STAND. COM. REP. NO. 817

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 530

       S.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 530, S.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE OFFICE OF THE LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to support the Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program.

 

     More specifically, this measure appropriates moneys to be expended by the Executive Office on Aging to:

 

     (1)  Establish one full-time equivalent permanent program specialist IV position on the island of Oahu to support program goals and federal requirements; and

 

     (2)  Provide funding for contracted services through the Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman in the counties of Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui.

 

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, AARP Hawaii, ILWU Local 142, and ten individuals.

 

     Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Executive Office on Aging.

 

     Your Committee finds that the Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program is a federally and state mandated program that lacks sufficient resources to fulfill its responsibility to protect the 12,340 long-term care residents in Hawaii.  Your Committee recognizes that Hawaii is the only state in the country with a long-term care ombudsman program that has a staff of one.  Your Committee finds that according to a 1995 recommendation by the Institute of Medicine, Hawaii should have a minimum of six full-time long-term ombudsmen.

 

     Your Committee finds that the responsibilities and logistics of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program have become increasingly challenging because today's long-term care residents live in various types of facilities, whereas, historically, most long-term care residents lived in nursing homes.  Furthermore, while the program certifies and utilizes volunteers, recruiting and retaining volunteers consumes considerable resources, and your Committee recognizes that volunteers cannot function as an adequate substitute for full-time, highly trained staff.  Your Committee believes that the moneys appropriated by this measure will help ensure that long-term care residents receive timely and regular access to program services.

 

     Your Committee notes that it intends to consider including this measure's appropriation in the General Appropriations Act of 2017.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

(1)  Changing the general fund appropriation for fiscal years 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 from $150,000 to an unspecified amount;

 

(2)  Changing the specific appropriations for:

 

(A)  The City and County of Honolulu from $75,000 to an unspecified amount;

 

(B)  The County of Hawaii from $25,000 to an unspecified amount;

 

(C)  The County of Kauai from $25,000 to an unspecified amount; and

 

(D)  The County of Maui from $25,000 to an unspecified amount; and

 

(3)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure.

 

     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. 530, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 530, S.D. 2.

 

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

 

 

 

________________________________

JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair