STAND.
COM. REP. NO. 608-20
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2020
RE: H.B. No. 676
H.D. 1
Honorable Scott K. Saiki
Speaker, House of Representatives
Thirtieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2020
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 676 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH CARE WORKERS,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to make intentionally or knowingly causing bodily injury to certain health care facility workers a Class C felony.
Prior to
the hearing on this measure, your Committee posted and made available for
public review a proposed H.D. 1, which deletes the contents of the measure and
inserts language to classify intentionally or knowingly causing bodily injury
to health care security professionals as felony assault in the second degree.
Your
Committee finds that under existing law, it is a misdemeanor to assault a
health care security professional. Your
Committee further finds that health care security professionals are at
increased risk of sustaining violent injuries due to the nature of their
profession. According to testimony from
The Queen's Health Systems (Queen's), workplace violence incidents at Queen's
have led to serious injuries for Queen's staff, resulting in medical treatment,
disability claims, and leaves of absence.
Queen's also testified that, based on a review of Queen's Punchbowl
Security Dispatch data, total incidents have increased from 27,918 dispatches
in 2018 to 28,328 dispatches in 2019.
Not including incidents involving behavioral health patients, in 2018,
there were over twenty-five assault-related dispatch calls to the Queen's
security team, five calls of which involved an assault on a health care security
professional.
Your Committee also
finds that health care security professionals provide a safe work place
environment for all staff and patients. The
proposed H.D. 1 recognizes the critical role health care security professionals
play as frontline staff in violent situations and as essential members of the
health care team by classifying assault against these professionals as felony
assault in the second degree.
Your Committee has
amended this measure by adopting the proposed H.D. 1 and further amending the
measure by:
(1) Changing its effective date to July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and
(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of 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. 676, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 676, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,
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____________________________ JOHN M. MIZUNO, Chair |
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