STAND. COM. REP. NO. 806

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: S.B. No. 791

S.D. 2

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 791, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO A CONTINUUM OF HEALTH CARE SETTINGS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to clarify the laws relating to settings for persons requiring therapeutic or rehabilitative services and care including persons recovering from substance abuse.

Specifically, this bill requires special treatment facilities to be licensed by the Department of Health and requires adoption of rules for programs to be provided, compliance with federal laws, and penalties for non-compliance. The bill also requires the Department to license therapeutic living programs and defines that term. The Director of Health is also required to adopt similar rules for therapeutic living programs. This bill allows "clean and sober homes" rather than "drug rehabilitation homes" as permitted uses in residential areas and defines the term "clean and sober homes". The bill further restates that drug rehabilitation homes include both "clean and sober homes" and "transitional living homes".

Your Committee finds that this bill provides for a continuum of health care settings for individuals requiring therapeutic or rehabilitative services and care, including persons recovering from substance abuse. Although clean and sober homes do not provide rehabilitative or therapeutic care or services, they do provide housing for persons recovering from substance abuse. Therefore, clean and sober homes do not require oversight from the Department of Health in the form of licensing and should be under the purview of the counties instead.

Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Clarifying that a drug rehabilitation home operated by a community-based nonprofit agency is not licensed by the Department of Health by deleting the words "licensed by the department of health" on page 5, line 4;

(2) Deleting the provision that section 5 of the bill, which repeals section 46-15.39, Hawaii Revised Statutes, takes effect on December 31, 2007, so that the entire bill takes effect upon approval;

(3) Clarifying the definition of a "clean and sober home"; and

(4) Making several technical nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and style.

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. 791, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 791, S.D. 2, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair