STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2534

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 417

       S.D. 2

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 417, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to change the membership of the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation's corporation board by:

     (1)  Adding a member who alternately represents the eastern and western regions of the county of Hawaii;

     (2)  Replacing the regional chief executive officers with community members from each respective region; and

     (3)  Removing the at-large member selected by the Governor.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation and one individual.

     Section 323F-3.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires that the term for a member of the regional system board of directors shall be three years.  Section 26-34, Hawaii Revised Statutes, prohibits any board member from serving for more than two consecutive terms or for more than eight years.  Consequently, the maximum number of years that a regional system board member may serve is limited to six years.  Your Committee finds that the existing staggered terms of corporation board members result in half the board leaving one year and the other half leaving the next.  Your Committee further finds that learning the intricacies of the health care system takes time and other resources and that more flexibility in the length of a member's term would allow knowledgeable individuals to remain on the board for a longer period to sufficiently transfer their knowledge base to other members and result in more effective use of a staggered membership.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Changing the regional system board membership term from three years to a membership term between two and five years, with the specific term length to be established by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the existing regional system board members;

     (2)  Amending the purpose section to reflect the amended purpose of this measure; and

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     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. 417, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 417, S.D. 2, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

____________________________

JOSH GREEN, M.D., Chair