78
THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            S.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO ESTABLISH AN
    INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT POLICY THAT FOCUSES ON
    PROTECTING CHILDREN, PERSONNEL AND PROPERTY FROM THE
    POTENTIAL RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH EXPOSURE TO PESTS AND PEST
    CONTROL PRACTICES AND REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE
    BUREAU TO CONDUCT A STUDY OF COST-EFFECTIVE SCIENCE-BASED,
    INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT FOR COMMON AREAS FREQUENTED BY
    THE PUBLIC.


 1        WHEREAS, pests such as ants, mosquitoes, termites,
 2   centipedes, spiders, scorpions, wasps, bees, cockroaches,
 3   beetles, and rodents, as well as weeds, fungi, bacteria, and
 4   viruses threaten our health, safety, and property and must be
 5   controlled or exterminated; and
 6   
 7        WHEREAS, a variety of chemical and nonchemical methods of
 8   pest control are employed to control pests on school property;
 9   and
10   
11        WHEREAS, the Department of Education (Department) ensure
12   that effective pest control is conducted on school property in
13   a manner that is safe and addresses staff and parental concerns
14   regarding risks associated with pests and pest control methods;
15   and
16   
17        WHEREAS, the objective of the Department is to
18   economically and effectively control pests while minimizing
19   risks to the health and safety of children, personnel, and
20   others who enter school property and the environment; and
21   
22        WHEREAS, the adoption of risk reduction management
23   strategies offers a sustainable approach to managing pests by
24   combining biological, chemical, cultural, manual, or mechanical
25   tools or techniques, or any combination thereof to minimize
26   health, environmental, and economic risks; and
27   
28        WHEREAS, integrated pest management is a risk reduction
29   approach that focuses on best management practices for pest
30   control; and
31   

 
Page 2                                                     78
                                  S.C.R. NO.            S.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        


 1        WHEREAS, the United States Environmental Protection Agency
 2   has defined integrated pest management as a sustainable
 3   approach to managing pests by combining biological, cultural,
 4   physical, and chemical tools in a way that minimizes economic,
 5   health, and environmental risks ”(Public Law No. 104-107,
 6   title 7 U.S.C. section 136r-1); and
 7   
 8        WHEREAS, the Los Angeles Unified School District
 9   (District) has created an Integrated Pest Management Policy
10   (Policy) that recognizes the safety and health of students,
11   teachers, staff, and the environment as paramount to the use of
12   pesticides; and
13   
14        WHEREAS, the Policy is a sustainable approach to managing
15   pests by combining biological, chemical, cultural, manual, or
16   mechanical tools or techniques, or any combination thereof to
17   minimize health, environmental, and economic risks; and
18   
19        WHEREAS, the Policy focuses on long-term prevention and
20   prioritizes and the use of nonchemical methods to ultimately
21   eliminate the use of all chemical treatment; and
22   
23        WHEREAS, the objective of the District is to provide for
24   the safest and lowest risk approach to controlling pests while
25   protecting people, the environment, and property; and
26   
27        WHEREAS, the Policy focuses on long-term prevention and
28   prioritizes the use of nonchemical methods to ultimately
29   eliminate the use of all chemical treatments; and
30   
31        WHEREAS, the District adopted the Precautionary Principle,
32   which recognizes that:
33   
34        (1)  No pesticide product is totally free from risk or
35             threat to human health; and
36   
37        (2)  Industrial pesticide producers should be required to
38             prove that their pesticide products demonstrate an
39             absence of agents known to cause cancer, neurological
40             disruption, birth defects, genetic alteration,
41             reproductive harm, immune system dysfunction,
42             endocrine disruption and acute poisoning; rather than

 
 
 
 
 
Page 3                                                     78
                                  S.C.R. NO.            S.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        


 1             requiring that the government or the public prove
 2             that human health is being harmed;
 3   
 4   now, therefore,
 5   
 6        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
 7   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, the House of
 8   Representatives concurring, that the Department of Education is
 9   urged to establish cost-effective science-based integrated pest
10   management programs in each of its districts that focus on
11   effective pest control while minimizing risks to the health and
12   safety of children, personnel, and others who enter school
13   property; and
14   
15        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department is encouraged
16   to seek the assistance of the Department of Agriculture,
17   University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human
18   Resources, and pest management experts in the private sector in
19   developing cost-effective science-based integrated pest
20   management programs; and
21   
22        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department is requested to
23   submit a report on its progress in developing integrated pest
24   management programs for its schools to the Legislature no later
25   than twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of
26   2001; and
27   
28        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference
29   Bureau is requested to conduct a study of cost-effective
30   science-based integrated pest management for common areas
31   frequented by the public such as schools, playgrounds,
32   pedestrian-bikeways, roadsides, and riparian zones along
33   channels adjacent to bridges; and
34   
35        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference
36   Bureau is requested to study other municipalities on this issue
37   to provide the Legislature with reference material for future
38   decision-making needs and policy development; and
39   
40        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference
41   Bureau is requested to report its findings and recommendations
42   to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the

 
 
 
 
 
Page 4                                                     78
                                  S.C.R. NO.            S.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        


 1   convening of the Regular Session of 2001; and
 2   
 3        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
 4   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Superintendent of
 5   Education, the Chairperson of the Board of Education, and the
 6   Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau.