STAND. COM. REP. NO.  23

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

RE:   H.B. No. 202

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Higher Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 202 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TELEPSYCHIATRY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to alleviate the lack of psychiatric services in certain areas of the state by requiring and appropriating funds for the University of Hawaii (UH) to expand its existing telepsychiatry project to rural Oahu, rural Kauai, and Hawaii, and to involve advanced graduate psychiatric residents in the provision of the services.

     The Ko'olauloa Community Health and Wellness Center, Inc., NAMI Oahu, and several concerned individuals testified in support of this bill.  The Hawaii Psychiatric Medical Association supported this measure with amendments.  The Department of Health, Department of Human Services, and UH John A. Burns School of Medicine supported the intent of this bill.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

     (1) Changing the appropriation amounts to $1 to encourage further discussion; and

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Higher Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 202, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 202, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Health.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Higher Education,

____________________________

JERRY L. CHANG, Chair