STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1060-04

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: S.B. No. 2951

S.D. 1

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Consumer Protection and Commerce and Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2951, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO RADIOLOGIC TECHNOLOGY,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to update the radiologic technology licensing law by:

(1) Changing the title of the executive secretary of the program to "executive officer," to reflect the position's professional duties, as opposed to clerical duties;

(2) Eliminating the Radiologic Technology Board's (Board) supervision of the executive officer to separate prosecutorial and adjudicatory functions in contested matters; and

(3) Adding a civil penalty, not to exceed $10,000, to the existing remedies of license denial, suspension, and revocation.

Your Committees heard testimony in support of the bill from the Department of Health (DOH).

 

DOH testified that removing the Board's supervision of the executive secretary will address due process concerns by separating the executive secretary's presentation to the Board of information concerning possible infractions, from the Board's determination of whether an infraction has occurred and, if so, what penalty should be imposed.

Your Committees are concerned that the range of the potential fines is quite large, especially because each day the violation continues constitutes a separate offense, and believe that the potential for arbitrary or inconsistent fines should be reduced through the establishment of guidelines.

Accordingly, your Committees have amended this bill by:

(1) Requiring the Board to establish by rule a schedule for the imposition of fines; and

(2) Providing that each day that the radiologic technology licensing chapter is violated "may" rather than "shall" constitute a separate offense.

Technical, nonsubstantive amendments were also made for clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Consumer Protection and Commerce and Judiciary that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2951, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2951, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

 

____________________________

ERIC G. HAMAKAWA, Chair

____________________________

KENNETH T. HIRAKI, Chair