STAND. COM. REP. NO.  263-08

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2008

RE:   H.B. No. 2438

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 2438 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CIGARETTES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to promote fire-safety by prohibiting the sale of cigarettes in Hawaii that don't self-extinguish when not actively puffed, before it has burnt through its full length.

     The Honolulu Fire Department, Maui County Fire Department, Hawaii County Fire Department, Kauai County Fire Department, State Fire Council (SFC), Hawaii Fire Fighters Association, Hawaii Wildlife Management Organization, and Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii supported this bill.  The Department of the Attorney General and Retail Merchants of Hawaii supported the intent of this measure.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1)  Expanding the definition of "cigarette" to add substances other than tobacco when rolled for smoking or any item made to appear to look like it could be offered as a cigarette for smoking;

(2)  Requiring rather than allowing the SFC to authorize a manufacturer to use an alternative test method that has been proven effective in another state unless there is a reasonable cause why such a test shouldn't be used;

(3)  Providing that testing provided for reduced ignition propensity cigarettes for other purposes that is consistent with the methods provided in this bill may be used for certification;

(4)  Specifying that testing performed or sponsored by the SFC to determine a cigarette's compliance with performance standards required by this bill must be conducted using the same standards as those set for manufactures;

(5)  Requiring the SFC to review the effectiveness of the testing standards set by this bill and report the findings to the Legislature every three years;

(6)  Removing provisions authorizing the use of certification markings that approved and in use in California or Vermont;

(7)  Requiring manufactures to notify the SFC of the certification marking selected for use on packaging;

(8)  Requiring that wholesalers and dealers permit the Attorney General (AG) to inspect markings on cigarette packaging and records;

(9)  Adding the AG to the SFC as the enforcing agencies to ensure compliance with the law and includes their authorized representatives;

(11) Authorizing the AG or any authorized law enforcement entity to seize cigarettes that have not been marked properly;

(12) Providing wholesalers and dealers a full year from the time that this law takes effect to sell their existing supplies of cigarettes not marked under the new standards; and

(13) Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for clarity, consistency, and style.

     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. 2438, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2438, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committees on Consumer Protection & Commerce and Judiciary.

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

____________________________

JOSHUA B. GREEN, M.D., Chair