STAND. COM. REP. NO. 394

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 303

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Health and Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 303 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish the Hawaii Drug Take-Back and Education Initiative to coordinate and increase the safe return and disposal of drugs and the Narcotics Enforcement and Prescription Drug Monitoring Advisory Committee to advise the Department of Public Safety Narcotics Enforcement Division.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Public Safety, Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition, Hawaii Community Pharmacists Association, Walgreen Co., Work Injury Medical Association of Hawaii, and one individual.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Health.

     Your Committees find that the Narcotics Enforcement Division within the Department of Public Safety has run a pharmaceutical controlled substance practitioner take-back program for over three decades and in 2010, started an unfunded program of scheduled events, allowing the public to turn in their unwanted prescription drugs for disposal.  This measure will allow greater management of medications utilized for pain control.

     Your Committees note that the issue of urine drug testing as a mandate for a drug take-back program raises concerns that merit further consideration and requests that your Committee on Ways and Means further examine this issue if it chooses to hear this measure.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 303, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 303, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs,

____________________________ WILL ESPERO, Chair

____________________________ JOSH GREEN, Chair