STAND. COM. REP. NO. 814-04

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: S.B. No. 2979

S.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Public Safety and Military Affairs and Labor and Public Employment, to which was referred S.B. No. 2979, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SECURITY AT HAWAII HEALTH SYSTEMS CORPORATION HOSPITALS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to transfer the functions and authority of uniformed security employees and security contracts at health facilities from the Department of Public Safety to the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation.

Testimony in support of the measure was received from the Department of Public Safety, the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, and the Hawaii Government Employees Association.

Currently, the Department of Public Safety is responsible for the thirteen civil service security personnel who are assigned to Maui Memorial Medical Center. Hospital security is provided in all other Hawaii Health Systems Corporation hospitals by private vendors under contract to the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation.

Your Committee finds that hospital security is a very important issue to patients, their visitors, health care providers, and hospital employees. This measure would provide the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation with direct control over security functions in the Corporation's entire hospital system, which should result in greater uniformity and more efficient supervision and management of all elements of hospital security. Your Committee believes that this bill will improve hospital security and will not negatively impact the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation's ability to use private contractor security forces at other hospitals in the system.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Public Safety and Military Affairs and Labor and Public Employment that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2979, S.D. 2, and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Public Safety and Military Affairs and Labor and Public Employment,

 

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MARCUS R. OSHIRO, Chair

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KEN ITO, Chair