STAND. COM. REP. NO. 77

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 44

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Health and Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 44 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to add the definition of "law enforcement officer" and to change references of "police officer" to "law enforcement officer" in sections of the Hawaii Revised Statues relating to emergency hospital admission and involuntary hospitalization.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health; Department of Public Safety; Institute for Human Services, Inc.; Community Alliance for Mental Health; and one individual.

     Your Committees find that section 334-59, Hawaii Revised Statutes, currently only applies to county police officers and that this measure is necessary to allow all law enforcement officers to utilize section 334-59, Hawaii Revised Statutes.  Your Committees further find that advanced practice registered nurses are fully qualified to determine a person's mental health status and whether the person poses a safety risk and should therefore be authorized under section 334-59, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to do so.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Adding advanced practice registered nurse to the list of mental health professionals qualified to diagnose mental illness under section 334-59, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

     (2)  Making a technical nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 44, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 44, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs,

____________________________ WILL ESPERO, Chair

____________________________ JOSH GREEN, Chair