STAND. COM. REP. NO. 426

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 674

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Health and Human Services and Agriculture and Environment, to which was referred S.B. No. 674 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE ENVIRONMENT,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require the Department of Health to conduct a statewide needs assessment to determine what will be needed to reduce waste generation, increase reuse, improve recycling collection services, and expand local processing of materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products;

(2) Establish an advisory council to review the draft needs assessment and propose recommendations throughout the assessment process; and

(3) Appropriate funds.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, Hawaiʻi Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission, Climate Protectors Hawaii, Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, American Cleaning Institute, Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, Re-use Hawaiʻi, and two individuals.

Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from Biodegradable Products Institute.

Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Food Industry Association, Flexible Packaging Association, American Forest & Paper Association, AMERIPEN, and Consumer Technology Association.

Your Committees find that solid waste may soon exceed landfill capacity in all of the State's counties and that most waste created in the State is landfilled or incinerated, which places the burden for managing waste on taxpayers, is costly, and creates pollution that is harmful to residents and the environment. Your Committees further find that extended producer responsibility is a policy that holds producers responsible for the management of their products throughout their lifecycle. This measure requires the Department of Health to conduct a statewide needs assessment to determine what would be needed to transition to a system with less waste generation, more reuse, and the necessary infrastructure to sort and locally process recyclable materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products.

Your Committees acknowledge the concerns raised in testimony by the Department of Health that they may need the ability to contract with third parties to conduct this measure's proposed statewide needs assessment. Therefore, amendments to this measure are necessary to allow the Department of Health to contract with third parties, as needed, to conduct the statewide needs assessment.

Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting language to allow the Department of Health to contract with third parties, as necessary, to conduct the statewide needs assessment;

(2) Inserting language to include subject matter experts experienced in food safety and packaging to the list of stakeholders in consultation with the Department of Health to conduct the statewide needs assessment;

(3) Inserting language to include one representative who is a subject matter expert experienced in food safety and packaging to the advisory council to review the draft needs assessment and propose recommendations throughout the assessment process;

(4) Inserting an effective date of December 31, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

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

Should your Committee on Ways and Means choose to deliberate on this measure, your Committee respectfully requests that it consider retaining the appropriation amount of $1,000,000 for the statewide needs assessment, including contracting with a third party, as necessary, to conduct the assessment.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Human Services and Agriculture and Environment that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 674, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 674, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Human Services and Agriculture and Environment,

________________________________ MIKE GABBARD, Chair

________________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair