STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1235

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 79

       H.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred H.B. No. 79, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ADVANCED PRACTICE REGISTERED NURSES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to change the degree requirement for Advanced Practice Registered Nurse recognition from a Master's degree in nursing to a graduate degree in nursing.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Board of Nursing; Hawai‘i State Center for Nursing; University of Hawai‘i at Manoa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene; University of Hawai‘i at Hilo School of Nursing; Healthcare Association of Hawaii; Hawai‘i Pacific Health; American Organization of Nurse Executives, Hawai‘i Chapter; Hawai‘i Association of Professional Nurses; and three individuals.

     Your Committee finds that under existing state law, Advanced Practice Registered Nurses may only be recognized if they receive a Master's degree in certain nursing fields.  This precludes recognition of nurses who earn a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree and other nationally recognized clinical doctorates in nursing, which directly impacts Doctor of Nursing Practice graduates of the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Nursing and the University of Hawaii at Hilo School of Nursing.  The Master's degree requirement also impedes other states' Advanced Practice Registered Nurses with clinical doctorates from practicing in the State.

     Your Committee further finds that every state except Hawaii accepts a graduate degree instead of a Master's degree for Advanced Practice Registered Nurse licensure and certification.  This measure will bring Hawaii into alignment with the rest of the country and with the National Council of State Boards of Nursing's consensus model for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 79, H.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection,

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair