STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1460

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 654

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Higher Education and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 654, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds to the University of Hawaii Cancer Center to determine whether Hawaii has the highest incidence in the country of liver and bile duct cancer due to liver fluke infection, aflatoxin ingestion, or intrahepatic bile duct dilation.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the University of Hawai‘i System, Department of Health, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Adon Renewables, and seven individuals. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual.

Your Committees find that liver cancer in Hawaii occurs at extremely high rates. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Hawaii Tumor Registry, Hawaii has had the highest or second highest rate of liver cancer among all of the states in recent years. However, because the common causes of liver cancer in Hawaii are near the national average, other factors may be contributing to the high occurrence of liver cancer in the State. While this measure provides support for the University of Hawaii Cancer Center to study the high incidence of liver and bile duct cancer, your Committees believe that it is important that the Center use these funds to better understand the etiologies of liver and bile duct cancer, with specific attention to disparities across different racial and ethnic groups, in order to inform public health and medical interventions to reduce the burden of this disease.

Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Specifying that the appropriated funds shall be used for the University of Hawaii Cancer Center to determine the etiologies of the high incidence of liver and bile duct cancer in Hawaii and clarifying the findings to better delineate the purpose of the funding;

(2) Specifying that the University of Hawaii Cancer Center shall be required to submit a progress report and final report on its findings and how funds were spent to the Legislature prior to the Regular Sessions of 2020 and 2021; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Higher Education and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 654, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 654, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Higher Education and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health,

________________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair

________________________________ DONNA MERCADO KIM, Chair