STAND. COM. REP. NO. 760-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 644

H.D. 2

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 644, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SINGLE-USE PLASTICS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is, beginning January 1, 2028, to prohibit a business where food or beverages are packaged and sold for individual consumption from:

(1) Distributing, selling, or using disposable or single-use plastic food ware; and

(2) Distributing, selling, or using reusable, refillable, disposable, or single-use food ware that contains regulated perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from one member of the Hawaiʻi County Council; Hawaiʻi Reef and Ocean Coalition; Climate Protectors Hawaiʻi; National Marine Team, The Sierra Club; The Locavore Store; Sustainable Coastlines Hawaiʻi; Upstream; Energy Justice Network; and eight individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the American Chemistry Council; Hawaii Food Industry Association; Suisan Company Limited; and Biodegradable Products Institute. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources; Department of Health; Chamber of Commerce Hawaii; Hawaiʻi Restaurant Association; Retail Merchants of Hawaii; Zippy's Restaurants; Biodegradable Products Institute; and World Centric.

Your Committee finds that perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances are chemicals that have been used in many consumer products since the 1940s. These chemicals accumulate in the human body, and exposure can lead to adverse health outcomes in humans. Prohibiting the distribution, sale, or use of single-use food ware that contains regulated perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances will help mitigate the risk of harm to human health caused by these chemicals.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language that prohibited a business from distributing, selling, or using disposable or single-use plastic food ware;

(2) Amending the prohibition relating to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances to be that businesses are prohibited from distributing, selling, or using single-use plastic food ware that contains plastic with regulated perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances and making associated conforming amendments;

(3) Deleting language that would have exempted certain containers and packaging from the prohibitions of this measure;

(4) Deleting an extraneous mention of food vendors to avoid any ambiguous interpretation, since food vendors are businesses subject to the provisions of this measure;

(5) Clarifying the acts for which penalties are imposed to be consistent with the prohibition against distribution, sale, or use; and

(6) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 644, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 644, H.D. 2.

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

____________________________

SCOT Z. MATAYOSHI, Chair