STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3544

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.R. No. 91

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Tourism and Government Operations, to which was referred S.R. No. 91 entitled:

"SENATE RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE HAWAII TOURISM AUTHORITY, IN COOPERATION AND CONJUNCTION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND APPROPRIATE WATER SAFETY ORGANIZATIONS, TO FURNISH ONBOARD A VISITOR WATER SAFETY INFORMATION MULTI-LINGUAL HANDOUT TO PROVIDE EDUCATION ON WATER RECREATIONAL HAZARDS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to request the Hawaii Tourism Authority, in cooperation and conjunction with the Department of Health and appropriate water safety organizations, to furnish and distribute aboard all incoming mainland and international flights a multi-lingual visitor water safety information handout to provide education on water recreational hazards.

     This measure also requests the State Department of Transportation to work with the airlines to ensure the onboard distribution of the handout to all incoming passengers on flights to Hawaii.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, Kauai Fire Department, Honolulu Emergency Services Department, The Hawaiian Lifeguard Association, and one individual.  Comments were received from the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority.

     Visitors to Hawaii often learn about an area from a guidebook or the Internet, which directs visitors, who are often inexperienced swimmers, to remote beaches, cliffs, and dive spots that may not have lifeguards.  These visitors may be unaware of ocean hazards and the basic principles of water safety.

     It was reported in The Honolulu Advertiser on January 30, 2007, that a key feature of a water safety warning program to protect visitors is information, and for years, lifeguards have been fighting a difficult battle to educate people about ocean hazards, with many of them launching their own initiatives to warn visitors through their individual efforts and often at their own expense.

     There are several means by which information may be disseminated to educate visitors of water safety and ocean hazards.  In this regard, your Committee finds that the hotels, airlines, cruise industry, and the Hawaii Superferry are among the entities that should serve as points of information dissemination.  Further consideration, however, is required to determine the most appropriate and effective means of dissemination, as well as the scope and content of the information provided.  In this respect, your Committee finds that the Hawaii Tourism Authority would benefit from input from the Department of Health, the Honolulu Emergency Services Department, the University of Hawaii School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, and appropriate water safety organizations.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Clarifying that information for visitors on water safety and recreational hazards be incorporated into a visitor multi-lingual information and education program;

     (2)  Adding the University of Hawaii School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, and the Honolulu Emergency Services Department to the organizations requested to cooperate with the Hawaii Tourism Authority;

     (3)  Changing the title to accurately reflect the changes in (1) and (2) herein;

     (4)  Deleting reference to the dissemination of an onboard handout on incoming flights, because this is not necessarily the best or most effective means of dissemination;

     (5)  Adding the Hawaii Superferry as an entity that is requested to disseminate information for visitors on water safety and recreational hazards;

     (6)  Adding that the Hawaii Tourism Authority be responsible for the dissemination of information for visitors on water safety and recreational hazards to all Hawaii hotels and to every cruise ship company operating in Hawaii;

     (7)  Adding the cruise industry to the entities that are requested to disseminate information for visitors on water safety and recreational hazards; and

     (8)  Deleting transmittal of this Senate Concurrent Resolution to Aloha Airlines and ATA, as they are no longer in business.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Tourism and Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.R. No. 91, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.R. No. 91, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Tourism and Government Operations,

____________________________

CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair