STAND. COM. REP. NO.  502

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2013

RE:   H.B. No. 654

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 654 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NURSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to support effective workforce planning and policymaking through improved data collection in the health care industry by requiring:

(1)  The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Professional and Vocational Licensing Division to:

(A)  Collaborate with the Center for Nursing to enable the Center for Nursing to obtain nursing-related data, including workforce data of nurses licensed in the State; and

(B)  Provide nurse licensee contact information, including e-mail addresses, to the Center for Nursing, through a Memorandum of Understanding; and

(2)  Each applicant, as part of the license renewal process for nursing, to complete a survey developed by the Center for Nursing.

The Hawaii Association of Professional Nurses, Healthcare Association of Hawaii, and several individuals supported this measure.  The Hawaii State Center for Nursing, Board of Nursing, Office of Information Practices, and several individuals supported this measure with amendments.  A concerned individual opposed this measure.  The Professional and Vocational Licensing Division of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene submitted comments.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1)  Clarifying the provision of data for specified purposes to reflect that the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Professional and Vocational Licensing Division is required to provide nurse licensee contact information, including e-mail addresses, to enable the Center for Nursing to fulfill certain purposes, which include the collection and analysis of data; and

(2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

     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 H.B. No. 654, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 654, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce.

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

____________________________

DELLA AU BELATTI, Chair