STAND. COM. REP. NO. 626

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2021

RE: H.B. No. 227

H.D. 2

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 227, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Clarify the group of professionals who are prohibited from knowingly referring or transferring patients to an uncertified or unlicensed care facility;

(2) Repeal the provision that a landlord, under specified conditions, shall not be deemed to be providing home care services or operating a care facility that requires a license; and

(3) Require the Department of Health to prioritize complaint allegations based on severity for investigations of state-licensed or state-certified care facilities.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, Alliance of Professional Primary Care Administrators, Adult Foster Homecare Association of Hawaii, and numerous individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services.

Your Committee finds that the licensure of care homes and care facilities assures the public that such homes and facilities are staffed with persons with the education and training to provide the expected level of care. The continued operation of unlicensed care homes and facilities in the State remains a concern. Accordingly, this measure supports enforcement activities by the Department of Health, which are critical in the State's regulatory efforts to ensure the health and well-being of Hawaii's elderly and vulnerable populations.

Your Committee has amended this measure by clarifying the group of professionals who are prohibited from knowingly referring or transferring patients to an uncertified or unlicensed care facility, to avoid inadvertently omitting professions that are in the business of referring vulnerable persons or families.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 227, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 227, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce,

____________________________

AARON LING JOHANSON, Chair