STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2337

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2535

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Health and Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 2535 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE TRAUMA SYSTEM SPECIAL FUND,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to establish additional funding mechanisms to enhance the availability of revenues in the Trauma System Special Fund to ensure the availability of care for trauma patients in the State.

     Specifically, this measure expands the resources available for trauma care by:

     (1)  Establishing surcharges for traffic violations, use of intoxicants while operating a vehicle, crimes of violence, and drug related offenses;

     (2)  Establishes surcharges for accidents involving death or serious bodily injury, accidents involving bodily injury and substantial bodily injury, and statewide traffic code penalties;

     (3)  Clarifies that moneys in the Trauma System Special Fund include, among other things, trauma system surcharges and cigarette tax revenues;

     (4)  Provides guidelines for the methodology used in calculating costs incurred by hospitals providing care to trauma patients; and

     (5)  Appropriates an unspecified amount for fiscal year 2008-2009, for deposit into the Trauma System Special Fund.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, The Queen's Medical Center, and Hawaii Pacific Health.

     Your Committees find that additional resources are needed immediately to ensure the health, welfare, and safety of the citizens of our State.  The Trauma System Special Fund was designed to subsidize trauma care.  However, due to the extremely high costs of trauma care, revenues need to be increased to ensure the financial viability of hospitals that provide it.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive changes for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Judiciary and Labor that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2535, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2535, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Judiciary and Labor,

____________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair

____________________________ DAVID Y. IGE, Chair