STAND. COM. REP. NO.2796

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: S.B. No. 2024

S.D. 2

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2024, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DENTAL HEALTH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to transfer the Dental Health Division within the Department of Health to the Department's Health Resources Administration.

In addition, this measure reduces the number of employees of the Dental Health Division to three individuals, redirects the Division's funds to be used for the purchase of services to monitor dental advocacy, and requires the Division to report back to the Legislature in 2003 and 2004 regarding ways to better serve the covered population statewide and related matters.

Your Committee finds that Hawaii is currently in the middle of a crisis involving very poor dental health status and compromised access to dental care, and believes that dental care in Hawaii must be made more accessible to all of its qualifying residents.

Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this measure by:

    1. Deleting the first three sections of the bill, which reduced the staff of the Dental Health Division, transferred the Division to the Department's Health Resources Administration, and transferred appropriations, records, and other personal property;
    2. Requiring the Dental Health Division to report back to the Legislature before the convening of the 2003 Regular Session, rather than both the 2003 and 2004 sessions;
    3. Deleting the "Ramseyer" section (section 5 of the bill);
    4. Renumbering the effective date section and changing the effective date to upon its approval; and
    5. Making other technical nonsubstantive changes for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

Your Committee expressed concerns about the management and operation of the Dental Health Division and would like the Dental Health Division to carefully review its operations for serving the State, especially since dental health care is lacking on the neighbor islands. Perhaps a beguilingly simple idea, "pick important problems and fix them", often expressed by Malcom K. Sparrow from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, should guide the Dental Health Division to resolve most of their problems.

In addition, your Committee will consider inserting a line item in the budget to provide additional assistance for neighbor island dental care.

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. 2024, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2024, S.D. 2.

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

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair