STAND. COM. REP. NO. 861

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 1150

       S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 1150, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PRESERVING CORAL REEFS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to prohibit the use or application of sunscreen, sunblock, or cosmetic containing oxybenzone while on a beach or in the ocean unless the sunscreen, sunblock, or cosmetic is a prescription drug.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health; Americans for Democratic Action Hawai‘i; Democratic Party of Hawai‘i; Conservation Council for Hawai‘i; Napili Bay and Beach Foundation; Raw Elements; Snorkel Bob's Hawaii; Valley Isle Excursions; We Are One, Inc.; Maui Kayak Adventures; Maui Marketing; Maui Stand Up Paddle Boarding; Maui Surf Lessons; Haereticus Environmental Laboratory; Hawaiian Paddle Sports; Hawaii Mermaid Adventures; and forty-three individuals.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Consumer Healthcare Products Association and one individual.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

     Your Committee finds that oxybenzone, a common sunscreen ingredient, has detrimental effects on coral reefs.  The threat is particularly acute in Hawaiian ocean waters where coral bleaching is occurring at a rate never previously recorded.  This measure protects Hawaii's coral reefs by prohibiting the use of sunscreens and cosmetics containing oxybenzone that are not prescription drugs at beaches or in the ocean.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Inserting an effective date of January 7, 2059, to encourage further discussion; and

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1150, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1150, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Labor,

________________________________

GILBERT S.C. KEITH-AGARAN, Chair