STAND. COM. REP. NO. 336

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1524

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 Labor, Culture and the Arts and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 1524 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE MEDICAL USE OF CANNABIS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Prohibit an employer from discriminating against an employee based on the employee's status as a qualifying patient;

(2) Prohibit an employer from taking action against an employee based solely on the employee's status as a qualifying patient or if the results of the employee's drug test are positive for cannabis; and

(3) Specify permissible and impermissible actions by employers and employees.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Government Employees Association, The Drug Policy Forum of Hawai‘i, Community Alliance on Prisons, O‘ahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, and two individuals. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Public Safety, Hawai‘i Civil Rights Commission, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Department of the Attorney General, and City and County of Honolulu Department of Human Resources.

Your Committees find that thirty-one states allow for the medical use of cannabis by qualifying patients, with a growing number of states establishing employment protections for qualifying medical cannabis patients. Your Committees further find that the medical use of cannabis by a qualifying patient to alleviate the symptoms or effects of the qualifying patient's debilitating medical condition is permitted under existing state law. However, there are no corresponding employment protections for qualifying patients. A qualifying patient can be discriminated against in the hiring process, merely because of the patient's status as a qualifying patient, or fired at an employer's discretion for failing a drug test, even if the qualifying patient is not exhibiting any symptoms of being impaired. This measure therefore prohibits employers from discriminating against an employee based on the employee's status as a qualifying patient. This will allow qualifying patients to use their medication without fear of being disciplined.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Incorporating amendments suggested by the Department of Public Safety to exempt law enforcement officers and correctional facility employees; and

(2) Inserting an effective date of January 1, 2051, to encourage further discussion.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Labor, Culture and the Arts and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1524, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1524, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Labor, Culture and the Arts and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health,

________________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair

________________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair