32
THE SENATE                           S.R. NO.              S.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  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   
32        WHEREAS, the United States Environmental Protection Agency
33   has defined integrated pest management as a sustainable
34   approach to managing pests by combining biological, cultural,
35   physical, and chemical tools in a way that minimizes economic,

 
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                                  S.R. NO.              S.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        


 1   health, and environmental risks �(Public Law No. 104-107,
 2   title 7 U.S.C. section 136r-1); and
 3   
 4        WHEREAS, the Los Angeles Unified School District
 5   (District) has created an Integrated Pest Management Policy
 6   (Policy) that recognizes the safety and health of students,
 7   teachers, staff, and the environment as paramount to the use of
 8   pesticides; and
 9   
10        WHEREAS, the Policy is a sustainable approach to managing
11   pests by combining biological, chemical, cultural, manual, or
12   mechanical tools or techniques, or any combination thereof to
13   minimize health, environmental, and economic risks; and
14   
15        WHEREAS, the Policy focuses on long-term prevention and
16   prioritizes and the use of nonchemical methods to ultimately
17   eliminate the use of all chemical treatment; and
18   
19        WHEREAS, the objective of the District is to provide for
20   the safest and lowest risk approach to controlling pests while
21   protecting people, the environment, and property; and
22   
23        WHEREAS, the Policy focuses on long-term prevention and
24   prioritizes the use of nonchemical methods to ultimately
25   eliminate the use of all chemical treatments; and
26   
27        WHEREAS, the District adopted the Precautionary Principle,
28   which recognizes that:
29   
30        (1)  No pesticide product is totally free from risk or
31             threat to human health; and
32   
33        (2)  Industrial pesticide producers should be required to
34             prove that their pesticide products demonstrate an
35             absence of agents known to cause cancer, neurological
36             disruption, birth defects, genetic alteration,
37             reproductive harm, immune system dysfunction,
38             endocrine disruption and acute poisoning; rather than
39             requiring that the government or the public prove
40             that human health is being harmed;
41   
42   now, therefore,
43   
44        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
45   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, that the
46   Department of Education is urged to establish cost-effective

 
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                                  S.R. NO.              S.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        


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