STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1512

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2013

RE:   S.B. No. 1074

      S.D. 2

      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 Finance, to which was referred S.B. No. 1074, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PHYSICAL THERAPY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to regulate the practice of physical therapy by:

     (1)  Requiring physical therapist assistants to be licensed and establishing licensing criteria;

     (2)  Limiting the use of the titles "physical therapist assistant", "PTA", or any other term to imply that a person is a physical therapist assistant to licensed professionals;

     (3)  Adding a physical therapist assistant to the Board of Physical Therapy to replace the physician member; and

     (4)  Appropriating funds from the Compliance Resolution Fund to implement the licensure provisions.

The Board of Physical Therapy, Hookahi Leo Physical Therapist Assistants of Hawaii, The Queen's Health Systems, Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, the Hawaii Chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association, the Occupational Therapy Association of Hawaii, and many individuals testified in support of this measure.  

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Changing its effective date to July 1, 2030, to facilitate further discussion; 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 Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1074, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1074, S.D. 2, H.D. 1.

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

____________________________

SYLVIA LUKE, Chair