STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2700
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: S.B. No. 3231
S.D. 2
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 S.B. No. 3231, S.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to regulate individuals offering genetic counseling services.
Specifically, this measure would:
(1) Protect those seeking genetic counseling services from incompetent and unscrupulous persons, and persons unauthorized to perform these services;
(2) Assure the highest degree of professional conduct on the part of genetic counselors; and
(3) Assure the availability of high quality genetic counseling services.
Testimony in support of the measure was submitted by Kaiser Permanente, the March of Dimes Hawaii Chapter, Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children, and eight genetic counselors. Comments were submitted by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
Your Committee finds that licensure of genetic counselors will ensure high-level quality service to consumers in this State.
Your Committee is in agreement with your Committee on Health that this measure requires a sunrise report pursuant to Section 26H-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes. Your Committee concurs with the recommendation by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs that the name of the implementing agency be deleted from this measure and that the Auditor, in its sunrise analysis, be instructed to determine the agency to be the proper regulating authority.
Your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Deleting the name of the implementing agency throughout this measure;
(2) Exempting American Board of Genetic Counseling or American Board of Medical Genetics certified genetic counselors from licensure when they are brought into the State as consultants to train genetic counselors within the State; and
(3) Including individuals who have a doctoral degree from a medical genetics training program accredited by the American Board of Medical Genetics, or an equivalent as determined by the American Board of Medical Genetics, among those individuals who should be licensed under this measure.
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 S.B. No. 3231, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3231, S.D. 2.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Housing,
|
____________________________ RON MENOR, Chair |
||