STAND. COM. REP. NO. 458

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 1999

                                 RE: H.B. No. 627
                                     H.D. 1




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, to which
was referred H.B. No. 627 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE
     CHILDREN'S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to expand health care coverage
for low income children by securing federal matching funding from
the federal Children's Health Insurance Program through an
appropriation of funds from a Tobacco Agreement Special Fund.

     The Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Human
Services (DHS) supported the intent of this measure.  Testimony
in support of this measure was received from Hawaii Catholic
Conference, American Academy of Pediatrics, Health Care
Association of Hawaii (HCAH), and the Department of Budget and
Finance (B & F).

     DOH supported the use of matched funds from the State's
tobacco lawsuit settlement, which would obviate the need for a
general fund appropriation and would also support a worthy cause.
DOH mentioned that the administration had proposed a bill that
would create a special fund composed of tobacco settlement moneys
for various health programs including a children's health program
administered by the DHS.

     HCAH stated that it supported use of settlement moneys for
healthcare because they were obtained as a recoupment of

 
 
                                 STAND. COM. REP. NO. 458
                                 Page 2

 
government dollars spent on treatment of smoking related
illnesses.  HCAH also supported the measure as an investment in
the future of our State.

     B & F noted that the bill could not be implemented unless a
tobacco agreement special fund was created, and recommended that
the DHS, and not DOH be designated the expending agency.

     Your Committee agrees that expenditure of tobacco settlement
dollars on the healthcare of uninsured children would be an
appropriate investment of those moneys in Hawaii's future.  In
anticipation of further discussion of this measure in conjunction
with other bills introduced this session, your Committee has
amended the bill by replacing DOH with DHS as the expending
agency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce that is attached to
this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and
purpose of H.B. No. 627, as amended herein, and recommends that
it be referred to the Committee on Finance, in the form attached
hereto as H.B. No. 627, H.D. 1.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Consumer
                                   Protection and Commerce,



                                   ______________________________
                                   RON MENOR, Chair