STAND. COM. REP. NO. 843

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 346

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 346, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FARM ANIMALS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to prohibit the confinement of egg-laying hens in a cruel manner and prohibit business owners and operators from selling certain eggs or egg products from hens confined in a cruel manner beginning on December 31, 2025.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from The McClellan Group; The Humane Society of the United States; Natural Resources Defense Council; Friends of the Earth; Animal Outlook; Center for Biological Diversity; Animal Legal Defense Fund; Compassion in World Farming USA; Hawaiian Humane Society; Animal Equality; American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; The Humane League; Farm Sanctuary; Mercy for Animals; Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association; Hawaiian Egg Company, Inc.; OK Poultry, LLC; and nine individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Agriculture. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the University of Hawai‘i College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.

Your Committee finds that certain methods of farm animal containment are cruel to animals and threaten human health and safety by increasing the risk of foodborne illness.  Additionally, battery cage facilities have been linked to high levels of air contamination from ammonia and hydrogen sulfide as well as organic compounds, large amounts of pesticide, and pharmaceutical residues that can be transported into nearby soil, causing groundwater pollution and contaminating surface waters. Your Committee further finds that there are no existing laws or regulations in the State establishing confinement standards for egg-laying hens. This measure phases out certain types of extreme, outdated, and cruel methods of farm animal confinement and the sale of products produced using those methods of confinement.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Delaying implementation of the prohibition until June 30, 2027; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 346, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 346, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

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KARL RHOADS, Chair