HB 1534: Jury Duty; Advanced Practice Registered Nurses; Exemption

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to jury duty.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that advanced practice registered nurses in the State have full practice authority and provide primary and specialist care to the elderly, disabled, and all people in the State.  The legislature further finds that the care provided by advanced practice registered nurses is comparable in outcomes to the care provided by physicians.  With advances in legislation to improve access to advanced practice registered nurse care, many advanced practice registered nurses have been able to establish freestanding practices under their own professional corporations similar to those of physicians.  Currently, under section 612-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, of all healthcare professionals, only physicians and dentists are exempt from serving jury duty.  Removing an advanced practice registered nurse from the nurse's daily practice to serve on a jury deprives patients of needed health care services and can be a financial hardship for an advanced practice registered nurse who owns a practice and is responsible for overhead costs.  The legislature also finds that a jury duty exemption does not preclude a person from jury duty service if the person chooses to serve.

     Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to allow actively practicing advanced practice registered nurses to claim exemption from service as a juror.

     SECTION 2.  Section 612-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§612-6  Exempt when.  A person may claim exemption from service as a juror if the person is:

     (1)  An elected official while the legislature is in session, or a judge of the United States, State, or county;

     (2)  An actively practicing physician, advanced practice registered nurse, or dentist;

     (3)  A member of the armed forces or militia when on active service and deployed out-of-state;

     (4)  An active member of a police or fire department;

     (5)  A person who has served as a juror, either in a court of this State or the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii, within one year preceding the time of filling out the juror qualification form;

     (6)  An active member of an emergency medical services agency;

     (7)  A person living more than seventy miles from the court for which jury service is required;

     (8)  A person eighty years of age or older; or

     (9)  A woman who is breastfeeding a child or expressing breast milk for a period of two years from the birth of the child.

     For purposes of this section, "emergency medical services agency" means any government agency, private agency, or company that provides ambulance services, emergency medical services, or disaster medical services."

     SECTION 3.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Report Title:

Jury Duty; Advanced Practice Registered Nurses; Exemption

Description:

Allows actively practicing advanced practice registered nurses to claim exemption from service as a juror.

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.