STAND. COM. REP. NO. 690-04

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: H.B. No. 2539

H.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 2539, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOSPITALS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to delay the imposition of the requirement of a certificate of need (CON), or determination that a CON is not required, until a health care facility or service seeks a building permit, but only for existing health care facilities or services.

Your Committee heard testimony in support of this bill from the State Health Planning and Development Agency and from Kusao & Kurahashi, Inc., planning and zoning consultants.

The current statute has been interpreted as requiring the submission of a CON, or a determination that a CON is not required, when the planning is quite preliminary –- specifically, when seeking a Plan Review Use (PRU) permit. This approach has unfortunate consequences. Sometimes it forces the health care facility to obtain unnecessary CONs for plans that are eventually not implemented, and sometimes it forces the health care facility to obtain multiple CONs to accommodate changes in a plan. By delaying the CON requirement until a building permit is required, these unfortunate consequences are avoided.

The bill has been amended to limit its application to hospitals, as dictated by the title of the bill. The change in the law is specifically limited to existing hospitals.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2539, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2539, H.D. 2.

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

 

____________________________

KENNETH T. HIRAKI, Chair