STAND. COM. REP. NO 156

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                

 

RE:    S.B. No. 964

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committees on Human Services and Housing and Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 964 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AGING,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

 

     (1)  Appropriate funds for the kupuna care program and the aging and disability resource center;

 

     (2)  Remove the requirement that the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia Services Coordinator be appointed in accordance with chapters 76 and 89, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and appropriate funds for the Coordinator position;

 

     (3)  Appropriate funds for elderly fall prevention and early detection services;

 

     (4)  Appropriate funds for various senior centers so that kupuna can participate in activities to help them remain active, healthy, and independent in their community;

 

     (5)  Appropriate funds to support the healthy aging partnership program; and

 

     (6)  Establish and appropriate funds for an Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia Public Awareness Campaign.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Executive Office on Aging, State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Department of Community Services, Maui County Office on Aging, Agency on Elderly Affairs, AARP Hawaii, Caring Transitions of Honolulu, Catholic Charities Hawaii, Hawaii Family Caregiver Coalition, Healthcare Association of Hawaii, Kaiser Permanente, Moiliili Community Center, Project Dana, The Queen's Health Systems, Zonta Club of Hilo, Prime Care Services Hawaii, Alzheimer's Association Aloha Chapter, International Longshore and  Warehouse Union Local 142 Hawaii, PHOCUSED, Hawaii Primary Care Association, and thirty individuals.

 

     Your Committees find that it is imperative that the State prioritize the health and well-being of Hawaii's kupuna and demonstrate significant efforts to support their needs.  Census projections indicate that Hawaii's senior population will almost double between 2010 and 2020, with the highest percentage increase occurring in kupuna over the age of 85.  To support the State's elderly population and minimize the potential financial strain of the aging population on the State, proactive efforts including education on fall prevention and Alzheimer's disease and dementia services, funding senior centers, and supporting the aging and disability resource center are necessary.

 

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Changing the appropriation amount for the kupuna care program from $5,100,000 to $4,145,696;

 

     (2)  Changing the appropriation amount for the aging and disability resource center from $1,710,000 for fiscal year 2015-2016 and $1,651,300 for fiscal year 2016-2017 to $1,052,600 for each fiscal year; and

 

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services and Housing and Health that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 964, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 964, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Human Services and Housing and Health,

 

____________________________

JOSH GREEN, Chair

 

____________________________

SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair