STAND. COM. REP. NO. 375

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 911

       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 Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 911 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LATEX,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to prohibit the use of latex gloves in dental health facilities and health care facilities, by personnel providing ambulance services or emergency medical services pursuant to the state comprehensive emergency medical services system, and in food establishments.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Dental Hygienists' Association, American Latex Allergy Association, and fifteen individuals.  Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Health.

     Your Committees find that latex allergy is a serious concern because it causes reactions ranging from mild rashes to difficulty breathing and deadly anaphylaxis.  Approximately 3,000,000 people in the general population of the United States have this allergy.  Individuals with this allergy must be vigilant about latex exposure.  This measure will help protect Hawaii residents and visitors who suffer from latex allergies.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Inserting findings related to latex allergy in the general population of the United States;

     (2)  Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

     (3)  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 Commerce and Consumer Protection that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 911, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 911, 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 Commerce and Consumer Protection,

____________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair

____________________________ JOSH GREEN, Chair