STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1751

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.C.R. No. 38

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 Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 38 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING RESTAURANTS TO DONATE ANY LEFTOVER FOOD TO HOMELESS SHELTERS AT THE END OF THEIR BUSINESS DAY,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to urge restaurants to donate any leftover food to homeless shelters at the end of their business day.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawai‘i Restaurant Association and four individuals. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Health.

Your Committees find that a single restaurant in the United States wastes thousands of pounds of food a year. At the same time, food waste is a serious environmental problem and many of Hawaii's food drives need food donations to feed the needy. Your Committees further find that lack of knowledge on how to donate food safely and fear of being held liable for any health problems that result from donated food may make some restaurants unwilling to donate.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Updating the findings to note that since certain procedures must be followed for temperature controlled for safety foods, guidelines would help encourage compliance and food donation;

(2) Requesting the Department of Health to develop general guidelines on best practices for safely donating temperature controlled for safety foods and disseminate these guidelines to the Hawaii Restaurant Association and appropriate Department of Health permit holders;

(3) Requesting the Department of Health to submit a progress report on the guideline creation and dissemination prior to the Regular Session of 2020;

(4) Updating the title to reflect its amended purpose; and

(5) 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 Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health and Human Services that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 38, as amended herein, and recommend its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 38, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health and Human Services,

________________________________ RUSSELL E. RUDERMAN, Chair

________________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair