STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1513

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2015

RE:   S.B. No. 729

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 729 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ADVANCED PRACTICE REGISTERED NURSES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to clarify the role of advanced practice registered nurses regarding emergency hospital admission and involuntary hospitalization by authorizing advanced practice registered nurses to:

     (1)  Perform an emergency examination on a patient;

(2)  Direct a patient to be hospitalized on an emergency basis or cause the patient to be transferred to another psychiatric facility for emergency hospitalization;

(3)  Certify the signs and symptoms of a patient for a petition for commitment to a psychiatric facility; and

(4)  Testify in a commitment hearing as a qualified person who has personally examined the subject of a petition for involuntary hospitalization.

The Queen's Health Systems and the Board of Nursing supported this measure.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 729 and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

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

____________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair