STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2302

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2163

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 2163 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE PRACTICE OF NURSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to define the practice of nursing and delineate the scope of practice for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and advanced practice nurses in part by adopting the National Council of State Boards of Nursing Model Nursing Practice Act (NCSBN) and Model Nursing Administrative Rules that pertain to the scope and standards of nursing practice for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and advanced practice registered nurses.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene and twenty-one individuals.  Your Committee received testimony in support of the intent of this measure with amendments from the Department of Public Safety and the Board of Nursing.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual.  Written testimony presented to the Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

     Your Committee finds that the demand from the health care community for clarification of the scope of registered and practical nursing practice has increased over the years.  Your Committee further finds that adopting NCSBN provisions and rules will help Hawaii to conform to national guidelines governing nursing practice. 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Removing proposed permission to advanced practice registered nurses to dispense controlled substances; and

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive changes to ensure clarity and accuracy in the language of this measure.

     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. 2163, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2163, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection.

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

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair