STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3129

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2460

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2460, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NURSES,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to allow temporary permits to be issued to registered nurses and licensed practical nurses from a territory or foreign country who are seeking a state license by endorsement.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the East Hawai‘i Region of Hawai‘i Health Systems Corporation, Hawai‘i Pacific Heath, Hawai‘i Medical Service Association, Healthcare Association of Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i - American Nurses Association, Hawai‘i Primary Care Association, Hawai‘i Coalition for Immigrant Rights, Hawai‘i Friends of Civil Rights, The Legal Clinic, and four individuals. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Board of Nursing, The Queen's Health Systems, and Hawai‘i State Center for Nursing.

Your Committees find that certain nurses that are both licensed in another state and applying for licensure in Hawai‘i by endorsement are eligible for a temporary permit to practice within the State while their applications are reviewed and verified. According to testimony received by your Committees, foreign nurses must have at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited academic nursing institution, a minimum of two years relevant work experience, and pass rigorous background checks by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to obtain a work visa to enter the United States. This measure will not only align the licensure by endorsement procedures between nurses who have been licensed in a territory or a foreign country with those nurses who have been licensed in another state, but also help decrease the nursing shortage within the State.

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 Commerce and Consumer Protection and Judiciary that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2460, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2460, S.D. 2.

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

________________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair

________________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair