STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2065

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2202

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 2202 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE GENERAL EXCISE TAX,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to provide an exemption from the general excise tax for certain necessary medical devices, including mobility enhancement equipment, durable medical equipment, prescription drugs, and prosthetic devices, and to expand the definition of prosthetic device as used for purposes of the exemption.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Disability and Communications Access Board, Oahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, and one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Taxation and Tax Foundation of Hawaii.

Your Committee finds that this measure will benefit individuals with disabilities, especially those on fixed incomes, by providing greater access to necessary medical devices. Your Committee has taken into account the comments from the Department of Taxation on the estimated loss of revenue to the State should this measure be enacted but finds that the benefits provided by this measure for members of a vulnerable population outweigh the fiscal costs.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2202 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

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ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair