Bill Text: HI SB2203 | 2010 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Health Care Enterprise Zones; Tax Incentives; Low-Interest Loans

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-02-12 - (S) Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. [SB2203 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2010-SB2203-Amended.html

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STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2307

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 2203

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committees on Health and Economic Development and Technology, to which was referred S.B. No. 2203 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH CARE ENTERPRISE ZONES,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to allow for the establishment of health care enterprise zones providing tax and loan incentives for primary care practitioners in those geographic areas.

 

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.  Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Taxation and one individual.  Comments in support of the intent of this measure with amendments were received from the Hawaii Primary Care Association and the Hawaii Medical Association.  The Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism submitted testimony commenting on this measure.  Written testimony presented to the Committees may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

 

     Your Committees find that this State is suffering from a shortage of physicians, especially primary care physicians, which results in hardship and delays for residents seeking medical care.  This problem is particularly acute in rural areas. 

 

Your Committees further find that this measure will allow for the creation of Healthcare Enterprise Zones to provide incentives for primary care providers to practice in underserved areas in order to help those areas alleviate the healthcare shortage.  For purposes of this measure, any county having a population of less than 50,000 is considered to be underserved.

 

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Requiring any affected county to concur with the Department of Health's designation of a Healthcare Enterprise Zone; and

 

     (2)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050 to encourage further discussion of this measure.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Economic Development and Technology that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2203, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2203, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Economic Development and Technology,

 

____________________________ CAROL FUKUNAGA, Chair		____________________________ DAVID Y. IGE, Chair