STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1325

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 714

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Health and Human Services and Economic Development and Tourism, to which was referred H.B. No. 714, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds to support educational training programs to expand the State's health care workforce, including health care certificate programs and classroom renovations for health care training in public high schools and education programs that support certified nurse assistants in becoming licensed practical nurses.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the State Council on Developmental Disabilities; Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; State Health Planning and Development Agency; State Council on Mental Health; Department of Education; Office of Hawaiian Affairs; University of Hawaiʻi System; Healthcare Association of Hawaii; Kaiser Permanente Hawaiʻi; The Queen's Health Systems; AlohaCare; Hawaiʻi State Center for Nursing; Hilo Benioff Medical Center; Hawaiʻi Primary Care Association; Alzheimer's Association-Hawaii; Hawaii Medical Association; Hawaiʻi-American Nurses Association; Hawaiʻi Pacific Health; Liberty Dialysis Hawaii; Society of Human Resource Management-Hawaii; Hawaii Medical Service Association; and two individuals.

Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services.

Your Committees find that although current efforts to address the health care workforce shortage have been successful, it has also become clear that the needs of the rapidly aging population in Hawaii are contributing to increased demand for workers throughout the health care field. Your Committees further find that the Healthcare Association of Hawaii has played a crucial role in mitigating this issue through various workforce development programs, which aim to strengthen Hawaii's health care system by preparing new health care workers to enter the workforce and supporting the career advancement of existing workers. Your Committees believe that these programs address the significant shortage of entry-level health care workers in Hawaii and offer students a pathway to careers that pay a living wage and provide opportunities for further professional development. Accordingly, this measure provides funding to support and improve the reach of these programs to meet the increasing health care needs of Hawaii's residents.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language that would have appropriated funds for capital improvements to renovate and equip public high school classrooms to make them more suitable for health care training; and

(2) Inserting an effective date of December 31, 2050, to encourage further discussion.

Your Committees note that this measure contains an unspecified appropriation amount. Should your Committee on Ways and Means choose to deliberate on this measure, your Committees respectfully request that it consider inserting an appropriation amount of $750,000 for each of the two fiscal years for educational programs to expand the State's health care workforce.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Human Services and Economic Development and Tourism that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 714, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 714, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Human Services and Economic Development and Tourism,

________________________________ LYNN DECOITE, Chair

________________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair