STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1114-16

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2016

RE:   S.B. No. 2677

      S.D. 2

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 2677, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NURSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to promote public safety by ensuring that licensed nurses are safe to practice and unlikely to harm patients.  This measure:

     (1)  Requires criminal history record checks for all nurse licensure applicants beginning on July 1, 2017, and nurse license renewal applicants beginning on July 1, 2019;

     (2)  Authorizes the State Board of Nursing to conduct investigations of applicants for renewal, reinstatement, reactivation or restoration; and, beginning on July 1, 2017, request criminal history records of qualified applicants; and

     (3)  Requires the State Board of Nursing to request by July 1, 2023, the criminal history records from persons licensed prior to July 1, 2017.

Hawaii Pacific Health, Hawaii Association of Professional Nurses, and two concerned individuals testified in support of this measure.  The Board of Nursing and Hawaii State Center for Nursing testified in support and provided comments.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Requiring the applicant for nurse licensing issuance, renewal, or reactivation to pay the fee for the criminal history background check directly to the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center;

     (2)  Removing the authority to develop rules to implement the required criminal history record checks; and

     (3)  Making it take effect on July 1, 2017.

     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 S.B. No. 2677, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2677, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce.

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

____________________________

DELLA AU BELATTI, Chair