STAND. COM. REP. NO. 166

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 1145

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 1145 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DISCLOSURE OF VITAL STATISTICS RECORDS,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to grant the Director of Health greater discretion to share confidential data for legitimate government and research functions.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health and University of Hawaii Cancer Center.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Office of Information Practices.

 

     Your Committee finds that the appropriate sharing of vital records to be in the public interest, particularly to expedite law enforcement or judicial proceedings but also for research to help define unique issues in Hawaii.  These vital records include information such as births, deaths, and marriage/civil unions, which contain information such as race and ethnicity, cause of death, relative health at birth, and other qualitative data.  Your Committee finds that this measure will allow the Department of Health more flexibility to disclose vital information in certain situations.

 

     Your Committee received testimony from the Department of Health that the proposed process of review by its Institutional Review Committee for disclosures made for "research purposes" is consistent with academic and scientific human subject research protocols and standards and assures that requests serve an ethical public good, individual privacy is maintained, and records are appropriately handled.

 

     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 Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1145, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1145, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

 

 

 

________________________________

JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair