STAND. COM. REP. NO.536

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2001

RE: S.B. No. 591

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing and Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 591 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is establish a new regulatory mechanism governing occupational therapists.

The Occupational Therapy Association of Hawaii, Kaiser Permanente, and thirty-seven individuals testified in support of this measure. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) testified in opposition to this measure.

Your Committees find that occupational therapists work extensively with extremely vulnerable and frail patients who because of illness, injury, or developmental or psychological impairment, require specialized intervention to regain or develop skills necessary for independent functioning. Your Committees further find that the current system of occupational therapist regulation, which consists of restricting the use of the occupational therapist title to persons certified by the American Occupational Therapy Association and registered with DCCA, does not protect these consumers against unprofessional or unethical conduct by occupational therapists.

This measure repeals the existing program and replaces it with a system of licensure for occupational therapists that defines the scope of occupational therapy practice, requires a license to use the occupational therapist title, establishes specific educational and experiential requirements for licensure, provides for licensure by endorsement, and establishes grounds for taking action upon a license. Your Committees further find that the licensing program implemented by this measure will better protect consumers of occupational therapy services.

Your Committees have amended this measure:

(1) To provide for the law's sunset on July 1, 2005, or three years after its delayed effective date of July 1, 2002; and

(2) By making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity and to correct a typographical error.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing and Health and Human Services that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 591, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 591, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing and Health and Human Services,

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DAVID MATSUURA, Chair

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RON MENOR, Chair