STAND. COM. REP. NO. 99

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 1999

                                 RE: H.B. No. 1663
                                     




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No.
1663 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to assign responsibility and
clarify the duties of the Department of Health with respect to
any significant increase in or cluster of disease or illness at a
school or in a particular area that is suspected to be related to
environmental contamination.

     Life of the Land and numerous concerned community residents
submitted testimony in support of this measure.  The Department
of Health supported the intent of the measure but indicated the
need for additional funding.

     Your Committee finds that environmental health hazards due
to contamination of soil or water supplies from the previous use
of pesticides or other toxic products may remain undetected until
significant clusters of disease are identified and their causal
connection established.  

     Existing statutes related to this issue were created over a
generation before new residential developments were established
on former agricultural land.  As a result, your Committee finds
that the law should be amended to reflect these concerns.


 
 
 
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                                 Page 2

 
     Your Committee respectfully requests that the Committee on
Education consider the concerns expressed by the Department of
Health regarding the need for additional staffing and funding in
order to comply with the mandates of this bill.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No.
1663 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred
to the Committee on Education.

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



                                   ______________________________
                                   ALEXANDER C. SANTIAGO, Chair