STAND. COM. REP. NO. 435

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 689

       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 Energy and Environment and Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 689 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Prohibit the sale of personal care products that contain plastic microbeads beginning on January 1, 2016; and

     (2)  Require violators to pay a fine.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, Animal Rights Hawaii, Rise Above Plastics Coalition, Surfrider Foundation Oahu Chapter, Consumer Healthcare Products Association, Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawaii, and eight individuals.

     Your Committees find that microbeads are gentle scrubbers that are added to numerous personal care products, including shampoos, soaps, and toothpastes.  Research has indicated that wastewater treatment plants are unable to filter out microbeads, and as a result microbeads pass through sewage systems and eventually enter into waterways.  Once microbeads enter the marine environment, they are impossible to remove and are a significant source of environmental degradation.  Implementation of this measure will reduce the State's production of waste and its negative impact on the environment.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Replacing the phrase "synthetic plastic microbeads" with "plastic microbeads" throughout the measure;

     (2)  Replacing the definition of "synthetic plastic microbead" with "plastic microbead", which is defined as any intentionally added solid plastic particle measuring five millimeters or less that is used in personal care products;

     (3)  Delaying to December 31, 2017, the start date for the prohibition on the sale of personal care products that contain plastic microbeads; and

     (4)  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 Energy and Environment and Health that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 689, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 689, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committees on Judiciary and Labor and Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Energy and Environment and Health,

____________________________ JOSH GREEN, Chair

____________________________ MIKE GABBARD, Chair