STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1250

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.B. No. 654

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred H.B. No. 654, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NURSING,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

 

     (1)  Require the Professional and Vocational Licensing Division of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to collaborate with the Center for Nursing to enable the Center to obtain nursing-related data;

 

     (2)  Require the Professional and Vocational Licensing Division to provide the Center for Nursing with certain information through a memorandum of understanding; and

 

     (3)  Request completion of a survey developed by the Center for Nursing as part of the license renewal requirements under chapter 457, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Board of Nursing; Hawaii State Center for Nursing; Hawaii Pacific Health; Hawaii Association of Professional Nurses; American Organization of Nurse Executives, Hawaii Chapter; and six individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Professional and Vocational Licensing Division of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

 

     Your Committee finds that this measure requires the Professional and Vocational Licensing Division to provide nurse license contact information to the Hawaii State Center for Nursing.  Your Committee further finds that the Professional and Vocational Licensing Division has agreed to include the Center for Nursing's workforce survey at the beginning and end of the online license renewal process and include a link to the Center for Nursing's survey on the Board of Nursing's web page.  This will enable the Center for Nursing to contact nurses and obtain workforce data that can be used to determine the current and future trends of the nursing workforce.

 

     Your Committee additionally finds that effective workforce planning and policymaking require better data collection and an improved information infrastructure.  The Center for Nursing's surveys related to nursing programs, registered nurses, and licensed practical nurses are a valuable way to collect nursing-related data and will ensure a more complete assessment of the nursing workforce in Hawaii.

 

     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. 654, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

 

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

 

 

 

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair