STAND. COM. REP. NO. 430

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 1118

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committees on Energy and Environment and Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 1118 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH FOR HAZARD EVALUATION AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE PREPAREDNESS,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to make an emergency appropriation to the Department of Health to support public health and environmental hazard evaluation and emergency response preparedness.

 

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health.

 

     Your Committees find that the Department of Health provides public health and environmental hazard evaluation and emergency response services twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.  Services are funded by the environmental response revolving fund, which is capitalized primarily by the state environmental response, energy, and food security tax.  However, the environmental response revolving fund balance is dangerously low due to reduced consumption of crude oil in the State, while demand for public health and environmental hazard evaluation and emergency response has increased.  Without adequate capitalization, the Department of Health will be forced to begin the process of laying off program staff before the end of fiscal year 2015.  Implementation of this measure will preserve public health by continuing environmental hazard evaluation and emergency response preparedness.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Energy and Environment and Health that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1118 and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Energy and Environment and Health,

 

____________________________

JOSH GREEN, Chair

 

____________________________

MIKE GABBARD, Chair