STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2582

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 3074

       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 Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 3074 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH FOR THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES AND INJURY PREVENTION SYSTEM BRANCH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to make an emergency appropriation of general funds to the Department of Health to pay for ambulance service contract collective bargaining cost increases.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health and the City and County of Honolulu Department of Emergency Services.

     Your Committee finds that this emergency appropriation of general funds is necessary to comply with collective bargaining increases negotiated by the ambulance service provider on Oahu.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by lowering the general fund appropriation to $707,539, by adding an emergency appropriation of $1,100,000 out of the emergency medical services special fund, and by adding a proviso that neither of the funds shall be used for any purpose other than the collective bargaining increases.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3074, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3074, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair