STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1693

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.C.R. No. 94

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 94 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING RETAIL STORES AND PHARMACIES DOING BUSINESS IN THE STATE TO ADOPT A POLICY ON A NATIONAL AND LOCAL LEVEL GUARANTEEING AN INDIVIDUAL'S UNHINDERED ACCESS TO ALL UNITED STATES FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION-APPROVED CONTRACEPTIVES,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to urge retail stores and pharmacies doing business in the State to adopt policies on a national and local level to guarantee an individual's unhindered access to all United States Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptives.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from AlohaCare, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, and one individual. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual.

Your Committees find that the benefits of contraception are widely recognized and include improved health and well-being, reduced global maternal mortality, health benefits of pregnancy spacing for maternal and child health, female engagement in the work force, and economic self-sufficiency for women. According to the 2020 Hawaii Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System report, between 2012 and 2016, approximately forty-seven percent of all pregnancies in Hawaii were unintended. The women most likely to have an unintended pregnancy in the State were Native Hawaiian, Filipino, or Pacific Islander; those under twenty years of age, unmarried, and insured through Medicaid or uninsured before pregnancy; those who had three or more previous live births; or those who were at or below one hundred percent of the federal poverty level. One issue contributing to unintended pregnancies is lack of access to contraception, which includes availability, affordability, insurance coverage, transportation, and convenience. This measure urges stores and pharmacies to guarantee individuals' access to contraceptives approved by the Food and Drug Administration, thus improving women's health.

Your Committees have amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Health and Human Services that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 94, as amended herein, and recommend its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 94, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Health and Human Services,

________________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair

________________________________ JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair