STAND. COM. REP. NO. 403

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2019

RE: H.B. No. 235

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. 235 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DRUG TREATMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds for drug treatment programs for opioid abuse, methamphetamine abuse, heroin abuse, and other substance abuses.

The Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii, Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, O‘ahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, and Hawai‘i Health & Harm Reduction Center testified in support of this measure. The Department of Health and Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition provided comments.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Requiring the Department of Health to seek out non-state funding sources, such as federal or private grants, prior to expending any money appropriated from the general revenues;

(2) Changing the appropriation to an unspecified amount;

(3) Establishing the Department of Health as the payor of last resort after all other public and private insurance and funding options have been exhausted;

(4) Consolidating the appropriation into a general appropriation for drug treatment, rather than allocating amounts for specific purposes;

(5) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to promote further discussion; and

(6) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

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. 235, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 235, 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