STAND. COM. REP. NO.  512

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2015

RE:   H.B. No. 859

      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. 859 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1)  Expand the list of state-licensed care facilities for which the Department of Health is required to post electronic inspection reports of on its website;

(2)  Require the Department of Health to maintain a forum on its website where all state-licensed care facilities may post vacancy information to facilitate the placement of individuals in these facilities; and

(3)  Make an appropriation.

Hawaii Pacific Health, Big Island Adult Foster Home Operators, and numerous individuals supported this measure.  The Department of Health testified in support of this measure with comments.  The Alliance of Residential Care Administrators supported the intent of this measure.  An individual commented on this measure.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1)  Retaining, rather than expanding, the current number of state-licensed care facilities for which the Department of Health is required to post electronic inspection reports of on its website;

(2)  Authorizing, rather than requiring, the Department of Health to maintain a forum on its website where vacancy information of specified state-licensed care facilities are posted;

(3)  Requiring the Department of Health to convene a working group to discuss and provide feedback on the implementation and maintenance of the forum and the posting of vacancy information on its website;

(4)  Requiring the Department of Health to submit a report to the Legislature prior to the 2016 Regular Session on the implementation and maintenance of the forum and the posting of vacancy information on its website;

(5)  Changing its effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion; and

(6)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity and style.

     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. 859, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 859, 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