STAND. COM. REP. NO. 121-04
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2004
RE: H.B. No. 1902
H.D. 1
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2004
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Human Services and Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 1902 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CHILDREN'S PRODUCT SAFETY,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this bill is to protect children from unsafe products by, among other things:
(1) Prohibiting the remanufacture, retrofit, sale, lease, or subleasing of unsafe children's products;
(2) Establishing criteria for unsafe products;
(3) Requiring the Department of Health (DOH) to create and maintain a comprehensive list of unsafe children's products;
(4) Prohibiting unsafe children's products in child care facilities; and
(5) Allowing the Department of Human Services (DHS) to revoke or refuse to renew a child care facility license to those who do not comply with the laws pertaining to unsafe children's products.
DHS and DOH supported the intent of this measure.
Your Committee finds that although DHS and DOH are in support of child safety, some of the provisions are duplicative of current efforts on the state and federal level. However, DHS provided suggestions on how to make improvements at the state level.
Accordingly, your Committee has amended this bill by:
(1) Removing the requirement that DOH create, maintain, update, and make available a comprehensive list of unsafe children's products;
(2) Replacing the provisions relating to child care facilities with provisions requiring DHS to:
(a) Develop a checklist of unsafe product guidelines to be reviewed upon licensing and relicensing child care providers;
(b) Publish and distribute a list of potentially unsafe products to licensed child care providers; and
(c) Adopt rules to protect children in child care facilities from unsafe children's products;
and
(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity and style.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services and Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1902, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1902,
H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services and Housing,
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____________________________ MICHAEL PUAMAMO KAHIKINA, Chair |