STAND.
COM. REP. NO. 1421
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2025
RE: S.B. No. 1323
S.D. 2
H.D. 1
Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura
Speaker, House of Representatives
Thirty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2025
State of Hawaii
Madame:
Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 1323, S.D. 2, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH CARE,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The
purpose of this measure is to update
the State's advance health care directive laws by adopting the Uniform
Health-Care Decisions Act (2023) in modified form.
Your Committee finds
that the Uniform Law Commission approved and recommended the Uniform
Health-Care Decisions Act (2023) for enactment in all states. Your Committee further finds that although
the State's existing laws address advance directives broadly, the Uniform
Health-Care Decisions Act (2023) provides a more comprehensive framework for a
variety of advance directives, including advance mental health care
directives. Your Committee believes that
adopting the Uniform Health Care Decisions Act (2023) in modified form will
simplify the process to execute an advance health care directive.
Your
Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Clarifying the definition of "advanced practice registered nurse";
(2) Deleting language that established a process for
an individual who is the subject of a finding of lack of capacity to object to
the finding and required the individual to be treated as having capacity unless
certain conditions were met;
(3) Requiring that a signed declaration from a
person who is assuming the authority to act as a default include a statement
that the declaration was provided under penalty of law;
(4) Deleting language that removed the power of an
agent or default surrogate to make health care decisions for an individual who
is the subject of a finding of lack of capacity if the individual objected to
the finding;
(5) Deleting language that prohibited a default
surrogate from making a health care decision under certain conditions;
(6) Reducing the amount of damages that may be
awarded against a health care professional or health care institution for a
violation of duties to $5,000, rather than $50,000;
(7) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000,
to encourage further discussion; and
(8) 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 S.B. No. 1323, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1323, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,
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____________________________ GREGG TAKAYAMA, Chair |
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