STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2279

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 3027

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 3027 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO OSTEOPATHY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to provide uniformity of practice regulation for osteopathic physicians.

     Specifically, this measure includes osteopathic physicians in chapter 453, Hawaii Revised Statutes, which regulates doctors of medicine and repeals chapter 460, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Board of Medical Examiners and Hawaii Medical Association.

     Your Committee finds that osteopathic and medical doctors are both physicians of equivalent education and training and should be regulated as such.  Your Committee further finds that including osteopathic physicians in chapter 453, Hawaii Revised Statutes, will enable the Board of Medical Examiners to regulate both professions more uniformly and efficiently.

     Your Committee amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive changes for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3027, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3027, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Affordable Housing.

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

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair