STAND. COM. REP. NO. 953

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.B. No. 654

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Higher Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 654, H.D. 2, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NURSING,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

 

     (1)  Require the Professional and Vocational Licensing Division of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to collaborate with the Center for Nursing to enable the Center to obtain nursing-related data;

 

     (2)  Require the Professional and Vocational Licensing Division to provide the Center for Nursing with certain information through a memorandum of understanding; and

 

     (3)  Request completion of a survey developed by the Center for Nursing as part of the license renewal requirements under chapter 457, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Board of Nursing, University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene, University of Hawaii Maui College of Nursing Program, Hawaii State Center for Nursing, Hawaii Pacific Health, Hawaii Chapter of the American Organization of Nurse Executives, Hawaii Association of Professional Nurses, Hawaii Long Term Care Association, Healthcare Association of Hawaii, and thirteen individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Office of the Governor and Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

 

     Your Committee finds that effective workforce planning and policy making require better data collection and an improved information infrastructure.  The Center for Nursing's surveys related to nursing programs, registered nurses, and licensed practical nurses are a valuable way to collect nursing-related data.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Adding language to amend the membership of the Center for Nursing Advisory Board by requiring that three members be representatives of professional organizations related to health, rather than representatives from the Hawaii Nurses' Association, as your Committee has learned that the Hawaii Nurses' Association is no longer involved in policy issues;

 

     (2)  Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2013; and

 

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Higher Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 654, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 654, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Higher Education,

 

 

 

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair