STAND. COM. REP. NO. 509-24

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2024

RE: H.B. No. 1793

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health & Homelessness, to which was referred H.B. No. 1793 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOSPITALS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require the Department of Health to adopt rules requiring each licensed hospital to have a trained security guard or an off-duty law enforcement officer working as a security guard positioned at each entrance to the hospital at all times.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Health. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation and Healthcare Association of Hawaii.

Your Committee finds that ensuring the safety of staff and patients at hospitals is important. Your Committee recognizes that requiring a one-size-fits-all approach to establishing workplace safety measures for health care facilities may lack the flexibility needed to address the varied needs of different health care units within a hospital.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language that would have required the Department of Health to adopt rules requiring placement of trained security guards or off-duty law enforcement officers at certain locations at a hospital;

(2) Inserting language requiring the Department of Health to adopt rules requiring each licensed hospital to develop and maintain a security management plan that is to be shared with the Department; and

(3) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health & Homelessness that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1793, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1793, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health & Homelessness,

____________________________

DELLA AU BELATTI, Chair