Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2006

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Health and Human Services, to which was referred H.B. No. 2377 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to make an emergency appropriation to the Department of Health (DOH) to ensure continuous early intervention services for children from birth to three years old with a developmental disability or biological or environmental risk.

DOH, the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, and Hawaii Early Intervention Coordination Council supported this bill.

DOH reported that this emergency appropriation is necessary to make up for its budget shortfall for this fiscal year. An increase in recipients enrolled in the program and an accompanying need to increase services was not budgeted properly in DOH's last request for funding.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Human Services that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2377 and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Finance.