STAND. COM. REP. NO.  386-16

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2016

 

RE:   H.B. No. 1788

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 1788 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CHILD AND MATERNAL DEATH REVIEWS,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to ensure that the Legislature receives appropriate information about child and maternal death reviews and to provide funding to the Department of Health to conduct child death reviews and to implement a program for the performance of maternal death reviews.

 

     The Department of Human Services, Hawaii State Democratic Caucus, Kapiolani Child Protection Center, Hawaii Section of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Hawaii Children's Action Network, March of Dimes Hawaii Chapter, Hawaii Public Health Association, Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children, Hawaii Pacific Health, Hawaii Affiliate of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, Hawaii Association for Infant Mental Health, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaii, and several individuals provided testimony in support of this measure.  The Department of Health provided comments.  

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Blanking out the appropriation amount;

 

     (2)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2070, to encourage further discussion; and

 

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style. 

 

     Your Committee notes that Hawaii is one of only 13 states without a multi-disciplinary professional panel to review pregnancy-related deaths, and only one of two states not conducting child death reviews.

 

     Should the Committee on Finance deliberate on this measure further, your Committee respectfully requests that it consider appropriating $150,000 for the Department of Health to conduct child death reviews and to implement a program for the performance of maternal death reviews.

 

     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. 1788, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1788, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

____________________________

DELLA AU BELATTI, Chair