STAND. COM. REP. NO 437

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 793

       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, Agriculture, and Energy and Environment, to which was referred S.B. No. 793 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HEALTH IMPACT OF PESTICIDES,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish mandatory notice, reporting, and use requirements when pesticides are applied outdoors near sensitive areas.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from Hawaii County Council, Hawaii Farmers Union United, American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Hawaii Center for Food Safety, American Academy of Pediatrics, BluSea Foundation Global Mana, Ho‘okipa Network, ‘Ai Pohaku, Planned Parenthood, Good Beginnings Alliance, Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, Surfrider Foundation, Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, Hawaii Alliance, UNITE HERE Local 5, and numerous individuals.  Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaii Crop Improvement Association; Hunting, Farming, and Fishing Association; Maui County Farm Bureau; Hawaii Cattlemen's Council; CropLife America; Hawaii Farmers & Ranchers United; Monsanto Hawaii; Dow Agrosciences; Alexander & Baldwin; Hawaii Farm Bureau; DuPont Pioneer; Syngenta Hawaii; Chamber of Commerce Hawaii; and thirteen individuals.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Agriculture, Hawaii Pest Control Association, Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action, and a few individuals.

     Your Committees find that it is of the utmost importance to protect communities that could be potentially impacted by pesticide drift.  In Hawaii, there have been at least six episodes of pesticide-induced illness at schools since 2006.  Exposure to pesticide drift causes numerous short-term impacts, such as headaches, dizziness, difficulty breathing, nausea, vomiting, weakness, chest pain, fatigue, rashes, and eye ailments.

     Your Committees have heard the testimony of several concerned entities and individuals about several key issues and request that your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Ways and Means consider the following as it relates to this measure and pesticide use in general:

     (1)  An improved definition for "watershed";

     (2)  The importance of pesticide use disclosure to the public;

     (3)  There is great concern about the combination of pesticides when used together, the effects of which have not been thoroughly researched;

     (4)  An exclusion for termite treatment as it relates to this measure;

     (5)  Establishing integrated pesticide management plans for schools; and

     (6)  In establishing buffer zone boundaries, vapor drift and pesticide-laden dust should be taken into consideration.

     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, Agriculture, and Energy and Environment that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 793, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 793, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Ways and Means.

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

____________________________ RUSSELL E. RUDERMAN, Chair	____________________________ JOSH GREEN, Chair
	____________________________ MIKE GABBARD, Chair