STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1299-18

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2018

RE: S.B. No. 2800

S.D. 2

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health & Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 2800, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE SHARING OF VITAL STATISTICS RECORDS WITH DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH PROGRAM EMPLOYEES FOR APPROVED RESEARCH PURPOSES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to protect the privacy interest of individuals while allowing employees of the Department of Health to use vital statistics records for the purposes of research by providing an avenue for the Department to share amongst its program employees certain personal health statistics records for research purposes, subject to approval by the Department's institutional review committee.

The Department of Health, Hawai‘i Primary Care Association, and Hawaii Children's Action Network testified in support of this measure.

While your Committee notes the need to use vital statistics for research and public health purposes, your Committee urges the Department of Health to use caution when developing and implementing procedures to allow for the sharing of vital statistics so as not to violate the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Consistently applying the limitation of research purposes as only those that have been approved by the Department of Health's institutional review committee to chapter 338, Hawaii Revised Statutes, Vital Statistics; and

(2) Changing its effective date to July 1, 3000, to facilitate further discussion.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health & Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2800, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2800, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health & Human Services,

____________________________

JOHN M. MIZUNO, Chair