STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2286

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2560

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 2560 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Require the Department of Health to provide treatment and care for homeless individuals with serious and persistent mental health challenges as a part of its comprehensive mental health system; and

     (2)  Appropriate monies for mental health care and treatment for homeless individuals.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Coordinator on Homelessness under the Office of the Governor, Department of Health, and Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition.

     Your Committees find that the issue of homelessness is complex, as there are many reasons why individuals become homeless, such as issues related to housing, poverty, access to health care, and mental health.  A continuum of comprehensive services is needed to assist individuals with serious and persistent mental health issues in the State.  This measure assists in providing effective, appropriate, and accessible treatment for homeless individuals suffering from mental health challenges.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting language in the findings that references the tobacco master settlement agreement and expending requirements on certain programs by the Department of Health as it relates to the appropriation in this measure;

     (2)  Amending the definition of "homeless individual" to mean an individual who is homeless as defined under section 346-361, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and who has a serious and persistent mental illness or is otherwise eligible for services;

     (3)  Amending the program element of the community residential treatment system relating to a semisupervised, independent, but structured living arrangement by specifying that the arrangement is for certain persons who are at risk of becoming homeless by reason of serious and persistent mental illness; and

     (4)  Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health and Human Services that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2560, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2560, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health and Human Services,

________________________________ SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair

________________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair