STAND. COM. REP. NO. 187

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2019

RE: H.B. No. 1013

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Human Services & Homelessness, to which was referred H.B. No. 1013 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO INVOLUNTARY HOSPITALIZATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to authorize the Director of the Department of Health (DOH) to designate emergency departments to which persons requiring emergency mental health treatment may be taken by law enforcement.

DOH, Hawaii Disability Rights Center, and O‘ahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i supported this measure. Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, Kaiser Permanente Hawai‘i, and Hawai‘i Pacific Health opposed this measure. The Queen's Health Systems, Healthcare Association of Hawaii, and an individual provided comments.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Providing that no critical access hospitals shall be designated by the Director of DOH to receive persons requiring emergency mental health treatment unless DOH and the critical access hospital have entered into a memorandum of agreement, or if the critical access hospital is the only hospital on the island; and

(2) Changing its effective date to January 1, 2059, to encourage further discussion.

Your Committee notes that a study should be performed to evaluate transporting persons who require mental health treatment to an emergency department, and respectfully requests that the Committees on Judiciary and Finance consider amending this measure to include such a study.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services & Homelessness that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1013, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1013, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

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

____________________________

JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair