STAND. COM. REP. NO.  519

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2015

RE:   H.B. No. 460

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 460 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to provide limited immunity for individuals who seek medical assistance for victims of alcohol or substance overdose.

The Department of Health, Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition, Hawaii Medical Association, Community Health Outreach Work, Community Alliance on Prisons, the Drug Policy Action Group, Hawaii Women's Coalition, Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii, and numerous individuals submitted testimony in support of this measure.   

     Your Committee has amended this measure by changing its effective date to January 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion.

     Should the Committee on Judiciary deliberate this measure further, your committee respectfully requests the Committee on Judiciary look at the concerns reflected in the testimony provided by the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii.  Your Committee further requests that the Committee on Judiciary consider defining "immediate death" and "serious injury".

     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. 460, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 460, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

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

____________________________

DELLA AU BELATTI, Chair