Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Health and Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 786 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to allow the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation to obtain criminal history information on persons who are employed or seeking employment to serve as volunteers, providers, or subcontractors in any of the corporation's health facilities.

The Department of Human Resources Development and Hawaii Health Systems Corporation submitted testimony in support of this measure.

Your Committees find that the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation provides a broad range of health care services including acute, long-term care, and rural health care services. Hawaii Health Systems Corporation currently checks an applicant's local record of convictions before hiring the applicant. However, local criminal checks do not list out-of-state convictions. Access to the FBI data bank is limited to those agencies that have specific statutes mandating criminal history checks. This measure will facilitate Hawaii Health Systems Corporation's criminal history checks of applicants for employment.

Upon further consideration, your Committees have amended this measure by limiting the criminal history checks to those persons whose positions may place them in close proximity to patients, and by making technical, non-substantive amendments for clarity and style.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 786, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 786, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.