STAND. COM. REP. NO. 982

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 680

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 680, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Require licensees under the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology to complete a one-time awareness education program on intimate partner violence awareness and education;

     (2)  Require the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to adopt, via rules, the materials made available by a selected nonprofit intimate partner violence awareness education program; and

     (3)  Specify that assaulting or threatening to cause bodily injury to a barber or beauty operator for acting on information concerning potential intimate partner violence shall be a misdemeanor.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii, LGBT Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, and four individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology and Domestic Violence Action Center.

     Your Committee finds that intimate partner violence is prevalent in every community and affects people regardless of age, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, or nationality.  Professionals in the grooming and beauty industry may have a unique opportunity to notice signs of abuse in their clients.  These professionals often enjoy close relationships with their clients, which can put a grooming or beauty professional in the position to provide advice, resource information, and assistance.  Accordingly, this measure requires licensees under the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology to complete a one-time awareness education program on intimate partner violence awareness and education.

     Your Committee notes that the companion to this measure, S.B. No. 518, S.D. 2 (Regular Session of 2017), which was previously passed by the Senate, is a substantially similar measure that also requires licensees under the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology to complete a training program on intimate partner violence awareness and education.  Your Committee concludes that the language in S.B. No. 518, S.D. 2, is preferable because it clarifies that individual barber, beauty operator (including cosmetologists, hairdressers, estheticians, and nail technicians), and instructor licensees under the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology are required to attend the one-time training program.  S.B. No. 518, S.D. 2, also requires the training to be a three-hour course, which will allow more time for describing the dynamics of abuse and help licensees understand the barriers faced by survivors and the different resources available to survivors.

     Your Committee further finds that the language in S.B. No. 518, S.D. 2, is not overly broad or overly burdensome on individual licensees.  Your Committee notes that similar programs, such as the "Cut It Out" program, which is dedicated to mobilizing salon professionals and others to fight the epidemic of domestic abuse in communities throughout the country, have shown proven success in providing information and training to professionals in the grooming and beauty industry.  These programs exist because communities and programs have identified that victims of intimate partner violence often disclose sensitive information to trusted individuals in safe environments, such as salons and barber shops, thus reiterating the importance of ensuring grooming and beauty industry professionals have the knowledge to appropriately respond to a victim of intimate partner violence.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting its contents and inserting the contents of S.B. No. 518, S.D. 2, a substantially similar measure, which:

          (A)  Requires barber, beauty operator, and instructor licensees under the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology to complete a one-time, three-hour training program on intimate partner violence awareness and education; and

          (B)  Requires the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to develop the intimate partner violence awareness and education training program for barber, beauty operator, and instructor licensees in coordination with a domestic violence intervention program; and

     (2)  Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2017.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 680, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 680, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary and Labor.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health,

________________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair