31, 2007; and by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 791, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 791, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.