STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2585

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2101

       S.D. 1

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2101 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE TRICARE PROGRAM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to make permanent the general excise tax exemption on funds received by a managed care support contractor of the TRICARE program for the actual cost or advancement to third-party health care providers pursuant to a contract with the United States.

     Written comments in support of this measure were submitted by TriWest Healthcare Alliance, Inc.  Written comments were submitted by the Tax Foundation of Hawaii.

     Your Committee finds that making permanent the temporary TRICARE program general tax exemption provided by Act 70, Session Laws of Hawaii 2009, would help alleviate the need to increase healthcare costs for services delivered through the TRICARE program for members of the military and their families.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure; and

     (2)  Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for style.

     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. 2101, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2101, S.D. 1.

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

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair