Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 2581 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to repeal the sunset provision in Act 292, Session Laws of Hawaii 2001, making permanent the sale of sterile syringes by qualified individuals for the prevention of diseases.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Governor's Committee on HIV/AIDS, the Department of Health, the Department of Public Safety, Maui AIDS Foundation, the Hepatitis Prevention, Education, Treatment, and Support Network of Hawaii, Life Foundation, the Drug Policy Action Group, Harm Reduction Hawaii, the CHOW Project, Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaii, Hawaii CARES, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc., and several individuals.

Your Committee finds that this measure will continue an excellent existing law allowing the sale of sterile syringes, which is a proven public health intervention to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne diseases.

Your Committee also finds that since Act 292 became effective, the syringe exchange program has exchanged approximately 16,000 syringes, thus providing safe disposal of these syringes. This law bolsters the State's effort to provide prevention services and develop safer communities.

Your Committee finds that additional amendments beyond what the original measure presents are required and has replaced the contents of the bill with SB 2947. The S.D. 1 would also repeal section 2 of Act 292, Session Laws of Hawaii 2001, as the requirements of that section have already been completed and are no longer applicable.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2581, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2581, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.