STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1471

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 1411
                                        H.D. 1
                                        S.D. 1




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

Sir:

     Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which
was referred H.B. No. 1411, H.D. 1, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ACUPUNCTURE PRACTITIONERS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to allow applicants for
acupuncture licensure to sit for the licensing examination if
they have graduated from a school that is in the process of
applying for accreditation candidacy.

     The Institute of Clinical Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine,
Hawaii College of Health Sciences, Inc., and two individuals
presented testimony in support of this measure.  An individual
not present at the hearing submitted written testimony in
support.  The Tai Hsuan Foundation and three individuals
presented testimony in opposition to the measure.  Two
individuals, while not present, submitted written testimony in
opposition.  The Board of Acupuncture presented comments on the
measure.

     The law currently provides that, effective September 1,
2000, only graduates of accredited acupuncture schools or schools
recognized as candidates for accreditation will be permitted to
take the acupuncture licensing examination.  Your Committee finds
that three acupuncture schools in the State may not be able to
obtain accreditation candidacy in time such that their graduates

 
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who apply on or after September 1, 2000, to take the examination
will meet the new standards.  

     This measure would allow persons who apply to take the
licensing examination after August 31, 2000, and who have
graduated from an acupuncture school that is in the process of
applying for accreditation candidacy, to sit for the exam.
However, your Committee finds that there are concerns about the
impact on the public health, safety, and welfare, of allowing the
graduates of institutions that are neither accredited nor
candidates for accreditation to qualify for the licensing
examination.  

     According to an official with the Accreditation Commission
for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM), some applications
for candidacy are so deficient on their face that they are
rejected outright by ACAOM.  Deficiencies may be due to, among
other problems, improper or inadequate curriculum, inadequate
clinical training, or clean needle techniques that fail to meet
public safety guidelines.
 
     Under the proposed measure, questionable or disreputable
institutions would not be precluded from qualifying their
graduates for the licensing examination by continuously
reapplying for candidacy and remaining in the application process
indefinitely.  Your Committee finds that this result would not
further the regulatory purpose of protecting the public health,
safety, and welfare.  

     Your Committee believes that this measure merits further
discussion and has amended it by replacing its contents with the
contents of S.B. No. 1517, S.D. 1.  As amended, this measure:

     (1)  Postpones to July 1, 2001, the effective date of the
          new standards for applicants seeking to take the
          licensing examination, including the requirement of
          graduation from an accredited school or school that is
          a candidate for accreditation; and

     (2)  Removes language that would have expanded the group of
          persons entitled to take the licensing examination on
          or after September 1, 2000, to include graduates from
          an acupuncture school in the process of applying for
          accreditation candidacy. 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to
this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and
purpose of H.B. No. 1411, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and

 
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recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached
hereto as H.B. No. 1411, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be placed on the
calendar for Third Reading.

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



                                   ______________________________
                                   BRIAN KANNO, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Co-Chair

 
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