STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2588

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 2392

       S.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2392, S.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO OPIOID ANTAGONISTS,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to promote the responsible use of opioid antagonists to treat drug overdoses.

 

Specifically, the measure:

 

     (1)  Creates immunity for health care professionals and pharmacists who prescribe, dispense, or administer an opioid antagonist such as naloxone hydrochloride during an opioid-related drug overdose;

 

     (2)  Creates immunity for emergency personnel, first responders, and other individuals who possess, furnish, or administer an opioid antagonist during an opioid-related drug overdose;

 

     (3)  Authorizes emergency personnel to administer opioid antagonists;

 

     (4)  Requires Medicaid coverage for opioid antagonists;

 

     (5)  Exempts harm reduction organizations from pharmacy licensure and permitting requirements for opioid antagonists; and

 

     (6)  Requires the Department of Health to provide education and training related to drug overdose recognition, prevention, and response, including opioid antagonist administration.

 

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Health, Injury Prevention Advisory Committee, CHOW Project, Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition, Ku Aloha Ola Mau, Salvation Army Addiction Treatment Services and Family Treatment Services, Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii, and eleven individuals.  Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services, Board of Pharmacy, Board of Nursing, and Hawaii Association for Justice.

 

     Your Committee finds that this measure promotes the public health, safety, and welfare by shielding certain persons from criminal punishment, civil liability, and professional discipline when they administer or distribute opioid antagonists to persons who are suffering from opioid-related drug overdoses.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by clarifying that the definition of "health care professional" includes advanced practice registered nurses with prescriptive authority.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2392, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2392, S.D. 2.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

 

 

 

________________________________

JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair