STAND. COM. REP. NO. 749

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 994
                                        S.D. 2




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B.
No. 994, S.D. 1, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DEPENDENT ADULT AND ELDER
     ABUSE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to establish an elder and
dependent adult abuse review commission to review Hawaii's
elderly and dependent adult abuse protective services laws.

     Your Committee finds a disturbing trend locally of
increasing abuse of elderly and dependent adults.  Abuse crimes
pose significant threats to the safety and well-being of the
elderly.  Your Committee also finds that part X of chapter 346,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, relating to dependent adult protective
services, has not been reviewed since its enactment in 1989.
Therefore, your Committee concurs with the host of testifiers at
the hearing conducted by the Health and Human Services Committee
who supported the establishment of a review commission to review
Hawaii's elderly and dependent adult abuse protective services
laws.  The establishment of the Commission is the first step
towards crafting legislative policy to recognize, assist, and
protect the elderly in Hawaii.

     Your Committee has amended the bill by:

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 749
                                   Page 2


     1.   Deleting the appropriation sections;

     2.   Adding the long-term care ombudsman of the executive
          office on aging to the commission; and

     3.   Making technical amendments that have no substantive
          effect.

     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. 994, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass
Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 994,
S.D. 2.

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



                                 ________________________________
                                 CAROL FUKUNAGA, Co-Chair



                                 ________________________________
                                 ANDREW LEVIN, Co-Chair

 
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