STAND. COM. REP. NO.  460

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2009

RE:   H.B. No. 1633

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 1633 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TOXIC PRODUCTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to ensure the health and safety of children by prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and distribution of products for young children that contain bisphenol-A or phthalates and requiring manufacturers to choose safe alternatives.

     The Grocery manufacturers Association, Retail Merchants Hawaii, and American Chemistry Council opposed this bill.  The Department of Health and American Cancer Society Hawaii Pacific, Inc. submitted comments.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by replacing its contents with provisions requiring the Legislative Reference Bureau to perform a study, working with information from the Centers for Disease Control, investigating the risks involved in the use of phthalates and bisphenol-A in consumer products, including children's toys and childcare products.  The study is to be submitted to the Legislature prior to the start of the 2010 Regular Session.

     Your Committee has further amended this bill by:

(1)  Changing its effective date to January 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

(2)  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. 1633, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1633, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

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

____________________________

RYAN I. YAMANE, Chair