STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3781

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 2253

H.D. 2

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 2253, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Authorize the Department of Health to require all restaurants and hotel establishments to maintain an inventory of an opioid antagonist;

(2) Expressly permit law enforcement officers to carry an opioid antagonist while on-duty;

(3) Require funds for the purchase of opioid antagonists used by law enforcement officers employed by a county to be paid for using county funds; and

(4) Clarify that emergency personnel, law enforcement officers, and first responders may administer an opioid antagonist to an individual experiencing an opioid-related drug overdose.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Honolulu Police Department, one member of the Honolulu City Council, Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition, Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Health & Harm Reduction Center, and Hawaiʻi Lodging & Tourism Association.

Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaiʻi Restaurant Association, Tiki's Grill & Bar, and Posso Pizza Inc. dba Domino's Pizza.

Your Committees find that opioid antagonists are substances that bind to opioid receptors to block the effects of opioids. In this manner, opioid antagonists can counteract opioid signaling and help return a person's nervous system to a state of balance. Your Committees further find that pre-stationing opioid antagonists in certain public spaces, such as restaurants and hotel establishments, can help expedite antidote delivery and prevent opioid overdoses. Therefore, this measure facilitates the prevention of opioid overdoses by increasing the number of establishments where opioid antagonists shall be maintained and clarifying the situations under which appropriate individuals may administer them.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Ways and Means that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2253, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and recommend that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Ways and Means,

________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair

________________________________ JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair