STAND. COM. REP. NO. 430

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 1708

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Intergovernmental and Military Affairs and Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 1708 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to provide access for military personnel to a health screening test for exposure to depleted uranium and to establish a task force to study the health effects associated with exposure to depleted uranium, which requires an environmental impact study on the storage and disposal of depleted uranium munitions on Oahu.

     This measure appropriates an unspecified amount for fiscal year 2008-2009, for the purposes of conducting an environmental study of the scope and adequacy of depleted uranium storage and disposal in Hawaii and compiling a report on the training received by members of the military on exposure to depleted uranium.

     Testimony was submitted in support of this measure by KAHEA:  The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance; Americans for Democratic Action, Hawai‘i Chapter; Maui Peace Action; CodePINK Hawai‘i Women For Peace; and nine individuals.  Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by the Department of Defense and the Department of Health.

     Your Committees find that the chemical and radiological toxicity of depleted uranium has been a reported cause of kidney dysfunction, lung damage, neurological disorders, liver infection, and high miscarriage rates among military personnel.  These health problems have been reported from military personnel who have served in designated combat zones where depleted uranium munitions and armor have been used, including the 1991 Gulf War and during the three years since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

     Your Committees further find that the military use and disposal of depleted uranium munitions are capable of having a significant environmental impact, and depleted uranium has been found in contaminated ground surfaces that lead to food and ground water contamination.  To that end, your Committees find that it is necessary to provide military personnel who may have been exposed to depleted uranium with access to health screening tests to test for depleted uranium exposure and to take steps to evaluate the scope and adequacy of storage and disposal of depleted uranium munitions on Oahu.

     Your Committees further find that the task force appointed in this measure should include one representative from the Air Force, one from the Army, one from the Navy, and one from the Marine Corps.  Your Committees further find that the use of language in this measure referring to military personnel should be standardized and the effective dates for the task force report, the operation date, and appropriation effective dates should be changed to provide adequate preparation time to meet the requirements of this measure.  To this end, your Committees have amended the measure to reflect these changes.

     It is the intent of your Committees to safeguard the health of military personnel by providing access to a health screening test for exposure to depleted uranium and establishing a task force to study the health effects associated with exposure to depleted uranium.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Intergovernmental and Military Affairs and Health that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1708, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1708, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Intergovernmental and Military Affairs and Health,

____________________________ DAVID Y. IGE, Chair

____________________________ LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair