STAND. COM. REP. NO.  329-14

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2014

 

RE:   H.B. No. 2040

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 2040 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO INFANT MORTALITY,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to improve the well-being and health outcomes of women, children, and families by, among other things:

 

(1)  Establishing a Comprehensive Maternal and Child Health Quality Improvement Program and Hawaii Maternal and Child Health Quality Improvement Collaborative (Collaborative) within the Department of Health;

 

(2)  Requiring the Department of Health to develop and publish a Statewide Comprehensive Maternal and Child Health Quality Improvement Strategic Plan;

 

(3)  Requiring hospitals to establish written policies regarding non-medically indicated induction of newborn deliveries prior to a specific time and according to guidelines adopted by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; and

 

(4)  Appropriating $215,000 for the purposes of this measure.  

 

     The Executive Office on Early Learning, Family Voices of Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i Pacific Health, and an individual supported this measure.  The Department of Health testified in support of the intent of this measure.  Comments were received from the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

 

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

 

(1)  Eliminating the limit on the number of members participating on the Collaborative; and

 

(2)  Deleting the amount of the appropriation.

 

Should this bill be heard by the Committee on Finance, your Committee respectfully requests that it consider appropriating $215,000 for Fiscal Year 2014-2015 to carry out the purposes of this measure.

 

     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. 2040, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2040, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

 

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

 

 

 

 

____________________________

DELLA AU BELATTI, Chair