STAND. COM. REP. NO.  719

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

RE:   H.B. No. 464

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 464 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to require any recipient of state funding that provides sexual health education to provide medically accurate, factual information that is age-appropriate and includes education on both abstinence and contraception.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Superintendent of Education, the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii, the Hawaii State Democratic Women's Caucus, Planned Parenthood of Hawaii, Planned Parenthood of Hawaii's Action Network, and two private citizens.  Testimony in opposition was received from Catholic Charities Hawaii, the Hawaii Family Forum, the Roman Catholic Church in the State of Hawaii, and four private citizens.

     Your Committee notes that Catholic Charities Hawaii currently operates a federally funded abstinence education program that has made presentations to public and independent school students throughout the State over the past three years.  As part of the federal grant, the University of Hawaii School of Social Work has been contracted to evaluate the effectiveness of the program, which has been funded for an additional five years.  According to the testimony presented, that federal funding will be canceled if Catholic Charities is required to provide medically accurate information regarding contraception.

     Your Committee further notes that its intent is not to jeopardize ongoing programs that receive federal funding with attached conditions that conflict with this proposed new state requirement.  Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure to exempt from its requirements those programs receiving federal funds, as of the effective date of the measure, that would be canceled if the program complied with the new state requirements.  The exemption would last as long as the federal funding that conflicts with the state requirements.

     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 H.B. No. 464, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 464, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

____________________________

JOSHUA B. GREEN, M.D., Chair