STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1660-14

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2014

RE:   S.B. No. 2490

      S.D. 2

      H.D. 2

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred S.B. No. 2490, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CONTINUING COMPETENCY FOR NURSES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to safeguard patient health and safety by establishing continuing competency requirements for licensed registered and practical nurses to be completed in the two years prior to license renewal, beginning July 1, 2017.  

Hawaii Pacific Health, Healthcare Association of Hawaii, and a few individuals testified in support of this measure.  The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Board of Nursing, and Hawaii State Center for Nursing provided comments on this measure.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting the requirement that the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, in collaboration with the Center for Nursing, convene a stakeholder group to address any outstanding issues associated with the implementation of the continuing competence requirements;

     (2)  Changing its effective date to July 1, 2112, to encourage further discussion; and

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2490, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2490, S.D. 2, H.D. 2.

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

____________________________

ANGUS L.K. McKELVEY, Chair