STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2616

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 3028

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Affordable Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 3028 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO GRADUATES OF FOREIGN ACUPUNCTURE PROGRAMS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to ensure that all applicants granted an acupuncture license meet equivalent standards of training and education.

     Specifically, this measure requires foreign-educated acupuncture applicants to have their educational information evaluated by a board approved and designated professional evaluator to determine curriculum equivalency.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Board of Acupuncture.

     Section 436E-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires the Board of Acupuncture to ensure that applicants for acupuncture examination and licensure meet the same high standards for acupuncture education, regardless of whether applicants attend a program located in the United States or in a foreign country.  Unlike a national accrediting body that oversees U.S. acupuncture programs, a similar accrediting body to oversee the foreign acupuncture education programs does not exist, which forces the Board of Acupuncture to undertake duties similar to that of an accrediting body to meet its requirements under section 436E-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, with respect to foreign applicants.

     Your Committee finds that this measure will ensure educational equivalency requiring, at the applicant's expense, a professional credentialing evaluator with the expertise and resources to appropriately evaluate foreign curriculum and transcripts.  This will assist the Board of Acupuncture in expediting the applications from graduates of foreign acupuncture programs, and ensure that all applicants for acupuncture, regardless of the country location of their education, meet the standards of acupuncture education.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Affordable Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3028 and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

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

____________________________

RUSSELL S. KOKUBUN, Chair