STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2502

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2274

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Health and Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 2274 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE CENTER FOR NURSING,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require all nursing license applicants to respond to the center for nursing workforce supply survey in conjunction with license renewal, provided that the license renewal shall not be contingent upon responding to the workforce supply survey and failure to respond to the workforce supply survey shall not result in encumbrance of the nurse's license; and

(2) Increase the center for nursing fee from $40 to $60 per license biennium.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the University of Hawai‘i System, Hawai‘i State Center for Nursing, Hawai‘i--American Nurses Association, Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, The Queen's Health Systems, and three individuals. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from two individuals. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Board of Nursing.

Your Committees find that Act 198, Session Laws of Hawaii 2003 (Act 198), established the Hawaii State Center for Nursing (Center), whose goals include collecting and analyzing data related to current and future trends in nursing, and recruiting and retaining nursing. Since 2003, the Center has made significant progress in creating statewide initiatives and programs to address the nursing shortage and increasing access to health care throughout the State. Your Committees further find that the center for nursing fees, which help to fund the Center's activities, has not increased since 2003, and the State again faces a nursing shortage.

This measure requires all nursing license applicants to respond to the Center's survey when renewing their nursing licenses and increases the nursing fee by $20.

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Commerce and Consumer Protection that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2274, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2274, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

________________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair

________________________________ JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair