STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2247

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2050

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 2050 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CHIROPRACTIC,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to, beginning July 1, 2028, allow chiropractic students enrolled in a qualified chiropractic college to engage in clinical practice as part of their college instruction if directly supervised by a qualified licensed chiropractor.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii State Chiropractic Association and forty-seven individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Board of Chiropractic.

Your Committee finds that supervised clinical experience is essential to developing competent, safe, and ethical health care providers. Your Committee further finds that allowing supervised clinical training within the State encourages chiropractic students to build professional roots in the State, improving long-term access to conservative, non-pharmacological musculoskeletal care for the State's communities. This measure establishes a responsible framework allowing chiropractic students enrolled in a qualified chiropractic college to engage in clinical practice as part of their formal education to align chiropractic education in the State with long-standing training models used across health care disciplines, including medicine, nursing, dentistry, and physical therapy.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting language into section 442-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to require the Hawaii Board of Chiropractic to adopt rules defining the qualifications for the chiropractic college, setting forth the requirements for the direct supervisor, and defining clinical practice;

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

(3) Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment 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. 2050, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2050, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection.

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

________________________________

JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair