Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2006

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 1155, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require the Board of Examiners in Naturopathy to adopt a formulary and qualifications for administering natural medicines by injection, and to grant qualified naturopaths the authority to administer these injections. This measure also establishes a temporary advisory committee to recommend the formulary and qualifications.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, the Hawaii Society of Naturopathic Physicians, thirteen naturopathic physicians, six medical doctors, one nurse practitioner, two students of naturopathic medicine, and one Councilmember from the Kauai County Council. No testimony in opposition was received by your Committee.

Your Committee finds that natural medicines administered by injection are an important part of naturopathic practice and are not a service customarily performed by conventional health care providers. Naturopathic physicians, therefore, provide a valuable service to Hawaii's consumers. Your Committee further finds that therapeutic injections are within the scope of practice for naturopathic physicians in the majority of states where they are licensed, including California, Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Arizona.

Upon further consideration and based on the recommendation of the Board of Examiners in Naturopathy, your Committee has amended this measure by deleting the representative of a school of naturopathy from the temporary advisory committee because of the difficulty and cost of having this representative participate in the advisory committee meetings. Your Committee has further amended this measure by requiring the temporary advisory committee to collect pertinent information from all the schools of naturopathy accredited by, or that have received candidacy status with a regional or national accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1155, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1155, H.D. 1, S.D. 2.