THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	15
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

relating to airport security.

     WHEREAS, the Transportation Security Administration is an agency of the federal government charged with protecting the nation's transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce; and

     WHEREAS, the Transportation Security Administration is responsible for the safety of the general public and conducts screening of airport passengers and personnel for weapons, explosives, and other contraband that pose a threat to security; and

     WHEREAS, current Transportation Security Administration screening policy involves passengers and personnel passing through advanced-image technology scanners or undergoing a pat-down search administered by Transportation Security Administration employees, or both; and

     WHEREAS, the advanced-image technology scanners used by the Transportation Security Administration capture images that depict the shape and outline of a person's full body; and

     WHEREAS, repeated exposure to radiation from the scans presents an unknown and potentially serious health risk; and

     WHEREAS, finding advanced-image technology scanners to be overly invasive and potentially hazardous to health, many passengers and personnel choose the option of undergoing a pat-down search; and

     WHEREAS, many travelers have found the pat-down searches conducted by employees of the Transportation Security Administration to be a humiliating experience bordering on physical and emotional abuse whether imposed in public or private; and

     WHEREAS, travelers who refuse the screening procedures are not free to proceed beyond security checkpoints to continue their travel; and

     WHEREAS, in response to such practices, Congressman Ron Paul of Texas introduced the American Traveller Dignity Act of 2011, H.R. 2438, which provides that Federal employees who provide security screening for airports are not immune from any U.S. law regarding physical contact with another person, making images of another person, or causing physical harm through the use of radiation-emitting machinery on another person; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2012, the House of Representatives concurring, that the legislature of the state of Hawaii hereby urges Congress to enact H.R. 2438 or similar legislation that protects the rights of travelers in the nations' airports; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President of United States Senate, to each member of the Hawaii congressional delegation, and to the Governor.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Urges Congress to enact legislation that protects air travelers.