STAND. COM. REP. NO.  507

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2015

RE:   H.B. No. 497

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Health and Human Services, to which was referred H.B. No. 497 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AGING,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to

(1)  Appropriate funds for:

(A)  The Kupuna Care Program;

          (B)  The Aging and Disability Resource Center;

          (C)  An Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia Services Coordinator position;

          (D)  Fall prevention and early detection services for the elderly;

          (E)  Grants to various senior centers;

          (F)  The Healthy Aging Partnership Program; and

          (G)  An Alzheimer's disease and related dementia public awareness campaign; and

(2)  Remove the requirement that the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia Services Coordinator be appointed in accordance with civil service and collective bargaining laws.

The Maui County Office on Aging; Big Island Adult Foster Home Operators;  Hawaii Family Caregiver Coalition; Lanakila Pacific; Healthcare Association of Hawaii; The Queen's Health Systems, Moiliili Community Center; National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association; PHOCUSED; Zonta Club of Hilo; Democratic Party of Hawaii; Catholic Charities Hawaii; AARP Hawaii; Hawaii Primary Care Association; Hawaii Alliance for Retired Americans; Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO; ILWU Local 142; and numerous individuals provided testimony in support of this measure.  The State Council on Developmental Disabilities supported the intent of this measure.  The Executive Office on Aging provided comments on this measure.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1)  Changing all appropriation amounts to unspecified amounts; and

     (2)  Changing its effective date to July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion.

     Should your Committee on Finance deliberate this measure further, your Committees respectfully request that the Committee on Finance consider the following appropriation requests:

     (1)  $5,100,000 for each year of fiscal biennium 2015-2017 for the Kupuna Care Program;

     (2)  $1,710,000 for fiscal year 2015-2016 and $1,651,300 for fiscal year 2016-2017 for the Aging and Disability Resource Center;

     (3)  $70,000 for each year of fiscal biennium 2015-2017 for the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia Services Coordinator position;

     (4)  $32,000 for each year of fiscal biennium 2015-2017 for fall prevention and early detection services for the elderly;

     (5)  $388,000 for each year of fiscal biennium 2015-2017 to provide funding for grants for the senior centers specified in the measure;

     (6)  $476,722 for each year of fiscal biennium 2015-2017 for the Healthy Aging Partnership Program of the Department of Health's Executive Office on Aging; and

     (7)  $200,000 for each year of fiscal biennium 2015-2017 for an Alzheimer's disease and related dementia public awareness campaign.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Human Services that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 497, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 497, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________ DEE MORIKAWA, Chair

____________________________ DELLA AU BELATTI, Chair