STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2494

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2146

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Health and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Affordable Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 2146 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE CENTER FOR NURSING,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to ensure that the Hawaii Center for Nursing is appropriately funded in order to continue the provision of its operations and services.

     Specifically, this measure deletes the requirement in section 10 of Act 198, Session Laws of Hawaii 2003, which would have repealed the fee assessment for the Hawaii State Center for Nursing on July 1, 2009.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Board of Nursing, the Hawaii Center for Nursing, American Organization of Nurse Executives, Hospice Hawaii, Maunalani Nursing Rehabilitation Center, Kona Community Hospital, The Queen's Medical Center, the Honolulu Community Action Program, Healthcare Association of Hawaii, and eight individuals.  Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaii Nurses Association, and nine individuals.

     Your Committees find that the Hawaii Center for Nursing (Center) that was established in 2003 to address issues related to the nursing shortage, particularly those issues relating to recruitment and retention of registered nurses and nursing faculty, was an initiative brought forward by concerned nurses.  The fee that was agreed to at the conception of the Center has afforded the Center to be very successful in supporting the nursing profession and has been instrumental in ensuring that better data about nurses is available and improving the working conditions for nurses in the State.

     Your Committees further find that alternative funding mechanisms need to be researched to continue the Center's success.

     Accordingly, your Committees amended this measure by:

     (1)  Establishing a non-managerial staff nurse position on the advisory board for the Hawaii Center for Nursing;

     (2)  Extending the sunset date on section 10 of Act 198, Session Laws of Hawaii 2003, five years to July 1, 2014;

     (3)  Requiring the advisory board for the Hawaii Center for Nursing to submit to the Legislature:

          (A)  An interim report on the progress and findings of the five-year longitudinal study currently being conducted by the Center regarding new graduate registered nurses turnover and best practices in retention of nurses; and

          (B)  A report on funding alternatives that will enable the Center to continue its operations and services; and

     (4)  Changing the effective date to encourage further discussions on this matter.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Affordable Housing that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2146, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2146, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Affordable Housing,

____________________________ RUSSELL S. KOKUBUN, Chair

____________________________ DAVID Y. IGE, Chair