STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1950

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    GOV. MSG. NO. 476

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 476, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of: 

Board of Directors of the Hawai'i Health Systems Corporation

G.M. No. 476

CLIFFORD L. NAKEA, for a term to expire 6-30-2010,

begs leave to report as follows:

     Your Committee received the personal statement and resume submitted by the nominee, and finds Clifford L. Nakea to have the necessary qualifications to be nominated to the Board of Directors of the Hawai‘i Health Systems Corporation.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of Clifford L. Nakea from Hawai‘i Health Systems Corporation's President and Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, and the Kaua‘i Region's Chief Executive Officer.  Your Committee also received testimony in support of Judge Nakea from three members of the Hawai‘i Health Systems Board of Directors.

     Judge Nakea earned a Juris Doctor from the University of San Francisco School of Law and is a graduate of St. Mary's College.  His prior professional experience includes over thirty years in the legal field, beginning in 1971 until his retirement in 2004.  Namely, he served as a Circuit Court Judge in Kaua‘i for four years, and prior to that, served as a District Court Judge in Kaua‘i for twenty years.  Judge Nakea is also a member of several community organizations and is a member of the County of Kaua‘i Liquor Control Commission, St. Catherine's Church, and serves as a mediator for the State of Hawai‘i Appellate Court.  Additionally, Judge Nakea serves on the Board of Directors of the Kauai Museum and on the Board of Directors of the YMCA.  Judge Nakea's extensive legal and judicial expertise and strong community values will provide the Board of Directors of Hawai‘i Health Systems Corporation with keen insight regarding promoting responsible governance and decision-making to deliver quality health care services to the State's most vulnerable citizens.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair