STAND. COM. REP. NO. 965

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 976

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Ways and Means and Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 976, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to amend the healthcare preceptor income tax credit.

More specifically, this measure:

(1) Amends the definitions of "preceptor" and "volunteer- based supervised clinical training rotation" to improve accessibility for providers to receive income tax credits for acting as preceptors; and

(2) Revises the membership of the Preceptor Credit Assurance Committee to include the Director of Health.

Your Committees received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Health; Department of Taxation; University of Hawaii System; Hawaii Association of Professional Nurses; Hawaii Pacific Health; Hawaii Primary Care Association; Hawaii State Center for Nursing; Hawaii State Rural Health Association; Hilo Medical Center Foundation; Hua Moon Women's Health, LLC; The Queen's Health Systems; and five individuals.

Your Committees find that there is a shortage of primary care providers in the State, which will be exacerbated by the projected retirements of current physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, and pharmacists. Your Committees also find that the purpose of the existing healthcare preceptor income tax credit is to incentivize volunteer preceptors to offer professional instruction, training, and supervision to students and residents seeking careers as healthcare providers. However, although a large number of providers trained eligible students in 2019 during the first-year implementation of the tax credit, only a small subset actually met the tax credit eligibility requirements due to the primary care qualifying criteria.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that the term "primary care", as used in section 321-2.7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, has the same meaning as in section 235-110.25, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

(2) Making technical nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Ways and Means and Commerce and Consumer Protection that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 976, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 976, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Ways and Means and Commerce and Consumer Protection,

________________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair

________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair