STAND. COM. REP. NO. 441

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1486

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 1486 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTRONIC PRESCRIPTION ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to allow the Administrator of the Narcotics Enforcement Division of the Department of Public Safety to disclose confidential information from the electronic prescription accountability system, commonly known as the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program or PDMP, to authorized employees of the Department of Health Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division and the Emergency Medical Services and Injury Prevention Systems Branch.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Public Safety and Department of Health.

Your Committee finds that the Department of Public Safety has collaborated closely with the Department of Health and other government and private stakeholders to create Hawaii's Opioid Action Plan. The Opioid Action Plan calls for a balanced approach involving effective treatment, prevention, and law enforcement to combat opioid abuse in Hawaii. As part of this action plan, stakeholders agree that sharing information between the departments would provide the Department of Health with necessary information to better protect the community through opioid prescription and public health monitoring.

Your Committee further finds that this measure enables the sharing of data between law enforcement and public health officials necessary to effectively combat opioid abuse in the State.

Your Committee has amended this measure by clarifying that the authorization proposed by this measure is to disclose the confidential PDMP information to agencies of the State of Hawaii Department of Health.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1486, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1486, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs,

________________________________

CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair