CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 164-24

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2024

RE: S.B. No. 3279

S.D. 1

H.D. 2

C.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sirs:

Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 3279, S.D. 1, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Establish within the Office of Wellness and Resilience the State of Well-Being Project to assess and enhance Tier 1 and Tier 2 mental health support services for all key stakeholder communities across the State; and

(2) Appropriate funds to implement the State of Well-Being Project, including funds to establish full-time equivalent mental health specialist positions within the Office of Wellness and Resilience.

Your Committee on Conference finds that the prevalence of both acute and chronic mental illnesses has been on the rise in the State over the past two decades and that it is critically important to have a tiered approach to comprehensively address statewide mental health concerns. This measure establishes the State of Well-Being Project to enhance Tier 1 and Tier 2 mental health support services for key stakeholder communities across the State and promote a safe and healthy State for all citizens.

Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language that would have provided specific examples of mental health support services in the statutory definitions of Tier 1 mental health support and Tier 2 mental health support;

(2) Inserting an appropriation amount of $876,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2024-2025 for the establishment and implementation of the state of well-being project, to be expended as follows:

(A) $475,000 to establish six full-time equivalent (6.0 FTE) mental health specialist positions within the Office of Wellness and Resilience; and

(B) $401,000 for the Office of Wellness and Resilience to implement this measure;

(3) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2024; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3279, S.D. 1, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3279, S.D. 1, H.D. 2, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

____________________________ LISA MARTEN Co-Chair	____________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA Chair
____________________________ DELLA AU BELATTI Co-Chair	____________________________ SHARON MORIWAKI Co-Chair
____________________________ JENNA TAKENOUCHI Co-Chair