STAND. COM. REP. 739

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: H.B. No. 248

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor and Public Employment, to which was referred H.B. No. 248 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SMOKING IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS BY PUBLIC EMPLOYEES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to strengthen the State's non-smoking policy in public schools by:

(1) Prohibiting the smoking and use of tobacco products on the premises of public schools, in school buses, and at school-sponsored functions; and

(2) Excluding the prohibition on smoking in public schools from collective bargaining negotiations.

The Department of Education (DOE), Department of Human Resources Development, American Lung Association of Hawaii, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Hawaii State Parent Teacher Student Association, Coalition for a Tobacco Free Hawaii, REAL: Hawaii Youth Movement Against Tobacco Use, and numerous concerned citizens testified in support of this measure.

Your Committee finds that smoking in public schools is a negotiable bargaining item and certain bargaining units have been able to maintain smoking as a right under their contract. For this reason, DOE has been ineffective in halting public employee smoking at school. This bill seeks to address this problem and thereby protect our most precious resource, our youth, from the deleterious impacts of smoking and the effects that tobacco products have on their health and welfare.

However, upon closer inspection, your Committee notes the following concerns:

(1) The bill prohibits smoking at any off-site sponsored function, even if it would not endanger students' health and welfare (e.g., it would prohibit smoking by a teacher alone in the teacher's hotel room during an off-island, school-sponsored event); and

(2) Although this bill establishes civil penalties for violation of the smoking prohibition, neither the Board of Education nor the DOE is empowered to levy fines under chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

In light of these and other concerns, your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Eliminating references to the "use of" tobacco products so that the bill pertains only to smoking;

(2) Deleting provisions that would have established civil penalties;

(3) Clarifying that this Act does not apply to a person who smokes during a school-sponsored function in an enclosed room that is not located on school grounds, and that is not occupied by a student while the person is smoking, such as a person's hotel room during a school-sponsored excursion; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive revisions for purposes of clarity, style, and conformity.

Your Committee concurs with the Joint Committee on Education and Health that promoting a smoke-free environment for our youngsters is in the public's best interest. Accordingly, your Committee commends the supporters of this measure for their steadfast efforts to protect our youth from the dangers of smoking, second-hand smoke, and the use of smokeless tobacco products.

However, it is essential for any proposed legislation to take into account the practical aspects of its implementation and utilization. It is your Committee's hope that the bill, as amended, will adequately address these concerns.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor and Public Employment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 248, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 248, H.D. 1.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor and Public Employment,

 

____________________________

MARCUS R. OSHIRO, Chair