STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3755

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 2340

H.D. 2

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred H.B. No. 2340, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to amend the definition of "address" in the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, chapter 329, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to make post office boxes and rural and highway contract route boxes permissible for a prescription to be considered valid, on the condition that a physical address is readily accessible.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Kaiser Permanente and three individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Board of Pharmacy.

Your Committee finds that the number of prescriptions pharmacists receive with post office box addresses is significant, particularly on the neighbor islands. Your Committee further finds that, under existing law, if a controlled substance prescription has a post office box address, pharmacists are required to verify a patient's identification, note the identification number on the prescription, and change the address to a physical location, such as a street address, tax map key, or description of the physical location. Your Committee additionally finds permitting post office box and rural and highway contract route box addresses to be used as an option for prescriptions, as long as the physical location where an individual resides is on file, would reduce an unnecessary administrative burden on pharmacists and allow them to better focus on the needs of patients.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2022; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2340, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2340, H.D. 2, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection,

________________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair