STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2437
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: S.B. No. 2630
Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui
President of the Senate
Twenty-Sixth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2012
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Public Safety, Government Operations, and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 2630 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NOISE,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is to authorize the county liquor commissions to substitute the dBC weighting system for the current dBA weighting system for the purpose of administering community noise control.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Liquor Control of Kauai County, Honolulu Liquor Commission, and Downtown Neighborhood Board No. 13.
Your Committee finds that the method used by the Department of Health to measure noise is the dBA weighting system. The dBA system measures sound in decibels using the "A weighted" measurement, dBA, such that sound levels measured in dBA correspond to what the human ear hears. An alternative dBC weighting system also measures sound levels but additionally measures lower frequencies that cause physical objects such as windows and walls to vibrate. Because these lower frequency sound waves are not perceived by the human ear and are not measured by the dBA weighting system, even though they are physically felt through strong vibrations, the sound levels generated do not constitute a violation of the existing community noise control law.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety, Government Operations, and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2630 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety, Government Operations, and Military Affairs,
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____________________________ WILL ESPERO, Chair |
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