STAND. COM. REP. NO. 506

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1215

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 1215 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTHCARE PRECEPTORS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to expand the definition of preceptor to allow for improved accessibility for providers to receive income tax credits.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, University of Hawai‘i System, Hawai‘i State Center for Nursing, Hawai‘i Association of Professional Nurses, Kaiser Permanente Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i Primary Care Association, Hawai‘i Pacific Health, Hawai‘i Academy of Physician Assistants, Hawai‘i Pacific University, Hawai‘i – American Nurses Association, The Queen's Health System, and three individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Taxation and Tax Foundation of Hawaii.

Your Committee finds that there is a primary care provider shortage in Hawaii that will be exacerbated by the projected retirements of physicians and advanced practice registered nurses. Academic institutions across Hawaii face challenges in ensuring there will be an adequate number of future health care professionals and are constrained in part by the lack of clinical education sites in Hawaii and the limited supply of qualified primary care preceptors. Training by a preceptor is an integral part of the medical training program. Your Committee finds that one way to encourage participation of preceptors is to offer a tax credit for professionals who serve as preceptors.

Your Committee acknowledges the testimony of the Hawaii Association of Professional Nurses, which requests that behavioral health preceptors be included in this measure.

Accordingly, Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting language to allow behavioral health care preceptors to be eligible for the tax credit proposed by this measure;

(2) Amending the purpose section to reflect its amended purpose;

(3) Inserting an effective date of December 31, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

(4) 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 Health and Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1215, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1215, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health and Human Services,

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JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair