STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3671

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1896

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 Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred H.B. No. 1896, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to, beginning January 1, 2027, prohibit the manufacture, sale, offer for sale, distribution for sale, and distribution for use of any food packaging, food service ware, cosmetic, or personal care product that contains intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), with certain exceptions.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi, Chamber of Sustainable Commerce, Hawaiʻi Food+ Policy Internship 2024, and two individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from Beautycounter.

Your Committee finds that PFAS, a group of manufactured chemicals that have been used in industry and consumer products since the 1940s because of their useful properties, are known as "forever chemicals" because they build up in human bodies and do not break down naturally in the environment. Current scientific research suggests that PFAS--which can be found in fire extinguishing foam, food packaging, and household and personal care products--leaches into water, soil, and food and may lead to adverse reproductive effects, developmental effects or delays in children, increased risk of some cancers, and interference with the body's natural hormones, among others. Recognizing the harm of PFAS, the State prohibited the manufacture, sale, or distribution for sale or use of certain types of food packaging beginning December 31, 2024, and fire extinguishing foam, beginning July 1, 2024, that contain PFAS through Act 152, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022. This measure expands the State's ban on PFAS to protect the environment and human health from their detrimental and toxic effects.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1896, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection,

________________________________

JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair