STAND. COM. REP. NO. 222

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 101

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Higher Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 101 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MEDICAL SCHOOL TUITION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to, beginning with the class of 2029, require each graduate of the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine who benefitted from Hawaii resident tuition to commit to serving as a physician in the State for at least two years following a medical residency or fellowship.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaiʻi Primary Care Association and one individual.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from two individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General, University of Hawaiʻi System, and one individual.

Your Committee finds that the State is currently experiencing a shortage of nearly eight hundred physicians. Your Committee further finds that the majority of graduates of the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) benefit from paying resident tuition; however, only about half of the individuals in each year's graduating class remain in the State to serve as a physician. Your Committee believes that each graduate who benefits from the more affordable Hawaii resident tuition should be committed to using their medical knowledge for the benefit of the State. Your Committee notes that in recent years, JABSOM has admitted an average of seventy-seven new entrants annually, equating to an admittance rate of roughly three and a half percent. Your Committee believes that JABSOM should explore various avenues to enroll more prospective physicians and ensure that they remain in the State after completing their medical residency or fellowship.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting language identifying this measure as a law of statewide concern; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Higher Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 101, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 101, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Higher Education,

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DONNA MERCADO KIM, Chair