Hawaii SB 1204: RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII.

Bill Text

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THE SENATE
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII
JAN 1 7 2025
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAH:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the cancer research
center of Hawaii reduces the burden of cancer through research,
education, patient care, and community outreach. The cancer
research center of Hawaii is the only National Cancer Institute
(NCI)-designated cancer center in Hawaii and the Pacific region.
Furthermore, it is a member of the Hawaii Cancer Consortium
along with five hospital groups and the university of Hawaii’s
John A. Burns school of medicine (JABSOM).
JABSOM educates and trains health care professionals,
including physicians, biomedical scientists, and allied health
workers. JABSOM also conducts fundamental medical research and
translates discoveries into delivery practices. Because JABSOM
is a community-based medical school without its own university
hospital, it partners with private hospitals in the community to
achieve its educational mission.
The public funds and other resources the State has made
available to JABSOM and the cancer research center of Hawaii
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have been substantial. The magnitude of state funds and other
resources provided to the university of Hawaii, the distinction
of the university being the sole public institution of higher
education in the State, and the cancer research center of Hawaii
being the only NCI-designated cancer center in Hawaii underscore
the importance of establishing complementary strategic
priorities and coordinating the management and deployment of
state resources appropriated to JABSOM and the cancer research
center of Hawaii.
It is in the public’s interest that state resources be
efficiently and effectively managed to optimize the public
benefits. Just as co-locating the physical facilities for
JABSOM and the cancer research center of Hawaii on adjoining
sites in Kakaako promotes synergistic efforts, the legislature
determines that it is a statewide concern pursuant to article X,
section 6, of the Hawaii State Constitution, to ensure that the
management of public resources provided to JABSOM and the cancer
research center of Hawaii be integrated, coordinated, and
focused on common priorities to avoid unnecessary duplication of
administrative expenses or conflicting priorities.
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The legislature further finds that as a matter of statewide
concern pursuant to article X, section 6, of the Hawaii State
Constitution, the cancer research center of Hawaii should be an
organized research unit under the administrative and management
purview of JABSOM. The legislature notes that the cancer
research center of Hawaii and JTVBSOM share many resources,
including the health science library, fitness facility,
telecommunications system, and on-site security personnel.
Merging the cancer research center of Hawaii and JABSOM will
eliminate redundancies in building construction, equipment
expenses, facilities operating expenses, and common staff
positions, which will reduce costs. Furthermore, a merger would
streamline future strategic collaborations, foster enhanced
cooperation, and create new opportunities for joint initiatives
in medical research, education, and patient care.
Placing resources devoted to training and educating
physicians and conducting cancer research in an integrated
university organizational structure as opposed to stand-alone
and duplicative organizations will foster a uniform strategic
vision, Onified leadership will also allow better coordination
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with the university of Hawaii’s private partners in the hospital
community and with other state agencies.
The legislature also notes that from 2014 to 2016, the
university of Hawaii developed business plans, hired
consultants, and made presentations to its board of regents on
the university's plans to integrate the university of Hawaii
Kakaako health science campus and eliminate operational
redundancies between J7VBSOM and the cancer research center of
Hawaii. Further, the university of Hawaii frequently groups
different organized research units within a larger
administrative structure. For example, the school of ocean and
earth science and technology encompasses several outstanding
research units, including the center for microbial oceanography:
research and education and Hawaii institute of marine biology.
To maintain the NCI designation as a cancer center
consistent with NCI guidelines, the director of the cancer
research center of Hawaii shall continue to have a direct line
of reporting and accountability to the chancellor of the
university o