STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2579

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 3095

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Education and Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 3095, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require the Department of Agriculture to establish a pilot program for vegetative buffer zones around selected schools within the State; and

(2) Require and appropriate funds for the Department of Agriculture to develop and implement a pesticide drift monitoring study at three schools selected to participate in the pilot program.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Sierra Club of Hawai‘i, IMUAlliance, Hawai‘i Center for Food Safety, League of Women Voters of Hawaii, Hawaii Nurses Association, Kihei Community Association, Pono Hawai‘i Initiative, Oahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i Alliance for Progressive Action, Civic Education Council, and numerous individuals. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the University of Hawai‘i System; Hawaii Crop Improvement Association; Hawai‘i Farm Bureau; Monsanto Hawaii; Hawaii Cattlemen's Council, Inc.; and Maui County Farm Bureau. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Agriculture, Western Plant Health Association, Americans for Democratic Action Hawai‘i, and numerous individuals.

Your Committees find that many residents in the State are very concerned about the long-term health effects and potential negative impacts of pesticide drift, especially as the number of large-scale, outdoor, commercial agricultural operations in the State continues to increase. Children can be exposed to pesticides applied on school grounds, pesticides that drift onto school grounds, or pesticide residues, which put them at risk of developmental delays and other health complications. Because the State does not currently have an adequate regulatory structure in place to monitor human health impacts of pesticide drift near sensitive populations, like children and the elderly, this measure helps to ensure that highly sensitive areas, like schools, are protected from the potential negative effects of long-term pesticide exposure.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Education and Ways and Means that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3095, S.D. 1, and recommend that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Education and Ways and Means,

________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair

________________________________ MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Chair