STAND. COM. REP. NO. 753

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 385

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 385 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PROFESSIONAL AND VOCATIONAL LICENSING,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to repeal defaults on student loans, student loan repayment contracts, and scholarship contracts as grounds for sanctioning professional and vocational licensees.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the American Nurses Association in Hawaii.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

 

     Your Committee finds that Hawaii is one of only several states that allow the denial, revocation, or suspension of a professional or vocational license based on student loan defaults.  This means that a licensee who has incurred tens of thousands of dollars of debt for a professional degree and passed all subsequent licensing examinations could be barred from practicing, making any prospect of repayment even more difficult.  This measure aligns Hawaii with the majority of states by repealing student loan defaults as grounds for a license denial, suspension, or revocation.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by 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 Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 385, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 385, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

 

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

 

 

 

________________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair