STAND. COM. REP. NO.  50

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2009

 

RE:   H.B. No. 687

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 687 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO VETERANS,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this bill is to transfer the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home from the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation (HHSC) to the Office of Veterans' Services (OVS), along with the position of State Government Liaison Officer.

 

     The Department of Defense's Office of Veterans Services and Hawaii Health Systems Corporation opposed this bill.  The Chief Executive Officer of the Hilo Medical Center and several concerned individuals submitted comments.

 

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

 

(1)  Removing all references to the transfer of the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home from HHSC to OVS;

 

(2)  Providing OVS with greater access to necessary information to ensure proper health care is provided to Hawaii's veterans receiving care from the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home;

 

(3)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2020, to encourage further discussion; and

 

(4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for clarity, consistency, and style.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 687, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 687, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Economic Revitalization, Business, & Military Affairs.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

 

 

 

 

____________________________

RYAN I. YAMANE, Chair