THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

88

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

  
   

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING A STUDY OF OPTOMETRIC THERAPY LAWS.

 

WHEREAS, the Legislature's policy regarding the regulation of professions and vocations, as set forth in section 26H-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), is to regulate only where reasonably necessary to protect the health, safety or welfare of consumers, and not for the purpose of protecting the interests of the regulated profession or vocation; and

WHEREAS, prior to the enactment of Act 279, Session Laws of Hawaii 1994 (Act 279), the Legislative Auditor (Auditor) was required to evaluate every regulatory program at least once every ten years; and

WHEREAS, Act 279 repealed the automatic review requirement, but authorized the Legislature to specifically request an evaluation of a regulatory program; and

WHEREAS, doctors of optometry are independent primary health care providers who examine, diagnose, treat, and manage diseases and disorders of the visual system, the eye and associated structures as well as diagnose related systemic conditions; and

WHEREAS, doctors of optometry receive their doctor of optometry (O.D.) degree after four years of post-graduate study at an accredited college of optometry; and

WHEREAS, the practice of optometry in the State of Hawaii is regulated under chapter 459, HRS, and in recent years, the Legislature has considered regulatory issues related to the practice of optometry, including the authorization of prescriptive authority for optometrists in 1999; and

WHEREAS, according to some sources, the scope of optometric practice as provided in chapter 459, HRS, is among the most restrictive in the nation; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-First Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2002, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Legislative Reference Bureau (Bureau) is requested to study optometric therapy laws and related safeguards within the fifty states and the District of Columbia; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study focus on the use of oral medications to treat eye disease, the treatment of glaucoma, and the use of controlled substances to treat ocular pain with respect to the scope of optometric practice and prescriptive authority for optometrists; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Bureau is requested to submit a report of findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2003; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, and the Board of Examiners in Optometry.

Report Title:

LRB Study of optometric therapy laws