STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2054

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 2385

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 2385 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO BEVERAGES FOR CHILDREN,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish restrictions on sugar-sweetened beverages and certain other beverages served in child care facilities.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the American Heart Association, Hawaii Primary Care Association, Hawaii Public Health Institute, Family Programs Hawaii, American Diabetes Association, Hawaii Children's Action Network, and twenty–two individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services and the Department of Health.

 

     Your Committee finds that children derive 10 to 15 percent of their total calories from sugary beverages.  Drinking one 12-ounce soda every day increases a child's odds of becoming obese by 60 percent and doubles the risk of dental caries.  Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years, and one in three children entering kindergarten in Hawaii is overweight or obese.  In Hawaii, close to 65,000 children attend some form of non-parental child care.  By limiting the type of drinks that are served, an enormous number of calories and related health risks can be avoided.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Inserting language to exempt from the prohibitions proposed by this measure beverages provided by a parent or legal guardian for consumption by the child at the child care facility; and

 

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

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2385, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2385, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services,

 

 

 

________________________________

SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair