STAND. COM. REP. NO. 752

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 390

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 390 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to repeal the sunset date of section 2 of Act 119, Session Laws of Hawaii 2021 (Act 119), thereby making permanent:

(1) The requirement that the Hawaii Medical Board issue licenses in four levels of emergency response practice in counties with a population of five hundred thousand or greater; and

(2) The creation of an additional licensure category for Emergency Medical Technicians 1, who are certified at a higher practice level than emergency medical technicians but do not provide ambulance services.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Medical Board.

Your Committee finds that emergency medical technicians, including firefighters and ocean safety lifeguards, provide immediate life-saving interventions to critical care patients while awaiting arrival of additional emergency medical services and are a vital part of a comprehensive emergency medical services system response. Emergency medical technicians, however, do not provide emergency ambulance services. Until 2021, state law relating to the certification of emergency medical personnel addressed only emergency ambulance service personnel and had no licensure category for emergency medical technicians who hold a National Registry Emergency Medical Technician certification. Accordingly, Act 119 created an additional licensure category of "Emergency Medical Technicians 1" and requires the Hawaii Medical Board to issue licenses in four levels of emergency response practice, including Emergency Medical Technicians 1, in counties with a population of five hundred thousand or greater. However, these provisions of Act 119 are scheduled to repeal on July 1, 2027. This measure repeals this sunset date, thereby making permanent the authority given to the Hawaii Medical Board to license Emergency Medical Technicians who hold a National Registry Emergency Medical Technician certification.

Your Committee has amended this measure by inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion;

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 390, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 390, S.D. 1.

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

________________________________

JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair