STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2848

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2271

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 Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2271 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOSPITAL LICENSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require the Department of Health to adopt rules authorizing hospitals to demonstrate compliance with all state licensing inspections through accreditation or certification by any accreditation or certification organization recognized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Health, Healthcare Association of Hawaii, and one individual.

Your Committee finds that The Joint Commission is the most widely used accreditation organization for hospitals in the United States. Your Committee further finds that other accreditation organizations have also been recognized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to accredit hospitals. However, your Committee notes that The Joint Commission is currently the only accreditation organization authorized by the State to provide accreditation demonstrating a hospital's compliance with all state licensing inspections. Accordingly, this measure will expand the list of authorized accreditation organizations that may be used by the State's hospitals to fulfill state licensing inspection requirements.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Adopting amendments offered by the Department of Health to clarify that authorized accreditation or certification organizations are organizations "approved" rather than "recognized," by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; and

(2) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2271, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2271, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair