STAND. COM. REP. NO. 784

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1340

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 1340, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE PRACTICE OF BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Expand the exemption from the behavior analyst licensing requirements for certain teachers working in collaboration with a licensed behavior analyst or licensed psychologist;

(2) Remove the exemption from the behavior analyst licensing requirements for direct support workers; and

(3) Allow a registered behavior technician who is under the direction of a licensed psychologist to implement applied behavior analysis services.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Education, Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Hawaii State Teachers Association, and Special Education Advisory Council. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawai‘i Association for Behavior Analysis.

Your Committee finds that the Department of Education has a shortage of qualified individuals to offer Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services to youth with autism. ABA is the leading practice that can help individuals with autism succeed. ABA helps curb inappropriate behaviors, improve academic performance, and enhance everyday functional skills. This measure will bolster the State's ABA workforce by allowing certain classroom teachers and registered behavior technicians under the direction of a licensed psychologist to implement ABA services.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; 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 S.B. No. 1340, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1340, S.D. 2.

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

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JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair