STAND. COM. REP. NO. 405

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2019

RE: H.B. No. 614

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 Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 614 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WAIANAE COAST COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CENTER EMERGENCY ROOM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds for Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center to enable them to continue to provide twenty-four-hour emergency services for residents of the Waianae coast.

The Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center Board of Directors, Hawai‘i Primary Care Association, Waianae Kai Hawaiian Homestead Community Association, and many individuals testified in support of this measure. The Department of the Attorney General, Department of Health, and Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center provided comments.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Blanking out the requested appropriation of $5,280,842 to promote further discussion on appropriate funding levels; and

(2) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to promote further discussion.

Your Committee notes the Attorney General's concern that expenditure of these funds may violate Article VII, Section 4 of the Hawaii Constitution as it is unclear if these funds were applied for in a manner that meets the standards for grants, awards, or appropriations for state funds as set forth in Chapter 42F, Hawaii Revised Statutes. Should your Committee on Finance deliberate this measure further, your Committee on Health respectfully requests that the introducer of this bill and Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center provide your Committee on Finance with the appropriate information regarding whether the request for an appropriation meets the standards set forth in Chapter 42F, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

Your Committee notes the testimony of Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center that acknowledges the request for an appropriation of $5,280,842 in this measure is the actual cost of providing emergency services from midnight to 8 a.m., but that an increase of $800,000 to their current subsidy of $1,468,000 would be an appropriate first step to addressing a funding shortfall.

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 H.B. No. 614, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 614, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

JOHN M. MIZUNO, Chair