STAND. COM. REP. NO. 408

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 193

       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 Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 193 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to require the Department of Education to develop a program to provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation instruction to students as part of the high school health or physical education curriculum.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Education, American Heart Association, Hawaii Public Health Institute, Hawaii Pacific Health, and four individuals.

     Your Committee finds that sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in the United States.  Your Committee further finds that during sudden cardiac arrest, the heart cannot pump blood through the body, and irreversible brain damage or death frequently result because emergency response teams cannot reach the victim in time.  Your Committee additionally finds that cardiopulmonary resuscitation is a technique that can extend the window of time for help to arrive.  Your Committee also finds that many sudden cardiac arrests occur in the home, at school, or in public places, and that many victims' lives could potentially be saved if people near the victim were proficient in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.  This measure will equip Hawaii's students with developing proficiency in a potentially lifesaving skill that can be utilized throughout their lifetime and result in a greater percentage of people surviving from a sudden cardiac arrest.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 193, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 193, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Education,

________________________________

MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Chair