STAND.
COM. REP. NO. 591-24
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2024
RE: H.B. No. 2415
H.D. 2
Honorable Scott K. Saiki
Speaker, House of Representatives
Thirty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2024
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 2415, H.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE NURSE LICENSURE COMPACT,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The
purpose of this measure is to:
(1) Authorize the Governor to enter the State into the multistate Nurse Licensure Compact to allow nurses who are licensed by a home state to practice under a multistate licensure privilege in each party state;
(2) Beginning January 1, 2026, require nurses who hold multistate licenses issued by a state other than Hawaii to complete demographic data surveys; and
(3) Authorize the Board of Nursing to charge different fees for registered nurses and licensed practical nurses who hold a multistate license issued by the State.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure
from the United States Department of Defense; University of Hawaiʻi System; Department of Commerce and
Consumer Affairs; Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; Department of
Labor and Industrial Relations; Disability and Communication Access Board;
Hawaiʻi State Center for Nursing; West Hawaii
Region of the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation; Hawaii Primary Care
Association; Hawaiʻi Pacific Health; Kaiser Permanente Hawaiʻi; Grassroot Institute of Hawaii;
Healthcare Association of Hawaii; Hawaiʻi Care Choices; Hawaii Military Affairs
Council; Hawaii Association of Health Plans; The Queen's Health System; Hawaii
Medical Service Association; and two individuals. Your Committee received testimony in
opposition to this measure from the Hawaiʻi Association of Professional Nurses and
two individuals. Your Committee received
comments on this measure from the Board of Nursing and Hawaii Health Systems
Corporation.
Your Committee finds that Hawaii is
experiencing a severe shortage of health care providers. This shortage was most evident during the
COVID-19 pandemic, as the pandemic required staff to work consecutive double-
and triple-shifts to meet the ever-present demand. To alleviate the workload, health care
providers from other states were brought in to assist in keeping health care
facilities operational. In particular,
the large number of out-of-state nurses brought in to the State required the
Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to shift employees from other
boards to assist the Board of Nursing.
Despite the hard work of Department employees, the process of verifying
out-of-state licenses through endorsement took significant time and
resources. As a result, instead of
treating patients immediately, the out-of-state nurses had to wait.
Your Committee further finds that
the Nurse Licensure Compact is an agreement that allows mutual recognition of
nursing licensure between member states.
The Compact allows a nurse who is a legal resident of and possesses a
valid nursing license in a compact state to practice in any of the other
compact states without facing time-consuming, costly, and redundant regulatory
barriers. The Compact is effective in
forty-one states and two territories.
Adopting it in Hawaii would streamline the licensing process for nurses
and attract more registered nurses to the State, which would help address the
nursing workforce shortage and improve health care access for all residents.
Your
Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Clarifying that the Board of Nursing may charge different fees that are customarily and historically charged for registered nurses and licensed practical nurses who hold a multistate license issued by the State; and
(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2415, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2415, H.D. 2.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce,
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____________________________ MARK M. NAKASHIMA, Chair |
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