STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2016

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2423

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Housing and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 2423 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAII PUBLIC HOUSING AUTHORITY,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to expand and clarify the no smoking radius around public housing projects, elder or elderly housing, and state low-income housing projects to twenty-five feet from each individual and each administrative office building of the public housing project, elder or elderly housing, and state low-income housing project under the jurisdiction of the Hawaii Public Housing Authority.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, Hawaii Public Housing Authority, and Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawai‘i of the Hawai‘i Public Health Institute.

Your Committees find that the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development instituted a final rule requiring public housing agencies to implement a smoke-free policy by July 30, 2018. While existing law and internal policies require smoke-free zones at public housing projects under the jurisdiction of the Hawaii Public Housing Authority, the law and policies fail to comply with the federal standards of no smoking up to twenty-five feet away from public housing units and administrative office buildings. This measure enables the Hawaii Public Housing Authority to comply with the smoke-free requirements established by the federal government.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Housing and Human Services that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2423 and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Housing and Human Services,

________________________________ JOSH GREEN, Chair

________________________________ WILL ESPERO, Chair