CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 178

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                 , 2013

 

RE:    H.B. No. 668

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 2

       C.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

 

Sir and Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the House of Representatives to the amendments proposed by the Senate in H.B. No. 668, H.D. 2, S.D. 2, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

 

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

 

     The purpose of this measure is to transfer administration of the State's medical marijuana program from the Department of Public Safety to the Department of Health, including by establishing the means for the Department of Health to collect program fees and expend amounts collected for purposes of program administration.

 

     Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Deleting provisions establishing and directing the activities of the medical marijuana transition advisory group and instead placing joint responsibility for planning for and implementing the transfer of administrative responsibility for the medical marijuana program with the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Health;

 

     (2)  Clarifying that the newly-created fund to allow the Department of Health to collect and expend medical marijuana program fees is a special fund;

 

     (3)  Requiring, rather than permitting, the Department of Health to collect registration fees from both registered medical marijuana program patients and primary caregivers;

 

     (4)  Providing for an orderly and graduated transfer of administrative responsibility for medical marijuana program fees from the Department of Public Safety to the Department of Health, including by making an appropriation to the Department of Health from the newly-created Medical Marijuana Registry Special Fund;

 

     (5)  Requiring the Department of Public Safety and Department of Health to submit a joint report on the transfer of the medical marijuana program to the Legislature prior to both the 2014 and 2015 regular sessions;

 

     (6)  Changing its effective date to upon approval; and

 

     (7)  Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 668, H.D. 2, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 668, H.D. 2, S.D. 2, C.D. 1.


 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

 

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

 

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

 

____________________________

JOSH GREEN, Chair

 

____________________________

DELLA AU BELATTI, Co-Chair

______________________________

WILL ESPERO, Co-Chair

 

____________________________

HENRY J.C. AQUINO, Co-Chair

______________________________

CLAYTON HEE, Co-Chair

 

____________________________

DEE MORIKAWA, Co-Chair

______________________________

SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Co-Chair